Setting a BF% goal instead of weight

JagerLewis
JagerLewis Posts: 427 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am close to my goal weight, but I would really like to focus on my body fat percentage. I'm 5'2.78":wink: and weigh 133, body fat percentage is 23% as of this morning, with a goal weight of 125(not needed if I hit my BF% goal). I would really like to lower my body fat percentage to maybe 17%. I don't like going to the gym, but I love to do resistance and circut training at home. Currently I lose inches faster than pounds, which it good by me, but I can typically assume how many pounds I can lose in a month. Is there a way I can kind of figure how long it takes to lose 1% body fat? What percentage of fat loss a month? What other exercises can I do (at home) to help this process along? I'm already seeing results with muscle, but I want more :happy: . Any advice would be great, thanks in advance!!

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    If 17% is your target, then just keep doing what you're doing. You will still have to be in calorie deficit and need to make sure you lift with challenging resistance to retain what muscle you already have. Also remember that as your weight reduces your calorie allowance will decrease.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    A healthy body fat percentage for women is no lower than 20%.

    Your goal of 17% is unhealthy.

    Sources:
    https://www.edb.utexas.edu/fit/bfstandards.php
    http://gapsa.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Body-Composition-Fact-Sheet.pdf
  • hoyalawya2003
    hoyalawya2003 Posts: 631 Member
    A healthy body fat percentage for women is no lower than 20%.

    Your goal of 17% is unhealthy.

    Sources:
    https://www.edb.utexas.edu/fit/bfstandards.php
    http://gapsa.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Body-Composition-Fact-Sheet.pdf

    According to your second source, 17% for a woman is just fine, unless the OP is over 50, which I seriously doubt.
  • spsanderson
    spsanderson Posts: 39 Member
    A healthy body fat percentage for women is no lower than 20%.

    Your goal of 17% is unhealthy.

    Sources:
    https://www.edb.utexas.edu/fit/bfstandards.php
    http://gapsa.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Body-Composition-Fact-Sheet.pdf

    editorgrrl is correct, women by way of biology have a higher bf% typically from 20 - 25% so your already in the money.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Make sure your protein intake is high enough. Your body weight x .8 = grams of protein per day.
  • JagerLewis
    JagerLewis Posts: 427 Member
    Thank you all! I know that my body fat right now is "healthy", but I see fat on my body that still needs to go. I would like to be more muscular which would give me a lower body fat %. I don't want to look like a body builder or anything...I just want to see most of my muscles when they are at rest.
  • sarahliftsUP
    sarahliftsUP Posts: 752 Member
    Keep doing the exercises that you are doing at home - keep upping your resistance too!
    Diet is really important too. You can't exercise off a bad diet!
  • JagerLewis
    JagerLewis Posts: 427 Member
    Make sure your protein intake is high enough. Your body weight x .8 = grams of protein per day.
    Thanks, I do have a hard time getting in 106 grams...But I try to get close everyday.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    Hi I'm Rachel. I have a similar goal. I'm hoping to get down to around there as well, with most of muscles showing, basically shredded....I talked to my doctor and showed him pictures of what body I'm going for and the percentages, and he "that's fine. You may not be able to sustain that low all year, but with understanding bulking and cutting, you could safely do it" so I am working towards that goal as well. I don't care about the number on the scale, but I'm 135 and 5"8 tall. I'm working towards seeing abs :-)
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    17% is not necessarily unhealthy - OP when your body fat percentage gets that low, then keep an eye on things like your general health and especially whether you're still menstruating regularly. Below 18% bf some women do have health problems, others don't... definitely keep an eye on these things, in particular menstraution, as cessation of menstration due to too low body fat goes along with hormonal changes in the body that put you at risk of health problems e.g. osteoporosis. If you are experiencing menstrual issues then raise your body fat percentage a little. Or you can do what female bodybuilders do and lower your body fat percentage some of the time (they do it for contests you can do that e.g. for the summer if you want to have visible abs when you wear a bikini) and then let it go a bit higher at other times (e.g. in the winter when it's too cold to wear the kind of clothing that shows off your abs).
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    16-20% puts a women in the athletic range.

