Is there some magic way to lower body fat??
Replies
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Yeah. There is actually.
Its called 'Eating Less Fat'.
erm..no....my diet includes plenty of fat daily & I maintain my bf % at under 18%
Oh for goodness sake. There obviously is no 'magic' way to reduce body fat, but eating less of it is a good place to start (I was being ironic.....?.....)
unlikely it's a good place to start in someone who already has a healthy body fat percentage after successfully losing a bunch of weight already. The OP's already eating less than she burns off or she wouldn't have been successful at losing the fat she's lost already. So eating less fat actually isn't good advice at all. Eating relativley more protein and doing a heavy lifting programme is probably better advice, along with ensuring that her calorie deficit is small enough to not risk the loss of lean tissue (maintaining lean tissue while burning fat is what's necessary in order to reduce the body fat percentage)0 -
Yeah. There is actually.
Its called 'Eating Less Fat'.
Actually it's just "Eating Less." Fat is good for you.
Misleading and wrongly interpreted. The question was how to reduce body fat, not whether fat is unhealthy.
Eating fat does not automatically lead to fat storage in the body. Eating more calories than you burn off is what leads to fat storage, even if you eat no fat at all. Surplus calories are stored as fat, so it's the total amount of calories you eat that counts, not what percentage of them come from fat. If you burn off more than you eat, it could be all fat and you'll still lose fat (although there's a risk of losing muscle too if you're not getting enough protein). You need to eat less overall, as the person above said. Stay within your calorie goal and you can eat fat and still lose fat.
OP: eat less than you burn off, ensure you're getting a balanced diet including plenty of protein, and do exercise that works the muscles hard. What you need to aim for is to preserve your muscle mass and bone density, while burning off just fat. You do that with a small calorie deficit plus adequate protein and working your muscles hard (heavy lifting is usually what's recommended but bodyweight exercise programmes can also work for this). As your body fat percentage is within the healthy range (18-28% for women) you need to take the fat loss slowly, because you're more at risk of losing muscle mass along with the fat than someone who's carrying too much body fat (which isn't you, btw, you're at the high end of the healthy range). It may be slow but the important thing is that you're burning just fat and nothing else.
TY - appreciate the help on this :-)0 -
Yeah. There is actually.
Its called 'Eating Less Fat'.
erm..no....my diet includes plenty of fat daily & I maintain my bf % at under 18%
Oh for goodness sake. There obviously is no 'magic' way to reduce body fat, but eating less of it is a good place to start (I was being ironic.....?.....)
No, it was not a good place to start. It shows a lack of understanding about basic nutrition. Dietary fat is incredibly important to healthy cellular function and a myriad of other systems. Telling someone to eat less fat to lose fat is a concept that is antiquated and was debunked after the '80s when they finally realized it was dangerous.
So you essentially recommended a not-so-healthy diet.0 -
"Short" answer...
1. Eat as "clean" as possible
1A. low fats, controlled carbs, suggested higher protein intake
2. Weight training so that your body can burn any stored fat while you are not working out
3. Cardio in the proper heat rate range <KEY TO EXELERATED BODY FAT % LOSS>
3A. yes it says key but it is pointless without the other things so focus on them also.
Worst answer yet.0 -
Yeah. There is actually.
Its called 'Eating Less Fat'.
erm..no....my diet includes plenty of fat daily & I maintain my bf % at under 18%
Oh for goodness sake. There obviously is no 'magic' way to reduce body fat, but eating less of it is a good place to start (I was being ironic.....?.....)
unlikely it's a good place to start in someone who already has a healthy body fat percentage after successfully losing a bunch of weight already. The OP's already eating less than she burns off or she wouldn't have been successful at losing the fat she's lost already. So eating less fat actually isn't good advice at all. Eating relativley more protein and doing a heavy lifting programme is probably better advice, along with ensuring that her calorie deficit is small enough to not risk the loss of lean tissue (maintaining lean tissue while burning fat is what's necessary in order to reduce the body fat percentage)
This was more or less what I was looking for - thank you for your response :-)0 -
"Short" answer...
