So, how do you go about losing extra body fat?

Options
altacosturabeth
altacosturabeth Posts: 62 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Yeah, dumb question I know.

I'm 5'3 and 113lbs (measurements of 34-25-35 if anyone cares) and 2 months ago when I reached my goal weight I presumed I'd be done with my weight loss but apparently not! It seems that I fall under 'skinny fat'. Now, I'm not all that sure how accurate those online body fat percentage workerouters are but according to them I have around 25% body fat. Wonderful.

So if they are pretty accurate, how do I go about ridding myself of this extra rubbish? Previously when I lost the weight my diet was pretty awful because I struggled to eat over 1200 calories a day (which could explain the extra body fat) and all the exercise I did was at home.

I've struggled with body image issues really, really badly since the age eight and this is the first time ever I've ever been kind of content with my body so I was a wee bit miffed when I discovered this damned body fat business. I mean the only problem I presumed I had was my wide-ish hips (which aren't ever shifting) and the fact that if I either eat too many carbs one day or it's around a certain time of the month, my lower belly sticks out a tiny little bit.

I only have £10 to my name (around $15 to anyone from the US) so I can't really pay for much and the only home equipment I really have is some weights and an exercise mat.

Pleeeeaaaase help? :D

(I'll just shove this on the end cause I forgot to add it at the beginning, at the moment for exercise I do belly dance and then some other muscle related work)

Replies

  • iSpuggz
    iSpuggz Posts: 39
    Options
    Do you have sky in your house that you can use when people aren't around? There's a few fitness channels on there that have workouts streaming free throughout the day.

    I think you can pick up 30 day shred on play for £4.99 if you want to try that. There's post about it all over the forum if you're interested.

    All you can do to lower the fat percentage is to do cardio 2x a week and strength training 3x a week for example and eat clean! The key to a lower fat percentage is a clean diet! The rest will just make the muscles look good when it lowers and make your body look better in general.

    I wouldn't stress too much about you body fat percentage though, if you can get it own to around 20% then that sounds healthy for your height. You dont want to go about losing MORE weight, more maintaining your current weight or there abouts whilst adding a little muscle (I swear you won't get bulky) whilst burning off a little body fat.
  • _Tuyana_
    _Tuyana_ Posts: 83 Member
    Options
    I'm having the same dilemma! I'm 5'2" and at the moment my weight is somewhere around 112-113 lbs. At my lowest weight last year I was 104 lbs which I got to through a pretty unhealthy diet from 125 lbs over a year.
    I had a look around and the online body fat % calculators had me around 25-26%, however, I went to my local gym and had them use callipers on 4 parts (bicep, tricep, near shoulder blade and my tummy next to the hip bone) to get a more accurate measure, according to that I'm at 29% of body fat, which is a bit much... I've been given the same advice, do a minimum of 2 x cardio and 3 x resistance/strength training per week. And that's a MINIMUM. I was also told to try and eat every 3 hrs or so to keep my metabolic rate up.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Options
    I'm sure you're gong to get a lot of good advice on losing fat, but I just wanted to mention one thing. It seems from reading your post that you were fairly happy with your body when you got to your goal weight (apart from a bit of dissatisfaction with your hips) until you "found out" that you "should" have a lower fat percentage. Online calculators are not necessarily accurate, but 25% BF is actually within the normal range for a woman. Again, that's if it's even accurate. That's not to say there's anything wrong with wanting to reduce it a bit more, or aiming for more of a fitness model look, if that's what you want. It just seems like you aimed for a certain weight that you thought would be acceptable, were happy with that and then found a new way to be dissatisfied with your body because of what some online calculator told you. Maybe, even if you do decide to work on your body fat percentage, it wouldn't hurt to try to work on your body image too. :flowerforyou:

    PS. It's pretty normal to not be 100% happy with your body, but from your measurements, it sounds like you have a lovely slim hourglass figure that a lot of women would be envious of. Enjoy it!
  • altacosturabeth
    altacosturabeth Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    Do you have sky in your house that you can use when people aren't around? There's a few fitness channels on there that have workouts streaming free throughout the day.

    I think you can pick up 30 day shred on play for £4.99 if you want to try that. There's post about it all over the forum if you're interested.

    All you can do to lower the fat percentage is to do cardio 2x a week and strength training 3x a week for example and eat clean! The key to a lower fat percentage is a clean diet! The rest will just make the muscles look good when it lowers and make your body look better in general.

    I wouldn't stress too much about you body fat percentage though, if you can get it own to around 20% then that sounds healthy for your height. You dont want to go about losing MORE weight, more maintaining your current weight or there abouts whilst adding a little muscle (I swear you won't get bulky) whilst burning off a little body fat.

    Thanks for your reply!

    I don't think we have any exercise channels but I do already have 30 Day Shred :D I started doing it and I decided that I prefered some kind of dancing but I guess I could always try and start it again. In terms of exercise DVDs I have Ripped in 30 and The Butt Bible as well.

