Best way to reduce body fat??

Options
spunkybooboo
spunkybooboo Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm a 19 year old girl and I'm about 5'3 and a half (I think!) and I weigh about 140 pounds. My body fat is about 26% and I want to reduce it to about 20%. I want to try to get lean by next summer! Around May - June, I have some events coming up I want to wear a bikini for!

So I'm following Helloitsdan's advice about TDEE. I found out my TDEE on this site: http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator
And it's about 2400 - 2500. And because of his advice, and how little weight I have to lose (I'm aiming to lose 20 pounds) I'm eating about 20% less of my TDEE which is 2000. I used "Scoobysworkshop" I think it was and it said 1900 - 2000 as well.

I spend a lot of time on my feet, doing chores around the house, and I also play on my WII or walk around outside for an hour or so every day, on top of doing exercise. I exercise 5 days a week , 2 - 3 days being a circuit routine with strength training and cardio exercises, the remaining days being strictly cardio.

I eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, nuts, nut butters, chicken, fish, fat-free dairy, and some whole grains too. I'll have the occasional treat, once or twice a week (usually just 1 cookie for about 50 calories) and I drink tons of water, some green tea and no soda.

Any advice?

Replies

  • spunkybooboo
    spunkybooboo Posts: 2
    Options
    Bump please :)))
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    Options
    The best way to reduce body fat is to keep your protein intake up (around 0.8 - 1g per pound of lean body mass) and engage in a strength training program. Some cardio won't hurt either, but strength training is more effective than cardio in reducing fat and preserving lean body mass:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10204826

    Given your stats, you have about 103 lbs. of lean body mass - so a good protein intake level would be around 82-103 g of protein/day.
  • ozerion
    ozerion Posts: 47 Member
    Options
    Low intensity Cardio. Walk at ~3-3.5 mph for 30-45 min every day... Keep your calories above 1200 and below your recommend (after setting your goal to lose 1-2 lbs per week). If you have days you need a little extra, then try not to eat more than half of your exercise calories back. Try to push your self to 4 mph at least 1-2 days a week, even 15min of a walk at the higher intensity will help.

    Low intensity burns fewer calories but it is a higher percentage of fat.
  • jennifermaffei17
    jennifermaffei17 Posts: 158
    Options
    Low carb, low fat, and high protein. Good carbs and fats are ok, like avocado. Stay away from rice, pasta, etc. Also keep drinking your water as that counteracts with the sodium intact and try drinking green tea. Jillian Michaels says about 5 cups if you can...boosts fat burning cells and speeds up metabolism.
  • sydnisd183
    sydnisd183 Posts: 247 Member
    Options
    it looks like you've got everything in check. You've got a goal, gave yourself plenty of time to reach it, and an action plan that doesn't involve starving yourself trying to lose 754574654786 lbs. in 30 days (applause!!). I'd just go for it and track progress via pictures, measurements and scale. If it were me, if I already owned a swimsuit that would fit perfectly at my goal weight, i'd take a pic in that. Just so I could see any back fat/muffin top or w/e I had shrinking when i took pics. good luck with your goals! (your post reminded me i need to bump up my green tea intake LOL)
  • mds81
    mds81 Posts: 9 Member
    Options
    Yep strength training to tone up. Look on bodybuilding.com if you want a workout plan.
    Also remember your body is still maturing so don't put unrealistic expectations on yourself :)
  • cindybindyboo
    cindybindyboo Posts: 14
    Options
    Healthy carbs for breakfast like oats or rye bread toast with natural penut butter. No more than 2 pieces of fruit per day and try to have that before lunch time. Lean meats for lunch with salad, and lean meat for dinner with veggies. Stay away from potatoes and corn at dinner time. Drink 2L of water daily and do exercise at least 5 times a week.

Categories