1. Eat as "clean" as possible
1A. low fats, controlled carbs, suggested higher protein intake
2. Weight training so that your body can burn any stored fat while you are not working out
3. Cardio in the proper heat rate range <KEY TO EXELERATED BODY FAT % LOSS>
3A. yes it says key but it is pointless without the other things so focus on them also.
stahp it.
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Yeah. There is actually.
Its called 'Eating Less Fat'.
erm..no....my diet includes plenty of fat daily & I maintain my bf % at under 18%
Oh for goodness sake. There obviously is no 'magic' way to reduce body fat, but eating less of it is a good place to start (I was being ironic.....?.....)
No-It's not a good place to start.
No-That's not what ironic means.0 -
If you're doing cardio regularly then add in two days of strength training (I do body pump at my local Y two days a week and it's killer). My body fat went down from 23% to 20.7% in two months after adding in two days of weight training, but of course you need to make sure you don't do two days of weight lifting in a row. Do cardio days between or rest days.
Not necessarily will eating less fat do it, but a lot tends to be in how you eat... watch your sodium intake for water retention too. Don't get rid of your favorite foods, and to be honest, DO eat the things you enjoy, but in MODERATION. Fun fact, I also have a cheat day once a week and it hasn't hurt my body at all. I hate the word DIET. It's a life style change, eat everything you enjoy, but LESS of it in smaller controlled portions. It's harder to fall off the boat when you are still eating the things you enjoy. Add a few more veggies, meat, and dairy items into your daily regimen of food. And it's okay to snack. I have three snacks throughout the day and it keeps me from over eating. I currently have an apple, cocoa almonds, and popcorn for my three snacks set aside for today
Hope this helps!
Oh and feel free to up your protein. That helped me tone quite a bit too! I try to aim for 100 grams a day 0 -
But it's firmly rooted in nutritional broscience. LOL."Short" answer...
1. Eat as "clean" as possible
1A. low fats, controlled carbs, suggested higher protein intake
2. Weight training so that your body can burn any stored fat while you are not working out
3. Cardio in the proper heat rate range <KEY TO EXELERATED BODY FAT % LOSS>
3A. yes it says key but it is pointless without the other things so focus on them also.
Worst answer yet.0 -
Why should I eat less fat? Fat is my favorite macro.0
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Yeah. There is actually.
Its called 'Eating Less Fat'.
I can say eating less "fat" won't make any difference if you are not in a calorie deficit overall. Dietary fat does not make you fat, a calorie surplus does.0 -
Ok, not magic, but what has worked for you guys?
Just had my body fat % measured yesterday and even though I have taken off 30+ lbs I am coming in at 27% body fat...not very happy about that number and wondering what is the trick to getting it down to the low to mid 20's at least?
Is it in the macros??
% of cardio vs. strength??
Water consumption??
Or is it just a waiting game if you are doing things the slow and steady and healthy way?
Any advice?
How did you get your body fat % measured? Virtually every measurement method sucks. Bad. Like chances are they aren't even close bad.
If you lost 30 lbs, what you were doing was working just fine. By looking at your ticker, it appears that your arbitratirly chosen weight number goal was a poor choice.
Strength training will help to preserve as much muscle mass as possible, which increases the rate of BF% loss with weight loss.0 -
Ok, not magic, but what has worked for you guys?
Just had my body fat % measured yesterday and even though I have taken off 30+ lbs I am coming in at 27% body fat...not very happy about that number and wondering what is the trick to getting it down to the low to mid 20's at least?
Is it in the macros??
% of cardio vs. strength??
Water consumption??
Or is it just a waiting game if you are doing things the slow and steady and healthy way?
Any advice?
