best way for me to reduce body fat.

lin7604

i have pretty much hit my goal weight wise. I am still trying to lose some body fat, i am currently about 22-23% and i'd love to be 20-21% max. i did clx ( chalean extreme) to work on building some mucle and keeping my lean muscle mass as everyone told me i needed to lift to lose body fat especially when you are close to goal. I was losing some and was getting some nice definition but i still seemed to have this fat layer over my lower belly that i want gone! SO i started focus t25 to get more cardio in to hopefully burn that last bit off and start showing muscle. when i am done it , i will go back to clx and do a hybird of the 3 till the end of the year to hopefully where i will be at my goal . what can u suggest is the best way to reduce that body fat.. is what i am doing a good way to hit my goal by the end of the year? It seem so many seem to be able to reach their goals so much easier and quicker then i do, it has not been a easy road. This oct will be 2 years into this.

ritchiedrama

Well the simple answer is, whether you are at your ideal weight or not (for you)..

To lower body fat, you're going to have to lower weight, but if you're as close as you say you are, its only a few lbs at maximum for the desired look.

Cardio is not needed, just optional.

Heavy strength training 3x a week (subjective obviously, heavy is as heavy as you can).

and the correct amount of calories to drop 1 lb a week.

lin7604

well i assume i am near my ideal weight,lol. i am 5.2 ft and 115 lbs. ( bounce from 114.8 - 116.5) right now. my goal was 115 and i thought when i got to it i would be happy with how i looked but my lower belly is just hanging onto that last bit of fat! ugh... that is the only area i am really unhappy with still. so if i stuck to strength training 3 days a week how long do you think it will take me to get there, it seems to be so slow... ( well anything i do seems to take forever)... i am eating 15-1600 cals daily. i was doing tdee - 10-15% max.

ritchiedrama

well i assume i am near my ideal weight,lol. i am 5.2 ft and 115 lbs. ( bounce from 114.8 - 116.5) right now. my goal was 115 and i thought when i got to it i would be happy with how i looked but my lower belly is just hanging onto that last bit of fat! ugh... that is the only area i am really unhappy with still. so if i stuck to strength training 3 days a week how long do you think it will take me to get there, it seems to be so slow... ( well anything i do seems to take forever)... i am eating 15-1600 cals daily. i was doing tdee - 10-15% max.

Well it's good that you're eating 1500-1600 calories daily, that means you have some small room to drop them slightly. You could lower them a bit to get this last bit of fat gone, I wouldn't recommend more than 1 lb a week loss though at this level of bodyfat.

3x a week training won't have the effect on your body, the diet will - the 3x a week training will just keep your muscle mass from going anywhere.

lin7604

man reducing cals... that is going to be hard! i was trying 1400 before to help lose this fat and i found i was always going over b/c i was so hungry.. ugh do you think that if i keep doing what i am doing i will eventually get there, even if it takes a longer time frame? or is it a lost cause? oh an dhow much more weight do you think i will need to lose then?

ritchiedrama

man reducing cals... that is going to be hard! i was trying 1400 before to help lose this fat and i found i was always going over b/c i was so hungry.. ugh do you think that if i keep doing what i am doing i will eventually get there, even if it takes a longer time frame? or is it a lost cause?

There is no such thing as a lost cause.

I was down to 4 days a week of 1350 calories during my cut.

Although my three training days were 1950 calories.

The key to doing it is keeping protein and vegetables high to keep your satiated. It's ONLY a short period of time remember that, if you're as close as you say you are its like a month, maximum.

One thing I was taught by someone over at bodybuilding.com - if you want to be better than average, and leaner than average, you need to prepare to be hungry.

lin7604

humm good quote... not sure if i am willing to be hungry to get there? i don't know! I looked at weight for my height and it said 110 was the lowest i should go for my med build, so that is why i chose 115, which i have maintained since jan. but to drop lower i don't know. and if the only way i will lose more body fat is by dropping more weight......, i don' t know what to do????

ritchiedrama

humm good quote... not sure if i am willing to be hungry to get there? i don't know! I looked at weight for my height and it said 110 was the lowest i should go for my med build, so that is why i chose 115, which i have maintained since jan. but to drop lower i don't know. and if the only way i will lose more body fat is by dropping more weight......, i don' t know what to do????