    I see no issue with 17%

    http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/ibw/ is a good calculator to get what your goal weight will be based on BF%...ninerbuff has a calculation as well which works out to almost the same as this one.

    17% puts you at 123lbs...
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Just keep doing what you're doing but make sure you can make the exercises you're doing progressively harder.

    Like others have said, 17% can be healthy for some, just listen to your body - losing your period would be a warning to go a couple % higher.
  • JagerLewis
    JagerLewis Posts: 427 Member
    Thank you again! Maybe I should bump it up to 18%? I only picked 17% because I see all the fat I still have, and I know 17 is in the athletic range. I would like to reach my goal, and stay there.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Thank you again! Maybe I should bump it up to 18%? I only picked 17% because I see all the fat I still have, and I know 17 is in the athletic range. I would like to reach my goal, and stay there.

    I wouldn't fuss to much about the number... the difference between 17% and 18% is within the inaccuracy range of most ways of measuring bf%............ best advice is to look in the mirror and stop when you have the look that you want. (or stop if you start having menstrual issues or other health issues)

    bear in mind when using the mirror, is that no-one looks like models in magazines do, not even the models themselves, because the images are photoshopped. So don't fall into the trap of only stopping when you think you look perfect... accept a degree of imperfection and stop when you get the overall look that you want.
  • JagerLewis
    JagerLewis Posts: 427 Member
    Thank you again! Maybe I should bump it up to 18%? I only picked 17% because I see all the fat I still have, and I know 17 is in the athletic range. I would like to reach my goal, and stay there.

    I wouldn't fuss to much about the number... the difference between 17% and 18% is within the inaccuracy range of most ways of measuring bf%............ best advice is to look in the mirror and stop when you have the look that you want. (or stop if you start having menstrual issues or other health issues)

    bear in mind when using the mirror, is that no-one looks like models in magazines do, not even the models themselves, because the images are photoshopped. So don't fall into the trap of only stopping when you think you look perfect... accept a degree of imperfection and stop when you get the overall look that you want.
    Perfectly stated. Made me smile. :)
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    Also remember that 20% body fat laid over a muscular frame looks very, very different than 20% over skinny.

    The look you want might very well be bodybuilder + 20% body fat.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    A healthy body fat percentage for women is no lower than 20%.

    Your goal of 17% is unhealthy.

    Sources:
    https://www.edb.utexas.edu/fit/bfstandards.php
    http://gapsa.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Body-Composition-Fact-Sheet.pdf
    Untrue if she wants to be in the fitness/athletic range.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Yes! I have sworn off the scales and the tape measure and only go by my body fat % now. I find it much less stressful, because body fat stays quite stable whereas the scales are subject to those pesky water weight ups and downs. I also find my measurements change by an inch or two depending on whether I worked out extra hard or not. Body fat tells the true story.
  • allopathicJ
    allopathicJ Posts: 36 Member
    I personally don't think going down to 17% BF is a bad thing or unhealthy, unless your nutrition is not balanced. In terms of how to determine how long to drop the BF, there's no way to pin point the amount of time to drop a certain percentage. The best way to drop your bodyfat % is by either increasing muscle mass and keeping the fat same, or by maintaining your muscle mass and losing fat. Either ways, the only way to really know you're losing body fat is by the scale. My advice is to keep doing what you're doing and focus on getting to your goal weight first and once you're there, start re-adjusting your diet, so you can eat maintenance calories and just end up adjusting macros to meet your body fat percentage needs. If you don't want to do that, you can carb cycle, but i personally don't like it. Good luck!
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    Yes! I have sworn off the scales and the tape measure and only go by my body fat % now. I find it much less stressful, because body fat stays quite stable whereas the scales are subject to those pesky water weight ups and downs. I also find my measurements change by an inch or two depending on whether I worked out extra hard or not. Body fat tells the true story.