How did you get your body fat % measured? Virtually every measurement method sucks. Bad. Like chances are they aren't even close bad.
If you lost 30 lbs, what you were doing was working just fine. By looking at your ticker, it appears that your arbitratirly chosen weight number goal was a poor choice.
Strength training will help to preserve as much muscle mass as possible, which increases the rate of BF% loss with weight loss.
We have to do a health assessment for insurance purposes at work - and he measured using one of the hand held devices.
I definitely lost 30 lbs - and did so by first changing my way of eating, and then adding in exercise.
In your opinion, why was my weight loss goal incorrect?? What should it have been?
My current status is this:
Running 4-5 x's a week - currently training for a half marathon in February - so for example my total miles this week will be 20
Strength 2x's a week - following NROLFW - very new to this, as before I used Jillian Michael's DVD's for any strength training
My TDEE on a rest day is 1,514
And my diary is open - calories range from 1,300-1,800 depending on the day
I try to stay in a small deficit - but am confused on how big/small the deficit should be at this point in the game0 -
*THIS*!!0
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Calories you burn>calories you eat.
The magic ingredients are consistency and patience.0 -
Ok, not magic, but what has worked for you guys?
Just had my body fat % measured yesterday and even though I have taken off 30+ lbs I am coming in at 27% body fat...not very happy about that number and wondering what is the trick to getting it down to the low to mid 20's at least?
Is it in the macros??
% of cardio vs. strength??
Water consumption??
Or is it just a waiting game if you are doing things the slow and steady and healthy way?
Any advice?
How did you get your body fat % measured? Virtually every measurement method sucks. Bad. Like chances are they aren't even close bad.
If you lost 30 lbs, what you were doing was working just fine. By looking at your ticker, it appears that your arbitratirly chosen weight number goal was a poor choice.
Strength training will help to preserve as much muscle mass as possible, which increases the rate of BF% loss with weight loss.
We have to do a health assessment for insurance purposes at work - and he measured using one of the hand held devices.
I definitely lost 30 lbs - and did so by first changing my way of eating, and then adding in exercise.
In your opinion, why was my weight loss goal incorrect?? What should it have been?
My current status is this:
Running 4-5 x's a week - currently training for a half marathon in February - so for example my total miles this week will be 20
Strength 2x's a week - following NROLFW - very new to this, as before I used Jillian Michael's DVD's for any strength training
My TDEE on a rest day is 1,514
And my diary is open - calories range from 1,300-1,800 depending on the day
I try to stay in a small deficit - but am confused on how big/small the deficit should be at this point in the game
Handheld body fat % measuring devices are largely worthless, and become less accurate the leaner and more in shape you are. It told you 27%, you could be 17% or 37%, or anywhere in-between.
Clearly you are displeased with where you are currently if you are asking this question while it appears you have reached your goal weight. One of the main drawbacks of a goal weight is that it says nothing about body composition, weight is a poor measure of body composition. Very few people pick a goal weight that is both achievable and in line with what their expectations of physique at that weight. It helps to have body composition goals (visible abs for example), the just toss weight goals out the window.
Everything you are doing seems good. Keep going to reach a lower body fat %.
The size of deficit doesn't play much role except for how long it is sustainable. Small deficits are slow going and require patience, but they also are easier to stick to and allow for more consistency. Things move fast on big deficits, but life is miserable and you need frequent breaks and refeeds to keep things sustainable (not true when obese, you won't need the breaks or refeeds when obese).0 -
Ok, not magic, but what has worked for you guys?
Just had my body fat % measured yesterday and even though I have taken off 30+ lbs I am coming in at 27% body fat...not very happy about that number and wondering what is the trick to getting it down to the low to mid 20's at least?
Is it in the macros??
% of cardio vs. strength??
Water consumption??
Or is it just a waiting game if you are doing things the slow and steady and healthy way?
Any advice?
How did you get your body fat % measured? Virtually every measurement method sucks. Bad. Like chances are they aren't even close bad.
