Food for burning body fat percentage

Sorry this is so simplistic but it's true: Eat less, move more.

That is how you reduce your body fat percentage. Losing fat is pretty much about your diet and that calorie deficit.

What are you doing in terms of working out?

1650 plus exercise calories or 1650 flat?

1650 flat might be too low. "Eat less, move more" is the formula for losing pounds, but to lose fat, you have to eat right and exercise right. You have to give muscle a reason to exist, which means adequate protein plus strength training, and a small calorie deficit.

Eat 10-15% below your TDEE, or set your MFP goals to a half pound a week and eat your exercise calories, and track your progress through photos and not the scale.

^Listen to everything she says. Also, read her blog. Then start lifting weights.

I've done so many diets I dont even know where to start. I know I dont want to live forever on a diet so i eat whats good and what i can eat everyday. Nothing beats chicken and broccoli lol. Weight loss is a journey, diets suck, especially with thanksgiving around the corner!

Foods - do whole grains, eat veggies, lean meats, water, water, and water! Dont forget to eat fats to lose it! Like nuts, avocados, animal fats. Avoid trans fat, monounsaturated is bueno! Ignore sugar and simple carbs. And move more! Theres nothing wrong with a hard *kitten* workout man.

Hey guys,

So after being off the diet wagon for way too long, I've decided enough is enough and I need to get my act back. My goals are the same, but there's so many diets now a days it's hard to figure out what my body needs!

About 6 months ago I consulted a doctor and a personal trainer, and my goal is to reach a 18-19% body fat percentage, as approved by them. I'm currently around 24%, so I have 5-6% to lose. However, since I'm not medically over weight anymore, it's hard for me to shift any of that extra fat in my way, so I really need to figure out my diet plan.

My calorie goal is around 1650 a day, but what advice would you give on lowering fat percentage? Low carb? Higher fiber, protein? Less sodium? Spacing the meals out? Is there anything specific I should take into account?

I'm a 19 yo female by the way, if that helps.

I tried about every diet out there and banged my head against the wall for 15 years. Diets don't work. They drive you insane with eating, cause yo-yo weight loss and gain, and weirdness about food bordering on emotional disorders. Just eat what you like, mostly healthy, within a calorie budget for a deficit. Include treats in your budget so you don't go insane and binge. Then you don't even have to have "cheat" days. You just go about your life enjoying food.

All that matters is calories and a calorie deficit to lose fat. Of course you want to eat healthy and enough protein.

Exercise is to make your lean body mass pretty, strong, and healthy (especially lifting weights).

A calorie deficit is to lose fat. A calorie budget keeps your fat level where you need to be, either losing fat or maintaining.

Nothing else really matters much.

I would encourage you to start a beginner weight lifting routine. Just 3 days a week. Why?

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are a girl you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulking and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories. I learned this the hard way.

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.

Some people can eat at a big calorie deficit and some people can't. Everyone is different. Even a small calorie deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones as such, add a new workout routine, and those will make more spikes. This is a huge waiting game and requires much patience. Add in emotional eating issues and then you have more complications.

Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).

If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.

Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal body weight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The good thing is you don't have to worry about the starvation mode myth if you are fat. Only skinny people have to worry about starvation mode. It does not mean you have the capability to eat at a large calorie deficit if you have emotional eating disorders or other issues going on, but at least you don't have to be afraid of it anymore.

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

1650 plus exercise calories or 1650 flat?

1650 flat might be too low. "Eat less, move more" is the formula for losing pounds, but to lose fat, you have to eat right and exercise right. You have to give muscle a reason to exist, which means adequate protein plus strength training, and a small calorie deficit.

Eat 10-15% below your TDEE, or set your MFP goals to a half pound a week and eat your exercise calories, and track your progress through photos and not the scale.

^^ this absolutely! I have just started listening to this advice and even though i weigh similar, body fat is way down and i'm fitting in smaller and smaller clothes. it is amazing what weight training and a small calorie deficit can do! I am right around 1600 for a base but then i also eat back exercise calories. if i run i burn 300 calories so i eat around 1800 those days. if i weight lift, maybe around 1700. 1600 is for true "rest days"... i am 5'4" 130 lb and looking to lose a little more body fat and hopefully it will put me around 122-125 as a goal. and protein is very important too. it helps build muscle. get a good strength training program and lift heavy is the key! i started doing Chalean Extreme but tehre are lots of other weightlifting guides and programs.

Increase your protein intake.
Do low intensity cardio to maximize fat oxidation
Consume majority of carbs immediately after exercise
Get plenty of rest
Minimize stress