Losing body fat

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everet36
everet36 Posts: 39
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello

I'm of normal size and weight (5'5" around 130lbs) but my body fat percentage is NOT in a healthy range (29.1%). How do I drop body fat? I swim about 10 miles a week! I used to eat whatever I wanted (but my diet wasn't THAT outrageous) and just started using myfitnesspal. Any other tips besides counting calories? I don't really need to lose much weight (maybe 10lbs) but really I'd like to improve my body fat % to 20%. Apparently exercise isn't enough. :(

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  • LorinElizabeth
    LorinElizabeth Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi Everet,
    I would think that switching your excersize up would help. Typically if you always do the same thing (ie swimming) then you are only helping specific muscles grow. But if you switch up your excersize then you will have musclesconsume fat in other parts of your body, therefore helping your overall percentage.

    Also, while you are watching your calorie intake, what you are eating could make difference. For example, there is a 15 minute range after you excersize that you should eat a lean protein.... this is very important time frame to get the protein because it helps make your excersize worthwhile for helping optimize your muscle growth. Making sure your muscles have everything they need is important. Other foods and hydration can also on the reverse side retain fat.

    Not an expert, just my best guess.
    Lorin
  • shreddingit
    shreddingit Posts: 1,133 Member
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    You gotta get those fat burning hormones working! work on your diet instead of your workout routine
  • dwilson2
    dwilson2 Posts: 8
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    I agree with Lorin. You need to change up your exercise routine. Your body has gotten accustomed to what you are doing and has learned to be " efficient" at holding onto the body fat. Try some interval training and do some analysis of what you are eating and when. Good luck, I am working on the same thing!
  • everet36
    everet36 Posts: 39
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    Thanks everyone. I joined this site because although I'm a grazer (I don't eat a lot at once, I just snack) which is good to keep up your metabolism, I don't think I realized how many calories i was consuming. So this will help at lot with my diet.

    I agree about switching up the work outs. I just started to do that -- I did step aerobics before my 2.5 mile swim today for about a half hour. It was fun and didn't "feel" like a workout because I enjoyed it. I've also started to do 2 mile jogs before my swimming workouts. I think I need to add one more day of exercise (4 days instead of 3) and also lift at least twice a week. I lift about once a week right now.
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
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    what you really need is some strength training to promote muscle retention and perhaps growth. Doing cardio only, especially on a calorie deficit, leaves you susceptible to losing muscle as fast as fat or even faster. In that scenario, your bodyweight could drop, but if more than 50% of that is muscle, your percentage will go up. Time to pick up some weights! 30 day shred is a good start! Best of luck.
  • everet36
    everet36 Posts: 39
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    what you really need is some strength training to promote muscle retention and perhaps growth. Doing cardio only, especially on a calorie deficit, leaves you susceptible to losing muscle as fast as fat or even faster. In that scenario, your bodyweight could drop, but if more than 50% of that is muscle, your percentage will go up. Time to pick up some weights! 30 day shred is a good start! Best of luck.
    I am doing weight lifting, but usually 1xweek for about a half hour. How many days/how much time minimum should i spend per week weight lifting?

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