tips and tricks. . . lowering body fat?

smattillion
smattillion Posts: 33 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all. 22 years old, 5'3 current weight fluxuates btwn 122-124lbs, current body fat fluxuates btwn 17-18%.
Started this journey little over a year ago around 160-170ish lbs don't really know for sure and an unkonown body fat. I eat healthy, count calories, cardio, weight train. I want to get my body fat down to around 15%. Not too concerned about the number on the scale so long as I'm gaining muscle weight and not fat. I feel like I keep trying but nothing is making the fat drop. Anyone have any suggestions? What's working for you?! Thanks :)

Replies

  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
    I'd say whatever you are doing is working very well. Keep doing it until you reach your goals.
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    To get a true view of your body fat % get a professional test done. Those scales you buy for your home are not 100% accurate however could be a decent guide.

    Best way to decrease your body fat % is to build lean muscle. People tend to have the best results by doing bulk and cut cycles.

    Bulk cycle would be to eat slightly above maintance for 4-6 weeks while lifting heavy. This will build muscle but unfortunately will cause you to gain a little bit of fat.

    Cut cycle would be to drop your calories down to a deficit while still lifting heavy. This is so you can retain as much muscle as possible from your bulk cycle while cutting the bit of fat you gained while on a bulk cycle. Do this one for 4-6 weeks as well.

    Keep doing those two cycles until you are happy with your results.

    Unfortunately, you can't gain muscle while on a deficit (you tend to lose muscle mass... depending on how much lifting you are doing and how high of a deficit you have) and when you try to build muscle you will put on a bit of fat weight.

    You can also try to just retain what muscle you have while dropping fat. Lift heavy while eating at a small deficit will help you keep the muscle you currently have while reducing fat.

    Great work on your progress so far!!!

    Should you work on bulding muscle try to stay off the scale as you will gain some weight. You could end up weighing more but have a smaller body. Take your measurements and use those as progress.
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
    First how are you measuring body fat? Also a true and accurate body fat should really only be measured about every 4-6 weeks bc many things can factor into the %. If you are having a daily reading you are either using a handheld device or scale and I am sorry but those things are far from accurate. When I dropped from below 17% it was really only a matter of a couple of scale pounds. I was eating at maintence though and lifting hard while training for a race. Keep lifting heavier, eat at a deficit and keep working. There's no secret or tips to losing body fat. Plus you need to ask yourself if you will be able to maintain 15% or not. Also you will not gain muscle in a deficit, you're maintaining what you have as long as its not a drastic cut.
  • Griffin220x
    Griffin220x Posts: 399
    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=113288021

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/941846-how-to-lose-fat-for-noobs-part-2-long-version

    Read the posts in the first link. It gives you a lot of tips. This is how I got my bodyfat to 10-9% and hope to be 8% by the end of this month. Its a combination of IF and IIFYM (Althought the IF part is not an esstial factor it still helps. Do whats convienet for you). It really works and you get to have a healthy relationship with a wide variety of foods. Enjoy your diet. :bigsmile:
  • smattillion
    smattillion Posts: 33 Member
    I haven't been professionally measured for body fat. Just the at home scale thing. Hmm, you all have given great advice! I think I'm going to do some research and devise a more clear plan! Thankyou all :)
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