How much weight should I lose?

js8181

I'm at 180 now, 5'6"
I'd like to have more definition in my abs. I know you lose fat randomly, and can't target, I'm just saying that that's my overall goal.

NoAnalHere

You could be x (lower) amount of weight with a higher body fat and not be satisfied visually.

You could be y (higher) amount of weight with lower body fat and be visually satisfied.

I'm not saying gain or lose weight (plus this Internet stranger doesn't really know how much you should lose) but I'd advise on lowering body fat percentage for the visually idea you may or may not be going for. If losing overall fat is your goal then body fat percentage would be your target regardless of a weight number right?

vespiquenn

Abs require a low body fat percentage. Eat in a deficit, strength train, and they might appear. Even then, genetics play a huge role. But judging by the pictures, you shouldn't have an issue, at least while flexing, because they already can be seen even with a higher body fat %.

With that being said, I'm more questioning why every few months you seem to pop up with pictures and are given the same advice over and over. Not sure what you're expecting that is new? Have you been following the advice given?

subcounter

Abs are simply indicators of your body fat percentage, not a scale on how healthy you are. That being said, you don't seem to have a high percentage yourself, so I would recommend 0.5lb/week kind of approach where you retain most of the muscles mass, and lose the fat. You can work your abs to let them pop earlier but honestly, its kind of up to your luck. Some people have visible abs in much higher fat percentage vs others.

js8181

vespiquenn wrote: »

Abs require a low body fat percentage. Eat in a deficit, strength train, and they might appear. Even then, genetics play a huge role. But judging by the pictures, you shouldn't have an issue, at least while flexing, because they already can be seen even with a higher body fat %.

With that being said, I'm more questioning why every few months you seem to pop up with pictures and are given the same advice over and over. Not sure what you're expecting that is new? Have you been following the advice given?

Maybe I'm in the wrong section. Just looking for encouragement. I mean, the pictures are different, they show change (I hope!) I've been following a routine, and I just want to check in with the community.

From last summer until around the holidays I'd been strength training and trying to bulk. Now I'm trying to cut, but I don't want to lose the muscle I already have. And I have limited time to workout, so if I have to prioritize, say, 40 minutes of cardio, and only 10 minutes of lifting, I am hoping that would still bring some results, but IDK>

vespiquenn

js8181 wrote: »

vespiquenn wrote: »

Abs require a low body fat percentage. Eat in a deficit, strength train, and they might appear. Even then, genetics play a huge role. But judging by the pictures, you shouldn't have an issue, at least while flexing, because they already can be seen even with a higher body fat %.

With that being said, I'm more questioning why every few months you seem to pop up with pictures and are given the same advice over and over. Not sure what you're expecting that is new? Have you been following the advice given?

Maybe I'm in the wrong section. Just looking for encouragement. I mean, the pictures are different, they show change (I hope!) I've been following a routine, and I just want to check in with the community.

From last summer until around the holidays I'd been strength training and trying to bulk. Now I'm trying to cut, but I don't want to lose the muscle I already have. And I have limited time to workout, so if I have to prioritize, say, 40 minutes of cardio, and only 10 minutes of lifting, I am hoping that would still bring some results, but IDK>

If you're looking to cut while preserving muscle, the answer is not to prioritize cardio to lifting. That could have the opposite affect. Eat in a deficit, continue to lift, and add in cardio if you chose. But don't prioritize it over lifting if your goal is muscle mass.

js8181

Been trying to eat right, and do more lifting/strength training. Unfortunately, while doing squats a couple months ago, I felt a sharp pain in my right knee, and I had to stop doing lower body exercises for a while, which sucks because those are your biggest muscle groups of course. Working my way back on that end, while trying to regularly break 40 pushups in a row. I usually can do 30-35 unless i'm REALLY hyped and then I can go further. Same with front grip pullups--I can do about 5 in a row now, 2-3 sets. But I'd love to get up to 10, or more than 3 sets of 5.
Here are photos. I'm 5'6" and 187 pounds...

mulecanter

We have similar muscle builds, go for the healthy BMI range and you will see abs--guaranteed.

tirowow12385

Go down to 170, you'll see some hint of abdominals.