Body Fat %

JennKoz529
JennKoz529 Posts: 144 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What do you think is the best way or what has worked for you to lower your body fat%?? Any advice would be great!!!
Thanks!!!!

Replies

  • MagicalLeopleurodon
    MagicalLeopleurodon Posts: 623 Member
    Eating more real food (i.e.-not boxed bagged or canned)
    Learning my TDEE.
    Lifting heavy weights. (heavy is a personal thing).
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I've had my best success eating according to the info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0
  • Icedrgn
    Icedrgn Posts: 17
    The Whole 30 challenge
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
    Lifting heavy, HIIT and eating properly.
  • FP4HSharon
    FP4HSharon Posts: 664 Member
    The only way to really lower body fat percentage is to do strength training in addition to a healthy diet. Someone who's very skinny can still have a very high body fat percentage, & vice versa (someone who's muscular w/a low body fat percentage can weigh a lot, but be healthy).
  • Meaganandcheese
    Meaganandcheese Posts: 525 Member
    Cleaning up my diet and getting active with a mix of cardio, HIIT, pilates, and strength.
  • Rogiefreida
    Rogiefreida Posts: 567 Member
    Lifting heavy, HIIT and eating properly.

    This. Plus a healthy dose of patience. It doesn't happen overnight.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    A small caloric deficit, adequate protein, heavy lifting, all combined.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    A small caloric deficit, adequate protein, heavy lifting, all combined.

    ^ this.
  • jonswife0206
    jonswife0206 Posts: 125 Member
    Eating healthy food, staying within my fat\protein\carb macros, cardio (sprints are great for burn) and heavy strength training.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    A small caloric deficit, adequate protein, heavy lifting, all combined.

    ^ this.

    ^that to the this
  • Bettyeditor
    Bettyeditor Posts: 327 Member
    A small caloric deficit, adequate protein, heavy lifting, all combined.

    Yes, this ^^^

    I lost 75 lbs without changing my bodyfat % (meaning I lost muscle as well as fat). But after months of eating 1300 calories, in the last few weeks since I upped my calories to 1700, suddenly I've gained 6 lbs of muscle and my bodyfat % is going down every week. So I've learned that if you have too big of a calorie deficit, your body is not able to build muscle from your workouts.
  • Cassaaaaandra
    Cassaaaaandra Posts: 184 Member
    Ditch processed food. Bye-bye pastas, bread, cereal, etc. (don't care if it's whole wheat or whole grain). If you can't pick it off a tree, bush, vine, or pull it out of the ground or shoot it - it needs to be severely restricted from you diet. Eat lots of protein and healthy fats: eggs, nuts, fish, lean meats. WEIGHT TRAIN 2-3 times weekly. Cardio (run, jog, walk, swim) 3-5 times weekly.
  • lacurandera1
    lacurandera1 Posts: 8,083 Member
    Ditch processed food. Bye-bye pastas, bread, cereal, etc. (don't care if it's whole wheat or whole grain). If you can't pick it off a tree, bush, vine, or pull it out of the ground or shoot it - it needs to be severely restricted from you diet. Eat lots of protein and healthy fats: eggs, nuts, fish, lean meats. WEIGHT TRAIN 2-3 times weekly. Cardio (run, jog, walk, swim) 3-5 times weekly.

    Most of the successful people on my FL eat pasta, bread and cereal. You don't have to severely restrict ANYTHING. But you do need to be in a small deficit and meet your macro goals. Plus lifting. :)

    (Ps, lots of the fit people I know don't do much cardio at all. That's not to say you shouldn't. if you enjoy it, by all means, do it. )
  • RHSheetz
    RHSheetz Posts: 268 Member
    Most of the successful people on my FL eat pasta, bread and cereal. You don't have to severely restrict ANYTHING. But you do need to be in a small deficit and meet your macro goals. Plus lifting. :)

    (Ps, lots of the fit people I know don't do much cardio at all. That's not to say you shouldn't. if you enjoy it, by all means, do it. )

    Let me say that the FIRST time I lost 120 lbs, I followed this direction, and I really was the same shape, with the same percent of fat, just less fat and less muscle. This time, after losing 207 lbs (and I am 70+ lbs heavier than the last time) my BF% and body is MUCH better Because I ate clean (VERY limited Carbs, High Protien, Non Processed foods) and I Lifted Heavy to "Build" muscle and retain what I have.