    I can definitely manage 2 cardio sessions and 3 strength training sessions a week anyway. I just struggle with motivation! My diet always has been an issue because I'm just a really picky eater. It's not that my diet's horrific or anything but it could be better. I have recently started making most of my food though (well for tea/dinner/whatever you want to call it at least) which I guess is a little better than eating warmed up stuff?

    It's the whole losing more weight thing which is my worry! My mum doesn't want to me to go under 8 stone (I know it's my body but obviously I'll still respect her wishes) whereas I don't want to slip under 110lbs. I'd love a body like Shakira's! To me she has that nice balance. Ah well, I can dream!

    Thanks again :D
  • altacosturabeth
    altacosturabeth Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    I'm having the same dilemma! I'm 5'2" and at the moment my weight is somewhere around 112-113 lbs. At my lowest weight last year I was 104 lbs which I got to through a pretty unhealthy diet from 125 lbs over a year.
    I had a look around and the online body fat % calculators had me around 25-26%, however, I went to my local gym and had them use callipers on 4 parts (bicep, tricep, near shoulder blade and my tummy next to the hip bone) to get a more accurate measure, according to that I'm at 29% of body fat, which is a bit much... I've been given the same advice, do a minimum of 2 x cardio and 3 x resistance/strength training per week. And that's a MINIMUM. I was also told to try and eat every 3 hrs or so to keep my metabolic rate up.

    Thanks for your reply!

    I also had a pretty unhealthy diet (not done purposely) so there's some relation there! I guess a mixture of cardio and strength training are the way to go then! I just struggle finding a strength workout that I feel is going to work ya know?

    For a few days I may track what times I eat cause I think I eat kinda weird! No matter what or how much I eat, I still seem to hungry, no matter if the food's total crap or really healthy, it's weird!

    Thanks again :D
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Options
    You and your mum are both right that you don't need to lose any more. Are you eating at your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure)? If you know what that is (or can find out online) that's the number you should be eating at. If you struggle to get up to that number, eat more calorie dense foods like avocados, cheese, nuts, nut butters, full fat dairy etc. If you're struggling with being hungry and therefore eating crap, fill up on veggies, high protein foods and higher fat foods which are more satiating. Make sure you get plenty of protein (the default MFP target is quite low).

    Heavy weight lifting is your best bet for that kind of body. You won't get bulky unless you work really hard for a long time and eat more than your TDEE. Try New Rules of Weight Lifting For Women (a book) or look into Starting Strength or Stonglifts 5x5. There are also routines you can follow on bodybuilding.com.
  • _Tuyana_
    _Tuyana_ Posts: 83 Member
    Options
    I recently downloaded an app from Google's Play Store, it's called Workout Trainer by Skimble. They have plenty of different workouts and programs. I tried their Half-time Full-body workout, by the end of the 30 minutes I could hardly stand! :)))
  • altacosturabeth
    altacosturabeth Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    You and your mum are both right that you don't need to lose any more. Are you eating at your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure)? If you know what that is (or can find out online) that's the number you should be eating at. If you struggle to get up to that number, eat more calorie dense foods like avocados, cheese, nuts, nut butters, full fat dairy etc. If you're struggling with being hungry and therefore eating crap, fill up on veggies, high protein foods and higher fat foods which are more satiating. Make sure you get plenty of protein (the default MFP target is quite low).

    Heavy weight lifting is your best bet for that kind of body. You won't get bulky unless you work really hard for a long time and eat more than your TDEE. Try New Rules of Weight Lifting For Women (a book) or look into Starting Strength or Stonglifts 5x5. There are also routines you can follow on bodybuilding.com.

    Thanks for your reply!

    I'll respond to both of your posts here so I don't get all confoozled!

    Apparently my TDEE is 2102 and I know you didn't mention it but my BMR I believe is around 1360. I was previously on around 1200 calories a day (or a little less) which usually meant I maintained my current weight, but recently I've accidentally upped it to around 1400 calories (due to the fact that because it's a certain time of the month I usually eat the contents of my house) and now I've been losing weight again.

    I eat a lot of cheese and the only nuts I like are peanuts really! I usually get around 50g of protein a day (though today it's around 100g) which may be to do with the fact that I'm a vegetarian. We do have protein powder though?

    I'll look into the book and look at the website :)

    Thanks again :D
  • altacosturabeth
    altacosturabeth Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    I recently downloaded an app from Google's Play Store, it's called Workout Trainer by Skimble. They have plenty of different workouts and programs. I tried their Half-time Full-body workout, by the end of the 30 minutes I could hardly stand! :)))

    I just had a gander at that but apparently they don't do anything for my Blackberry :(
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Options
    To lose weight, maintain a healthy caloric deficit.
    To lose fat, you have to lose weight while retaining muscle.
    To retain muscle, you need to lift and get enough protein.

