Lowering your body fat %

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fShaw86
fShaw86 Posts: 878 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know this is relative to your diet, body, and what your workout/training program looks like. (Also pretty sure this thread has been made before.) However, how long would it take for someone to drop 1% of body fat? I have roughly 8% to lose to get to an ideal.

5'1", weigh around 123 lbs, body fat 32%. Cardio 6x/strength train 3x week. Trying to eat "clean" and stuff. Thank you :)

edit: lol forgot to put in my body fat %
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Replies

  • elainemorris1982
    elainemorris1982 Posts: 104 Member
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    I lost 1% in 15 days. Today is day 15 and just finished my weight and measurements :). I have 5% more to go
  • fShaw86
    fShaw86 Posts: 878 Member
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    Wow however did you do that? Way to go, so much awesomeness! Are you on P90X or Insanity?

    I lost only 1.5% in 2 months. Not too impressive! :ohwell:
  • refuseresist
    refuseresist Posts: 934 Member
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    From what I have read, eat at a deficit, up your protein and lift heavy weights seems to be the general advice
  • ladytinkerbell99
    ladytinkerbell99 Posts: 970 Member
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    You both ROCK!! I mean that. I have lost weight and yet my BF% does not move.
    I tend to get so sad at times.

    Due to injuries I cannot do too much strength training - so I am a cardio bunny!!
    I keep trying with the weights. One day at a time.

    Thank you so much for posting. You both give me hope.

    Have a great weekend.:flowerforyou:
  • elainemorris1982
    elainemorris1982 Posts: 104 Member
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    I'm only started but I haven't eaten any take aways or fizzy drinks in the 15 days. My treat an odd day will be some chocolate. I also don't drink alcohol. I am only able to walk for exercise as I'm just over surgery but upping it each day and will start lifting light weights next week
  • fShaw86
    fShaw86 Posts: 878 Member
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    ^Wow good job! I'm gonna find it tricky to not eat the occasional junk, gotta do it though! Also, lol I'm a teetotaler :)
    You both ROCK!! I mean that. I have lost weight and yet my BF% does not move.
    I tend to get so sad at times.

    Due to injuries I cannot do too much strength training - so I am a cardio bunny!!
    I keep trying with the weights. One day at a time.

    Thank you so much for posting. You both give me hope.

    Have a great weekend.

    You are so sweet! Thank you for the encouragement! I feel like it's going really slow, so totally gonna up those workouts and be really dedicated about what I eat!

    @refuseresist, I'll try eating at a deficit, I'm sure that'll work lol :)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    You both ROCK!! I mean that. I have lost weight and yet my BF% does not move.
    I tend to get so sad at times.

    Due to injuries I cannot do too much strength training - so I am a cardio bunny!!
    I keep trying with the weights. One day at a time.

    Thank you so much for posting. You both give me hope.

    Have a great weekend.:flowerforyou:

    being a cardio bunny is what is keeping your BF% high
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    eat at a deficit, up your protein and lift heavy weights

    correct
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    One thing to keep in mind is that the early quick loss a lot of us experience is largely water, so if you get a BF% done before starting a diet it will probably be lower than a reading you would get after losing your first 5 pounds. All the studies I have seen show the vast majority of weight lost is fat if you have fat stores available (like over 20%). Maybe yarwell will come along and post that graph he has from some studies or you could search his posts to find it. Anyway, if you are overweight the answer is simple - eat at a deficit, lose weight and you will lower your BF%.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    5'1", weigh around 123 lbs, body fat 32%.
    If you lose 1 lb/week for 3 weeks that would be around 1% off the body fat number.
  • spetermann190
    spetermann190 Posts: 289 Member
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    From what I have read, eat at a deficit, up your protein and lift heavy weights seems to be the general advice