If you lost 30 lbs, what you were doing was working just fine. By looking at your ticker, it appears that your arbitratirly chosen weight number goal was a poor choice.
Strength training will help to preserve as much muscle mass as possible, which increases the rate of BF% loss with weight loss.
We have to do a health assessment for insurance purposes at work - and he measured using one of the hand held devices.
I definitely lost 30 lbs - and did so by first changing my way of eating, and then adding in exercise.
In your opinion, why was my weight loss goal incorrect?? What should it have been?
My current status is this:
Running 4-5 x's a week - currently training for a half marathon in February - so for example my total miles this week will be 20
Strength 2x's a week - following NROLFW - very new to this, as before I used Jillian Michael's DVD's for any strength training
My TDEE on a rest day is 1,514
And my diary is open - calories range from 1,300-1,800 depending on the day
I try to stay in a small deficit - but am confused on how big/small the deficit should be at this point in the game
Handheld body fat % measuring devices are largely worthless, and become less accurate the leaner and more in shape you are. It told you 27%, you could be 17% or 37%, or anywhere in-between.
Clearly you are displeased with where you are currently if you are asking this question while it appears you have reached your goal weight. One of the main drawbacks of a goal weight is that it says nothing about body composition, weight is a poor measure of body composition. Very few people pick a goal weight that is both achievable and in line with what their expectations of physique at that weight. It helps to have body composition goals (visible abs for example), the just toss weight goals out the window.
Everything you are doing seems good. Keep going to reach a lower body fat %.
The size of deficit doesn't play much role except for how long it is sustainable. Small deficits are slow going and require patience, but they also are easier to stick to and allow for more consistency. Things move fast on big deficits, but life is miserable and you need frequent breaks and refeeds to keep things sustainable (not true when obese, you won't need the breaks or refeeds when obese).
Thank you for all the info
I appreciate it
One other question, if the hand held devices are not really reliable is there a better way to measure BF%?
Because I think that BF% is probably the best way to gauge progress from this point forward.0 -
One other question, if the hand held devices are not really reliable is there a better way to measure BF%?
Because I think that BF% is probably the best way to gauge progress from this point forward.
DEXA scans are better, but can be cost-prohibitive for many. Same thing with hyrdotank testing (blanking on the actual name at the moment). All methods have flaws and ultimately are just estimations.
I can't remember who said it, because I'd love to give them credit for this... Replacing weight with BF% is just replacing one number with another number. Wouldn't the best way to gauge progress be liking what you see in the mirror, and how you feel?0 -
One other question, if the hand held devices are not really reliable is there a better way to measure BF%?
Because I think that BF% is probably the best way to gauge progress from this point forward.
DEXA scans are better, but can be cost-prohibitive for many. Same thing with hyrdotank testing (blanking on the actual name at the moment). All methods have flaws and ultimately are just estimations.
I can't remember who said it, because I'd love to give them credit for this... Replacing weight with BF% is just replacing one number with another number. Wouldn't the best way to gauge progress be liking what you see in the mirror, and how you feel?
That is a great way to look at it...I like it :-)0 -
One other question, if the hand held devices are not really reliable is there a better way to measure BF%?
Because I think that BF% is probably the best way to gauge progress from this point forward.
While the formulas for converting to BF% are questionable at best...
Tape measures are extremely effective measures of progress. Directly measure problem areas to see if they are improving.
The issue with the formulas is that everyone is different. The measurement methodology is sound though, for everyone there exists a formula that converts measurements and weight to BF%, it just custom and unique to you. But you don't really need to know it, BF% is just a number, you don't need it to gauge progress.0 -
I agree with using a tape measure. Waist is a good indicator. Or a calipers will give you a rough percent. You can buy them cheap.
One other question, if the hand held devices are not really reliable is there a better way to measure BF%?
Because I think that BF% is probably the best way to gauge progress from this point forward.0
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