    So, to your question... maintain a deficit, get lots of protein, and lift.

    After that, it's all about patience.
  • altacosturabeth
    altacosturabeth Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    To lose weight, maintain a healthy caloric deficit.
    To lose fat, you have to lose weight while retaining muscle.
    To retain muscle, you need to lift and get enough protein.

    So, to your question... maintain a deficit, get lots of protein, and lift.
    After that, it's all about patience.

    So at the moment my calories are fine, I already lift so really all I need is the protein. Which means I'm probably gonna have to start drinking those horrible protein shakes again :( oh well!

    Patience is something that I really lack!

    Thanks for your reply :D
  • chrishgt4
    chrishgt4 Posts: 1,222 Member
    Options
    To lose weight, maintain a healthy caloric deficit.
    To lose fat, you have to lose weight while retaining muscle.
    To retain muscle, you need to lift and get enough protein.

    So, to your question... maintain a deficit, get lots of protein, and lift.
    After that, it's all about patience.

    So at the moment my calories are fine, I already lift so really all I need is the protein. Which means I'm probably gonna have to start drinking those horrible protein shakes again :( oh well!

    Patience is something that I really lack!

    Thanks for your reply :D

    When you say lift, how heavy are you lifting? You should roughly be doing 3 sets of a weight where you can do 8-12 reps, which is to say that you physically can't lift it any more than that.

    You don't need shakes to get protein though - chicken/fish and also other meat all contain protein. Drink some milk. There are plenty of ways to get in enough protein. Supplements should be exactly that: supplementary.

    But yea - those workout dvds etc aren't really your fastest way to losing fat.

    As above - lift heavy.
  • McBully4
    McBully4 Posts: 1,270 Member
    Options
    So at the moment my calories are fine.

    according to a previous post of yours you are targeting 1070 calories/day....not nearly enough.
  • chrishgt4
    chrishgt4 Posts: 1,222 Member
    Options
    So at the moment my calories are fine.

    according to a previous post of yours you are targeting 1070 calories/day....not nearly enough.

    1070?! Yea, nowhere near enough. Maybe another 5 or 600 would be closer.
  • altacosturabeth
    altacosturabeth Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    To lose weight, maintain a healthy caloric deficit.
    To lose fat, you have to lose weight while retaining muscle.
    To retain muscle, you need to lift and get enough protein.

    So, to your question... maintain a deficit, get lots of protein, and lift.
    After that, it's all about patience.

    So at the moment my calories are fine, I already lift so really all I need is the protein. Which means I'm probably gonna have to start drinking those horrible protein shakes again :( oh well!

    Patience is something that I really lack!

    Thanks for your reply :D

    When you say lift, how heavy are you lifting? You should roughly be doing 3 sets of a weight where you can do 8-12 reps, which is to say that you physically can't lift it any more than that.

    You don't need shakes to get protein though - chicken/fish and also other meat all contain protein. Drink some milk. There are plenty of ways to get in enough protein. Supplements should be exactly that: supplementary.

    But yea - those workout dvds etc aren't really your fastest way to losing fat.

    As above - lift heavy.

    I'm quite weak anyway so a combined weight of about 20lbs does it for me! Though I'm trying to build it up.

    I'm a vegetarian so obviously the meat's out of the question! I compared 125g of meat free chicken (yeah...) to 125g of chicken chicken and apparently there's only a 2g difference between the two of them really.

    Thanks for your reply :)
  • altacosturabeth
    altacosturabeth Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    So at the moment my calories are fine.

    according to a previous post of yours you are targeting 1070 calories/day....not nearly enough.

    1070?! Yea, nowhere near enough. Maybe another 5 or 600 would be closer.

    Wait, when have I said that? I've only posted once before this topic and that was about me struggling to reach my 1200 calorie goal for the day (which I can now hit, because I changed my diet) so it wasn't me! Or if I did I probably meant 1700 but my typing went a bit daft! But nope, my calorie goal on here a day is around 1400 (which I mentioned previously in this topic) so I'm definitely not going for 1070.

    Which is a very random number...
  • chrishgt4
    chrishgt4 Posts: 1,222 Member
    Options
    So at the moment my calories are fine.

    according to a previous post of yours you are targeting 1070 calories/day....not nearly enough.

    1070?! Yea, nowhere near enough. Maybe another 5 or 600 would be closer.

    Wait, when have I said that? I've only posted once before this topic and that was about me struggling to reach my 1200 calorie goal for the day (which I can now hit, because I changed my diet) so it wasn't me! Or if I did I probably meant 1700 but my typing went a bit daft! But nope, my calorie goal on here a day is around 1400 (which I mentioned previously in this topic) so I'm definitely not going for 1070.

    Which is a very random number...

    lol fair enough - 1400 is more reasonable.

Categories