How long- Change in BF % ?

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kopmom
kopmom Posts: 491 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
How long does it usually take for someone to change their BF %. I am working out 6x a week (3x a week heavy lifting and 3x a week running average 5 miles) and eating clean.
I am curious how realistic I should expect a change in my BF %

Anyone have dates and stats they would be willing to share?

Replies

  • lustingforfitness
    lustingforfitness Posts: 74
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    I'm doing about the same as you so I would be very interested in hearing some feedback as well!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Got to goal weight in January.

    Body fat progress:
    Oct 25%, Nov 24%, Dec 23%, Feb 22.5%, Mar 21.5%

    Despite supposedly maintaining since January I'm actually losing roughly a pound a month. I'm 172lbs at the moment.

    Slow going but steady progress so I'm happy.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Are you eating at a deficit? How big?

    How much protein are you eating?
  • cristeberga
    cristeberga Posts: 251 Member
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    How long does it usually take for someone to change their BF %. I am working out 6x a week (3x a week heavy lifting and 3x a week running average 5 miles) and eating clean.
    I am curious how realistic I should expect a change in my BF %

    Great question! Lowering my BF% is my goal as well. If that is your picture in your profile, you look AWESOME!! :smile: Your BF% is probably at a good level already.
    Are you eating at a deficit? How big?

    How much protein are you eating?

    In my case, I weigh 102 pounds. I don't want to weigh less than that, but I still have a 20% BF. Do I still need to eat at a deficit to lower it? I probably need to gain some instead. By the way, I am 4'11".

    Thanks!
  • kopmom
    kopmom Posts: 491 Member
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    Are you eating at a deficit? How big?

    How much protein are you eating?

    Not sure I do not know my TDEE. I eat atleast 100g of protein a day since I am lifting heavy
  • fitandgeeky
    fitandgeeky Posts: 232 Member
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    I'd love to hear the answers as well since this is also one of my goals.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Figuring that out would be your first goal. How fast you lose is of course controlled by deficit.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Also, lowering body fat while not losing weight is pretty hard. This is why people do bulk and cut cycles instead.
  • Jellif1sh
    Jellif1sh Posts: 27 Member
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    Sorry for the somewhat obvious answer, but your nutrition will play a huge role in how quickly you see a change in your BF%.

    Lifting heavy is important, but at the same time you need to get adequate nutrition (protein and good fats) to build the lean muscle. If your goal is not necessarily to add muscle but to shred the fat, then you'll want to keep going with the cardio and reduce your carbs. You shouldn't be eating any processed sugary foods.

    But since you asked for numbers:

    It depends on what your BF is now, if you are in a healthy range, it might take a bit longer. I have dropped about 4-5% in a month on a VERY CLEAN diet (whole foods, 1 gram protein consumed daily per pound of body weigh, no cheat days) that includes weight training, cardio, and adequate rest days. I was at 27% when I started (which is higher end of "normal")

    If my diet is still clean but more relaxed, and I "slack" a bit on cardio, that number drops to about 0-1% in a month.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    I don't know my starting BF% but it had to be close to 30% Jan 1st. Feb 5th it was 25%. March 19 it was 19.8%. I have my goal of 14% set by July 1st.

    I like to add though, I exercise pretty intense. I've been know to put in 2400 cal burn days on occasion.
  • kopmom
    kopmom Posts: 491 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I did my BF last night and it said 26.4. This is my usual diet

    Breakfast at 8am - Low Carb small wrap, 3 Egg white with spinach and coffee
    Protein Shake at 10:30am - 1 cup of unsweet almond milk with 1 scoop of protein powder
    Lunch at 12:30 - 1 large piece of grilled chicken, half a avocado , a veg and brown rice
    Protein Shake at 2:30pm- 1 cup of unsweet almond milk with 1 scoop of protein powder
    Dinner at 5pm- 1 large piece of grilled chicken, half a avocado , a veg and brown rice or sweet potato
    Snack after dinner (if needed)- either a light and fit greek yogurt, or some almonds and chocolate chips
  • Jellif1sh
    Jellif1sh Posts: 27 Member
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    Your diet looks good, just watch your calories. Ironically, I find I do much better eating *more* than the 1200 calorie suggestion MFP gives you. If you're working out regularly and not seeing the results you expect, try to keep your calories hovered closer to 1500-1600 for a while (provided your diet is relatively "clean" or wholesome as yours seems to be) and see how that works for you. I stick to 1500-1700 while working out, no starchy carbs after 7pm, and that seems to work much better for me than 1200 calories.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    To figure that out, you have to figure out what your BF% is right now.