There is no such thing as a lowest weight, i assume you're looking at a BMI chart or something - that doesn't mean anything. You could alternatively work on bulking now and gain some muscle (and fat, how much depends on how much of a surplus you are in) - and then cut back down later and you'd have more muscle mass so you'd be a higher weight at the same bodyfat percentage - if you understand?

I mean, I'm male and 5'6 and I dropped all the way to 140 lbs, and I needed to go lower, but I didn't.

lin7604

but i don't want to be the same body fat? i want that fat off my lower belly gone, so wouldn't that mean i need to be at a lower body fat ?

ritchiedrama

but i don't want to be the same body fat? i want that fat off my lower belly gone, so wouldn't that mean i need to be at a lower body fat ?

What I meant by that was, you could effectively right now, bulk up a bit, gain some mass - then cut to the same bodyfat you are now at a HIGHER weight, meaning to lose the last bit of fat, you'd end up cuttiing down to the weight you were at previously (or close to)

does that make more sense?

lin7604

i guess so, lol this bulking and cutting stuff really confuses me. well most of this weight loss stuff doesn't. i have had such a hard time with it as everyone gives such different advice, you never know what is best for you and what will work best. my thyroid issues plays a huge roll in making this so much harder for me, so when one suggests to bulk up, i get why but i know it will be so much harder to lose it after... so the stress of that alone doesn't make it appealing..

SadFaerie

If you're feeling hungry on low cal diet, overeat to prevent overeating. Just overeat wisely, pick low calorie vegetables. There's really only so much of lettuce or steamed broccoli you can eat, and it'll give your stomach something to work on. Steamed cauliflower can come in dozen tastes, if you fool around with spices. Just some ideas.

lin7604

true ther eis always a way to get your self full by going over your cals with the right foods. I am more concerned about bulking and having a harder time losing it after b/c of my thyroid issue. ( it took me a year to lose 20 lbs, it was a struggle)

ritchiedrama

My suggestion to you would be to cut lower than you are now then.

lin7604

so back to 1400 gross? i was just told by so many i wasn't eating enough before especially when i was lifting with clx as i wasn't feeding my muscles?

ritchiedrama

so back to 1400 gross? i was just told by so many i wasn't eating enough before especially when i was lifting with clx as i wasn't feeding my muscles?

If you are getting 1g of protein per bodyweight, your muscles will be fine.

I see lots of women (lifters) who have to go below 1400 calories, 1400 isn't even _that_ low - if your weight isn't dropping at current calories, just remove 50 calories from each day, track, see what happens etc.

lin7604

is it per body weight or lean muscle mass? if it's per body weight i am lacking but i get most of the time per lean muscle mass....

ritchiedrama

is it per body weight or lean muscle mass? if it's per body weight i am lacking but i get most of the time per lean muscle mass....

either should suffice, i choose per bodyweight just because i can't be short.

lin7604

ok back down to 1400 cals it is. gosh, why is this so hard sigh....

ritchiedrama

ok back down to 1400 cals it is. gosh, why is this so hard sigh....

As cheesy as it sounds, everything worth getting to in life is hard. That's why I stopped dropping weight, it was hard, and I'll do it next time when I've gained more mass instead.

lin7604

ok, i changed my cals on mfp to 1450 for now and then i'll drop to 1400..

ritchiedrama

Make sure you give it 3-4 weeks,, track it, be strict with your calories and see what happens, no weekend binging etc..

lin7604

i will give it till the end of t25, i am starting the next phase which is 5 weeks. I was good at staying under yesterday, so that was a good start. just not sure when i will drop from 1450 to 1400 yet, haven't decided that yet. Weekends are good for me, i don't binge... i usually have a small items daily to keep myself on track. ( not necessary junk but not clean) This weekend will be off as we are going out of town and i will be eating out for 2 days, so i will do my best but after that i will no issues as there are no outing planned as summer holidays will be done.