How fast can you lose Body Fat percentage?

jmsutton3
jmsutton3 Posts: 4 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm a 5 foot 6, 30 year old, 222 lb man, and I want to lose about 20-25lbs. I've always been very stocky, very thick, and when I have lifted in the past I always put on weight fast.

I'm eating at roughly TDEE-20%, averaged between 3 different calculators, and three weeks ago the wife and I started a modified 5x5 program, both starting on the empty bar.

When we started, the Covert Bailey formula said my bodyfat was 26.4 percent, and when I took it today, it said 15 percent! I didn't believe it, so I took the measurements 3 more times and averaged them to 19 percent. The scale hasn't really moved, actually Trendweight says I've gained .8 lbs in the last three weeks.

Is it really possible to lose 6-7 percent bodyfat in just three weeks? That seems like a very fast rate to me.

ETA: I should also add we've added 30 minutes of cardio 3x per week to our training schedule as well. But that and the Stronglifts are the only changes.

Replies

  • mrsamanda86
    mrsamanda86 Posts: 869 Member
    That seems like a huge difference pretty quickly, I have no idea if it is possible or not though. I'm only 4'11 and started out at like just over 30% bf at the end of August and have lost about 5% as of this week. I haven't been on a hugely restrictive diet though, just staying within my calories for the most part and exercising 3-5 times a week. In that length of time I've also lost about 11 pounds.
  • aakaakaak
    aakaakaak Posts: 1,240 Member
    I would "guess" that the measurement system is off, or at least off from between the first time you measured and the last time. It's frequently better to get a visual assessment of body fat, as measurements can be fickle for various people. A couple folks in the Eat, Train, Progress group have a bodyfat estimation thread you might want to check out.

    Also, lifting in and of itself won't make you gain weight. It will give you more muscle over fat, but it won't cause weight gain. Eating more calories than you burn will do that. If you're not gaining and not losing you're eating at maintenance. To start losing weight you would need to eat less.
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
    I hate to have to break this to you OP but.....well...Come'on.....you know the answer to this already.

    It might be worth calling up your local university and seeing what they have available for bf% testing and doing it now as an initial then going back as you hit your goal weight to see the change. It usually averages around a hundred a pop for the test but you are paying for accuracy.
  • jmsutton3
    jmsutton3 Posts: 4 Member
    I used to use the hydrostatic bodyfat testing when I was more athletic and lived in a bigger city. Where I live now, the nearest facility is almost 2 hours away minimum. Sadly, it's the online calculators and the occasional calibers at the gym that I'm stuck with.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Online calculators are pretty close to worthless.

    Toward the beginning of the year, one told me I was 13% (I wish) while one told me I was 22% (uh, no...). I can't remember which was which. In either case, not everyone carries the bulk of their fat in the same place(s). As such, the calculators can't really tell you much of anything.
  • simsburyjet
    simsburyjet Posts: 999 Member
    I have used the gun and a scale for body fat.. I am 5'7 and weighed 188.. I was about 27 percent at that time.
    I now weigh 168 lbs and am at 23 percent body fat.. I have maintained this weight for 3 years and have added strength
    and insanity but still at 23 percent.. I think my high carb diet will keep me there.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    People put on weight in different places. It's possible you're measuring correctly, and the formula just doesn't apply to your body type. Or it's possible you're measuring incorrectly.

    In any case, averaging measurement methods doesn't provide an accurate result, especially when you're seeing such a wide variance. One or all are just wrong.

    I'd recommend looking at the photos for a reality check.

    Edit:
    body-fat-percentage-men.jpg
  • simsburyjet
    simsburyjet Posts: 999 Member
    I look much more like the 20 than the 25...
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    31.4 x pounds of total body fat is the maximum calorie deficit from fat per day.
  • Guinivere
    Guinivere Posts: 357 Member
    Oh I think. Just identified my ideal body type... 10-12% yum!

    My man is a slim toffee (quite a lot of visceral fat) and needs to lay off the beer or I will have to buy him bigger trousers - he looks more like the 20% guy.

    No chance of getting him doing more than his one hour of badminton each week and the occasional walk. He's so stubborn.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    31.4 x pounds of total body fat is the maximum calorie deficit from fat per day.

    never in history has anyone gotten near burning ~30 calories off every pound of fat they carried, daily... regardless of weight and BF%


    I know thats not what you're saying, but seriously... word that a bit better.... your gonna have the skinny fat annorexics eating like 600 calories because they think they can use a 600 calorie deficit with 20# of body fat..
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    31.4 x pounds of total body fat is the maximum calorie deficit from fat per day.

    never in history has anyone gotten near burning ~30 calories off every pound of fat they carried, daily... regardless of weight and BF%


    I know thats not what you're saying, but seriously... word that a bit better.... your gonna have the skinny fat annorexics eating like 600 calories because they think they can use a 600 calorie deficit with 20# of body fat..
    The question was "how fast can you lose body fat?" I gave the formula for the maximum calorie deficit from fat. Apply it however you'd like. I just stated a simple fact.

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