    How do you measure your bf? I have a scale, which doesn't seem very accurate and a caliper that I don't believe.
  • ModoVincere
    ModoVincere Posts: 530 Member
    Thank you again! Maybe I should bump it up to 18%? I only picked 17% because I see all the fat I still have, and I know 17 is in the athletic range. I would like to reach my goal, and stay there.
    reality is that you aren't going to be using a measuring device accurate enough to really determine 17% or 18%, unless your doing a dexa scan......the bf% scales using electrical impedence aren't all that accurate, and the body calipers can be less accurate than the scales.
    Go by how you look and how you feel.
  • FromHereOnOut
    FromHereOnOut Posts: 3,237 Member
    Thank you all! I know that my body fat right now is "healthy", but I see fat on my body that still needs to go. I would like to be more muscular which would give me a lower body fat %. I don't want to look like a body builder or anything...I just want to see most of my muscles when they are at rest.

    I think you need to decide which of these two things you are trying to achieve at this moment.

    Yes, the thing with body fat %, is that there are two ways to affect it: (1) increase lean mass (essentially "watering down" the fat component, so to speak, if you get my meaning), or (2) decrease body fat.

    Either method of approach will result in getting closer to your desired bf%, but they require two totally different approaches to diet, so you have to decide. If you want to cut body fat, you have to eat at a deficit and you can forget increasing muscle during that time. If you want to build muscle, you need to increase calories to feed the muscle and you can forget about cutting that extra body fat that you are seeing, for a little while. If you are already at a pretty good bf%, then you could probably start to try to gain muscle and then cut later. There are some advantages to the cut by doing this (somewhat higher calorie requirements thanks to the new muscle).

    Bottom line is that I think you need a plan, for example to bulk at a certain amount for a certain timeframe (minding your workouts), followed by a cut of a certain amount for a certain timeframe (with necessary adjustments to workout).

    Good luck!
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
    Hi there.. I'm working on the same goal...just lowering BF%, and not so much worrying about the scale. I'm 5'5", 134 lbs, 17% right now. I train 5-6 times per week, and I lift heavy (for me)... I was down to 120-125 lbs and 15 %BF about a year ago, and decided I need more muscles...and more food. I don't think I crossed the 20% mark going up, but being so low in body fat already, makes it much more difficult to shave off the last 2 % again...lol
    I didn't see any (female) issues with what I was doing, but I can tell from experience, the low bf state is very hard to maintain. You will have some disappointments on the way, and you will continuously adjust your nutrition plan on the way. At some point, your body will adjust very quickly to fewer calories, and your progress will stall. Do not put yourself under pressure with a set date to accomplish your goal. Additional stress will make your body cling to its last bit of fat even more. Expect to bounce up and down a bit with your weight and bf. It's not bad, if the general direction (going lower) doesn't change.
    Also, you might want to step up your resistance training. Your muscles need to do more work in order to boost your metabolism and make your body burn more fat. You can do a lot at home with just a few heavy dumbbells and a kettlebell. Check out youtube for classic kettlebell training with heavy kettlebells, or use lighter ones and incorporate hand weights into your circuit training.
    Focus on training the 'big' muscles, e.g. glutes and quads, or chest and back muscles. They burn a ton of calories when they grow. Think squat jumps, box jumps, step-ups, pushups, pullups...all things that you won't need a gym. Don't worry, you won't look bad with more weight training. The big and bulky women that you see in magazines, don't always look that way, either. They only get lean for competitions. Can't grow/maintain a muscle package like this without a ton of food...
    Eat up your protein, too! If you have problems getting all the protein in your food, add a shake. You will need it to maintain muscle mass. Like a previous poster already said, once your weight goes down, so will your calorie allowance. Look for sugar-free, low carb, non-fat options to replace some food that you are eating. E.g. my breakfast this morning was 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop strawberry protein powder, and 4 oz fresh strawberries. That's 37 gr of protein right there. I don't know why people are struggling with that... Just read labels and add up...lol
    Your body fat is still high enough to provide for growing muscles. At this point, you will be able to lose bf and grow lean muscle mass at the same time. Do not expect this to last long, though. Train hard now to grow some, to make sure that you can afford to lose a few lbs of muscle mass later when you dip down below 20%.
    Train safe and good luck!
  • iPlatano
    iPlatano Posts: 487 Member
    17% is not unhealthy at all as long as your eating the right amount of fats every day! Im 7.5% and will stay like that maybe year around while building lean body mass.

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