Question about losing BF%

no1dragn
no1dragn Posts: 26 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I haven't been as dedicated as I should but I decided that I want to lose 10 to 13% body fat in the next year. I am at 33.7% now (gee-whiz did I have to tell the whole world?!?!?!:blushing: ). I don't belong to a gym (and really don't want to join) and I don't have much in the way of weights (just a few dumbbells up to 15lbs). I'm not afraid that I will 'bulk' up, it's just I don't fit with the 'pretty guys and gals' at the gym. Sweat just ain't purdy on this here gal... I am pushing 50 so the good old metabolism isn't what it used to be and I work in a somewhat stressful environment which I can use to 'justify' the wrong foods. Yes, excuses, but it is my reality. My question to you is this: Can I do this with mostly cardio, a little body weight exercises (squats, push ups, planks, etc) thrown in and a better diet...not 'diet' but life-long doable healthy eating diet?

Replies

  • no1dragn
    no1dragn Posts: 26 Member
    Any advise out there?
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
    I haven't been as dedicated as I should but I decided that I want to lose 10 to 13% body fat in the next year. I am at 33.7% now
    Can I do this with mostly cardio, a little body weight exercises (squats, push ups, planks, etc) thrown in and a better diet...not 'diet' but life-long doable healthy eating diet?

    So you want to get to about 20% body fat.... with cardio... eh... I'd think you could get down to about 25%... If you keep some muscle mass doing body weight/dumbbell exercises... but if you want the results, you have to put in the work.

    NO ONE starts out as the "pretty guys and gals" in the gym. They have to work their little *kitten* off to get to that point. Last time I went to the gym, I saw a guy wanting to do bench presses, but didn't want to do them without a spotter. Sure, guy, let me spot for you. He was 73. No excuses, woman! I had no idea what "lifting heavy" entailed until MFP 2 months ago. Finally got the courage to start (thanks to 1 MFP friend in particular, love ya Brillmer!) and after that the body fat just started to come off so much more quickly!

    You can also look into doing 30 Day Shred and other such videos for now. But seriously, Stronglifts 5x5 takes me 30 minutes or less 3x per week. It doesn't matter if the entire gym stopped what they were doing to point and laugh. (Would never ever happen, but still). It's 30 minutes. You can handle it!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Weight loss (and % BF) is accomplished primarily in the kitchen so the better diet is the most important factor in the equation.

    Cardio helps you burn a lot of calories in a relatively short time (assuming a reasonable level of intensity) which may help with your caloric deficit and, most importantly, will help you maintain cardiovascular health, control cholesterol levels, blood pressure etc etc (all important stuff to us old folks......I'll be 60 in the next few years).

    You can get a great workout with body weight exercises....check out a book called You Are Your Own Gym......and you can also get started on strength training with relatively light dumbbells and strength bands etc (You'll probably find yourself shopping for heavier ones as your strength improves).

    Strength training is so important for those of us of a certain age. Increasing lean muscle mass is the only surefire way to bolster a flagging metabolic rate (I'm not sure if women lose lean muscle mass as quickly as men.....we start losing about 1% per year starting at age 40) and there has been a considerable body of research demonstrating the benefits of strength training for an aging population.....many of the ailments that older people suffer from can be mitigated by maintaining lean muscle mass.

    Good luck!
  • no1dragn
    no1dragn Posts: 26 Member
    Thanks all! I appreciate the comments. Will be upping the strength training and DEFINITELY watching the diet. Going to take it 1 day at a time and if need be, 1 minute at a time.

    Thanks again!!!

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