    If you just try to maintain a Calorie defict, you will lose weight but it is ALMOST 50/50 Fat/Lean that you lose.
  • lacurandera1
    lacurandera1 Posts: 8,083 Member
    Most of the successful people on my FL eat pasta, bread and cereal. You don't have to severely restrict ANYTHING. But you do need to be in a small deficit and meet your macro goals. Plus lifting. :)

    (Ps, lots of the fit people I know don't do much cardio at all. That's not to say you shouldn't. if you enjoy it, by all means, do it. )

    Let me say that the FIRST time I lost 120 lbs, I followed this direction, and I really was the same shape, with the same percent of fat, just less fat and less muscle. This time, after losing 207 lbs (and I am 70+ lbs heavier than the last time) my BF% and body is MUCH better Because I ate clean (VERY limited Carbs, High Protien, Non Processed foods) and I Lifted Heavy to "Build" muscle and retain what I have.

    If you just try to maintain a Calorie defict, you will lose weight but it is ALMOST 50/50 Fat/Lean that you lose.

    Hmm. I (and countless others) must be special, then. And, i didn't say only maintain a deficit.
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
    A small caloric deficit, adequate protein, heavy lifting, all combined.

    I agree!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I started at 160 pounds of body weight and about 110 pounds of lean mass.

    It wasn't a direct path, but I'm currently at 135 pounds and... about 110 pounds of lean mass. And I still eat breads, pastas, potatoes, rice, pizza, etc. I'm polishing off a PB&J now.

    My suggestion is the same as those other guys. Small deficit, adequate protein, strength training.
  • hollyannem
    hollyannem Posts: 7
    Everyone is different. Some people ( I am one of them) just do not do well with carbs. I stayed at a plateau for six weeks in Feb/March at 1400-1600 calories a day and 4X week workouts. Finally decided to cut carbs down to less than 50 per day, and also make those carbs come from greens, vegies, and dairy (some), and now I am losing weight again.

    I read a really interesting book called "Why We are Fat" that explains all of the scientific reasons why certain types of carbs cause our bodies to retain fat.
  • thekyleo
    thekyleo Posts: 632 Member
    liposuction??? just throwing out alternatives
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Over the course of my life, I've reached/maintained a low (~10%) BF% while using two vastly different forms of exercise. Lifting hard & heavy, and running marathons. But the key during both of those was eating right. That part is crucial.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Turbo Fire has had the most affect on mine.

    Other things I've done - Zumba, running, calisthenics, Wii Fit games, resistance bands. I'm not knocking any of these. They all played a part along the way.

    But Turbo Fire made the most difference on BF% for me. Both by reducing fat and building muscle.
  • Justkeepswimmin
    Justkeepswimmin Posts: 777 Member
    A small caloric deficit, adequate protein, heavy lifting, all combined.

    I agree!

    What he said.

    I've been doing the above for 3 months about and it really has changed my shape (and still dropped a little weight). The only thing I would change from what I did at first (about 1.5 years of weight loss and MFP) was not getting enough protein. I wouldn't change anything else I did at first though which was net 1200 and more cardio focused (some strength/resistance but not as much). I think I was too heavy at first and am glad I waited until my low 140's to lift. I'm 132 now but looking at my Dec pics and pics now I look very different. Now I'm netting around 1400 some days more, lifting and doing core class 2-3 days a week (some days I lift 2 and do zumba tone 1) and focusing more on protein.

    Someone else mentioned processed foods. If you want to stay under your fat and sodium you generally end up reducing processed foods as a necessity.
  • lbdc05
    lbdc05 Posts: 32 Member
    Ditch processed food. Bye-bye pastas, bread, cereal, etc. (don't care if it's whole wheat or whole grain). If you can't pick it off a tree, bush, vine, or pull it out of the ground or shoot it - it needs to be severely restricted from you diet. Eat lots of protein and healthy fats: eggs, nuts, fish, lean meats. WEIGHT TRAIN 2-3 times weekly. Cardio (run, jog, walk, swim) 3-5 times weekly.
    [/quote]


    Agree 100% :smile:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Reasonable calorie deficit

    Resistance training (I personally prefer strength training)

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