Best way to lose body fat?

rainbowbow

I'm going to ignore all the ridiculousness in this thread and answer the OP.

OP- You are trying to lose fat. Okay, Great!



You asked about ways to check you body fat percentage so it can be tracked.

Here are the following ways to check body fat that i would recommend personally.

1.) Dexa Scan. (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) can be done in a physicians office; most sports medicine facilities offer this service. It is probably the most accurate, but it's also the most expensive clocking in around $250.00. You also get to see a full-body picture of your organs, bones, fat, etc. which adds to the cool factor.

2.) Hydrostatic Weighing. This is the second most accurate and is also done in a physicians office/sports facility. It can be extremely uncomfortable as they literally dip you in water to determine body composition. This route is roughly $150.00.

3.) Calipers. This is one of the most accurate ways to track body fat percentage WITHOUT seeing a physician, although there IS room for human-error especially if the calipers you purchase are plastic and bendable. They will run you about $15.00.

4.) Bioelectric Impedance Analysis. This send an electrical current through your body to determine body composition. This can be found in a handheld meter (such as Omron) or in a digital scale. These are notoriously inaccurate especially if done at different times of the day or with water retention. The price will depend on the device you choose to you.

5.) Anthropometric. This is probably the most innacurate in my opinion for determining body fat HOWEVER it may be a good way to track progress regardless. Here's a website that you can do this at. All you need is measuring tape and a computer with the internet. http://www.linear-software.com/online.html



YAY! Now that you have that information let's talk about diet!

So for someone your height and weight your body takes around 2400-2800 calories to maintain it's weight on NON training days. Protip: Once you find out your body fat % you can use the Katch-McArdle formula to determine a more accurate calculation.

Let's talk about creating a deficit. You are currently in the "overweight" category for your height (again, this may/may not be true? Can't tell without your body fat %). I would suggest a MODEST calorie deficit of 20%. This would give you 1950 calories a day to lose roughly 1 pound of fat per week.

Why not eat less calories? Why not create as high of a deficit as possible? BECAUSE bro, you dont' want to lose ALL YOU GAINZ (muscle). You want to lose MOSTLY fat!



YOU MEAN I CAN LOSE MUSCLE?!?!? Confusing??!?!? No. Just consume enough calories for a moderate weight loss. This will help you reach your goal without losing excess muscle while cutting fat. It won't happen overnight, but the overall composition of your body will be greatly improved when you reach your goal weight.

I tried to look at your diary but i dont see anything logged. at all. You have your calories set too low AND you have your protein set too low. This is extremely important to make sure most of the weight you lose is fat as stated above. ^^^ You'll find the macros that best fit your needs but i have mine set to 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat. You can adjust this in your settings on MFP to reflect the new macro goal.

Now that you know how many calories you need to be eating, the macros you need to set it to, and preferably your body fat % you need to do the following. LOG. EVERY. DAY. CONSISTENTLY. measure your food out. Count all beverages, supplements, shakes, etc. You need to measure EVERYTHING you are consuming. Get this down accurately and you'll see the scale come down.



Let's talk about your exercise regimen!

Here are my suggestions.

1.) Stop doing SOOO much cardio. It's great for overall cardiac health, sure. It creates a calorie deficit and that's what i use it for. I'm already eating at a calorie deficit so there's no reason to make my deficit higher unless i have overeaten for the day or want some extra calories to eat a treat.

2.) Start lifting heavy. Compound lifts. Squats, deadlifts, bench press, Overhead press, Bent-over barbell rows, etc. A good place to start would be a preformed lifting routine such as Starting Strength or New Rules of Lifting or Stronglifts. Your workout should be 90-100% lifting heavy and 0-10% cardio. This will not only repair likely atrophied muscles but also help retain muscle mass while losing weight.

3.) Give your body enough time to rest. Hit the gym maybe 3-4 days a week. Running marathons 7x a week isn't helping as much as you think.

I could go on forever about how heavy lifting is more effective than cardio but i'll just leave it at the above.




YAY! Now do the above for 4-6 weeks and see where you are. This wont happen overnight. Give it time and track your progress daily, weekly, whatever works best for you. Track both your measurements, body fat and weight.

If you are still having issues "losing weight" head to the doctor's to make sure you don't have some underlying medical issue. This is of course after making sure you are 1.) not overestimating calorie burn in the gym. 2.) not underestimating how much you're consuming. 3.) tracking consistently and accurately. 4.) You've given it sufficient time to work.

hillarysmith21

Why is everyone being so harsh to OP? He's right, some bodies really are stubborn. And he sounds like he's doing a lot of work and meticulous calculations, so stop shutting him down with "you're eating more than you think you are".

OP, you're awesome, and maybe you've hit a plateau. I think you'll lose body fat soon enough if you are doing all the things you say.i was at a plateau for about a month once. Then one week, it just kicked right back in and I started losing again.