When you drop down BodyFat%

Slumza

Normally when you drop down bodyfat% when your in the 25-20 range you are happy but still you still think your body can look better. So this is what I was wondering when you drop your bodyfat from the 17-10 range do you notice more of a bigger satisfying change or what? And does it really take that long to drop bodyfat when your in the 17-10 range?

watfordjc

I'm currently around 20.5% body fat if I haven't lost any lean mass since July.

My goal for my next Bod Pod assessment in two weeks is 19.9% (25.9% mid-July, goal of dropping 0.5 percentage points per week which is considered achievable) and so far I have usually gone beyond that weekly 0.5 percentage points weekly goal.

That is why 22 weeks ago I also added a "potentially perfect result" goal - for my last Bod Pod assessment that was a "perfect result" of having a body density of 1.042 kg/L (25.0%BF) compared to an achievable goal of 29.3%BF, and in 2 weeks a "perfect result" of 1.062 kg/L (16.1%BF) compared to an achievable goal of 19.9%BF.

Now, I'm 0.6 pounds away from my previous lightest weight, and have maintained my lean mass since December according to Bod Pod so I probably am around the same BF% as I was when I last weighed this much - my measurements compared to previous lightest weight in 2009 are identical except my hips which I'm possibly measuring differently, although I look fatter now in progress photos possibly because my diet is different and I haven't been lifting for as long; so I believe I can't comment on the 17-10%BF range using experience.

Having a look at my projections, however, a greater than 0.5 percentage point reduction in body fat percentage per week appears to be surpassable for me until around 13% body fat, at which point the predicted possible reduction in BF% starts getting smaller quicker, based on a deficit equal to 28.6474 calories per pound of body fat. But then from what I have read at that point the changes in appearance are more apparent for each 1 percentage point drop in body fat percent, and below 10%BF the appearance changes are even more dramatic.

To put some numbers on it, 20% to 15% could theoretically take me 7-8 weeks, 15% to 10% could take me 11-12 weeks, and 10% to 5% could take me 27-28 weeks (not that I plan on going that low, 8.5%BF is my goal although I might decide to aim for 7%BF just so I have an idea of what I look like at different body fat levels with similar lean mass). It is probably easier dropping BF% lower at some point by adding some lean mass and dropping a little body fat than just trying to lose body fat.

Having said all that, it might be appropriate to make comparisons based on percentage differences rather than percentage point differences. Someone going from 25%BF to 20%BF is mathematically 20% less fat. 20%BF to 15%BF is 25% less fat, and 15%BF to 10%BF is 33% less fat. At 255.5 lb I was 46.5%BF so at 189.6 lb and 25.9%BF I was 44.3% less fat (a 20.6 percentage point drop), which is a dramatic change but I still have body fat to lose. Going from 25.9%BF to 8.5%BF will be a 67% reduction in body fat (and a 17.4 percentage point drop) - a dramatic relative total body fat difference as well as seeing progress transitioning from "being less fat" to "being more defined", but "slower" in terms of dropping percentage points.

TL;DR: As well as it being more noticeable when more muscle definition is the main visible change (rather than fat areas slowly reducing in size), the relative change in total body fat is greater per percentage point reduction the leaner you are. Because of that I will say the change is a "bigger satisfying" one even if the relative change in body fat remains constant throughout (and thus with percentage point reductions slowing the leaner you get).