    Once you've determined that, take your total weight, and split it into fat and lean mass (the remainder).

    Then just play with the amount of fat weight you have to loose in order to acheive the percentage you want.

    For the record, you look great as you are :)
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    Sorry for the somewhat obvious answer, but your nutrition will play a huge role in how quickly you see a change in your BF%.

    Lifting heavy is important, but at the same time you need to get adequate nutrition (protein and good fats) to build the lean muscle. If your goal is not necessarily to add muscle but to shred the fat, then you'll want to keep going with the cardio and reduce your carbs. You shouldn't be eating any processed sugary foods.

    But since you asked for numbers:

    It depends on what your BF is now, if you are in a healthy range, it might take a bit longer. I have dropped about 4-5% in a month on a VERY CLEAN diet (whole foods, 1 gram protein consumed daily per pound of body weigh, no cheat days) that includes weight training, cardio, and adequate rest days. I was at 27% when I started (which is higher end of "normal")

    If my diet is still clean but more relaxed, and I "slack" a bit on cardio, that number drops to about 0-1% in a month.

    I agree with this. Keep an eye on those calories, diet is as important as exercise.

    The closer you get usually the smaller the deficit to balance. I'm in a cut period myself. we'll see what I measure in 6 weeks.
  • samcat2000
    samcat2000 Posts: 106 Member
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    Started MFP on Jan. 23, 2013. I'm 5'10" and female.

    My stats in January:
    SW: 158 lbs
    BF% (military): 33.9%*
    *I didn't know about BF% in January but had done all my measurements when I joined MFP...just plugged in my stats from Jan. to see what my military BF% was and sure was shocked!!

    My stats on April 22:
    CW: 142.2 lbs
    BF% (military): 24.8%

    Total Body Fat% Reduction in 90 days: 9%
    Weight lost: 16 lbs
    Inches lost (neck, waist, hips, thigh, upper arm): about 11"

    I probably need to get the skin caliper test to get a more accurate reading. I used the military body fat % calculator at www.fat2fitradio.com. I workout 5-6x week and just started strength training about 3 weeks ago. I do a lot of cardio because I'm trying to build cardiovascular endurance for the outdoor cycling season (which usually has started for me by April in CO but we've had so much snow I'm still indoors :(). I have tracked very closely my caloric intake on MFP and tried to more or less follow my goals...not perfect by any means.
  • xprplstardust
    xprplstardust Posts: 105 Member
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    I'd love to hear the same as that is my goal too. I am trying to lower bf %, not lose pounds. I hear that heavy lifting will help you achieve this.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    the more you lower your body fat% the harder it is to drop if off because your body wants to hang on to the extra fat ...

    For me it took me about six months to get to 13% from 18% and the last three months I have been trying to get to ten%..I think right now I am about 12%...

    I eat about 500 calorie deficit..my diary is public..

    Lately I have been kind of yo yoing..where I eat more on work out days almost to maintenance and then lager deficit on non work out days..

    strength train four days a week - compound lifts - and some cardio/HIIT mixed in..
  • TonyStark30
    TonyStark30 Posts: 497 Member
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    Its just consistency and patience on your Calories, everything else is a tweak, being worried how long it takes is more likely yo make you change something you didn't need to.

    At my Leanest I was still eating plenty cake, it's that in between stage where water is hanging around that sugar makes it look like you're not going anywhere.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    I'd love to hear the same as that is my goal too. I am trying to lower bf %, not lose pounds. I hear that heavy lifting will help you achieve this.

    You have to loose pounds to lower your bf%. Heavy lifting is great for you, but you won't be able to put on the muscle weight as fast as you loose the fat weight, and it's even harder to put on muscle when you're eating a deficit (dieting). Just keep that in mind and keep loosing till you hit your goal, then keep lifting and eat a little more so you can start building muscle.

    If you're serious about it, you can try reading "Thinner, Leaner, Stronger" by Mike Matthews. It's not a perfect book, but he is no BS and explains everything very well.

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