    This is what I am trying ... Unfortunately the first 7-8% much easier for me to lose them the last 2-3% ... But then I am having difficulty giving up my vices (mostly beer) to get to my goal ... Everything has a price ... Just not willing to pay it ... Yet :)
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    being a cardio bunny is what is keeping your BF% high
    I strongly disagree. I dropped my BF% from over 35% to under 24% doing nothing but cardio and dieting. If you said you need more than cardio to get it really low then I might agree. But cardio will not keep it high.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    This is what I am trying ... Unfortunately the first 7-8% much easier for me to lose them the last 2-3% ... But then I am having difficulty giving up my vices (mostly beer) to get to my goal ... Everything has a price ... Just not willing to pay it ... Yet :)

    i agree! i like cake and wine too much to get the amount of definition i want on my stomach.... plus i was starting to get more wrinkly as my face got more lean... :sad:
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I lost 8% in 3.5 months but I'm at 32% now so I know it's going to be harder. I mostly lift weights (les mills pump) twice a week, and walk for an hour the other days, and try to eat 110g of protein a day (emphasis on try lol).
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,949 Member
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    being a cardio bunny is what is keeping your BF% high
    I strongly disagree. I dropped my BF% from over 35% to under 24% doing nothing but cardio and dieting. If you said you need more than cardio to get it really low then I might agree. But cardio will not keep it high.
    Weight loss always lowers body fat, but utilizing weight resistance maintains more LBM than cardio alone.......but yeah you can lower your body fat just sitting on the couch all day.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    being a cardio bunny is what is keeping your BF% high
    I strongly disagree. I dropped my BF% from over 35% to under 24% doing nothing but cardio and dieting. If you said you need more than cardio to get it really low then I might agree. But cardio will not keep it high.
    Weight loss always lowers body fat, but utilizing weight resistance maintains more LBM than cardio alone.......but yeah you can lower your body fat just sitting on the couch all day.

    thats what i meant!
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 3,019 Member
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    This is what I am trying ... Unfortunately the first 7-8% much easier for me to lose them the last 2-3% ... But then I am having difficulty giving up my vices (mostly beer) to get to my goal ... Everything has a price ... Just not willing to pay it ... Yet :)

    i agree! i like cake and wine too much to get the amount of definition i want on my stomach.... plus i was starting to get more wrinkly as my face got more lean... :sad:

    good to know it's just not me! i noticed too the more lean i got the more i noticed wrinkles in my face!

    are u sure your bf% is correct, that seems high for you height and weight. i am 5.2 ft and when i was 122-125lbs i was about 24-25% i know everyone is different but i wasn't even that high when i was 142 lbs... go on fat2fit to get a rough estimate, use the military calculator...

    my weight and bf has come off very very slow, so don't think you are alone. it's frustrating. i am pretty much at a goal weight, well where my body seems to like to stay at. so i am working on the last few % f bf to come off... i think you may want to decrease your cardio to maybe 3 days a week.
  • bunbunzee44
    bunbunzee44 Posts: 592 Member
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    mine dropped from 34% to 30.5% in two and half months, I joined the gym and I go there 2-3 times a week :3 I don't do a lot of cardio..
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    being a cardio bunny is what is keeping your BF% high
    I strongly disagree. I dropped my BF% from over 35% to under 24% doing nothing but cardio and dieting. If you said you need more than cardio to get it really low then I might agree. But cardio will not keep it high.
    Weight loss always lowers body fat, but utilizing weight resistance maintains more LBM than cardio alone.......but yeah you can lower your body fat just sitting on the couch all day.

    thats what i meant!
    According to my calculations, about 38 pounds of 50 lost was fat. I am not sure how you decide what the split is between water and LBM for the rest of it. Anyway, my loss with just cardio was over 75% fat. I think that most people will mostly lose fat if they have it. A pound of fat will provide 3500 calories; a pound of muscle just 600.

    I am also doing a lot of resistance work as I get closer to goal because I want to reshape my upper body a bit.
  • fyeter
    fyeter Posts: 3 Member
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    I have always exercised regularly fro years but never could get that 6 pack definition. 6 weeks ago I started 169 lbs. 4 weeks ago I was 167.5 lbs and body fat 16%. Yesterday was 6 weeks since I started counting my calories, targeted creating 400- 500 cal/day deficit (daily goal is 1600 cal net). Distributing these 1600 cal/day by 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, 20% fat.
    Lifting weights and doing cardio total of 90 min/day for 3 days a week. I have been recording everything I eat...after doing all these, I got measured yesterday:

    Dropped from 169 lbs to 163.5 lbs (In 6 weeks)
    Dropped from 16% body fat to 12% (In 4 weeks)
    My goal is to drop down to 9% so I can see my 6 packs:)) I know the last 3% will be much tougher now, but I have the nutrition and exercise data that I have been recording, so I can look at it and do some modifications as I go....

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