stripping body fat

kristo
kristo Posts: 12
edited September 25 in Motivation and Support
Hi all,

I have posted on here a few times before regarding my weight loss but I need a few pointers if anyone can relate....

I have lost plenty of weight eating healthy and going to the gym most days. I work out hard and have gained but fat loss and muscle quite considerably but Im at the stage now where I want to get rid of the last pounds of body fat to really see that definition. I have no idea what body fat percentage im at currently (I would guess at 20-30%) but im 6ft and was 13st7. Im now 12st exactly. I work out almost daily doing a mix of weights and cardio or currently lots of circuit training to elevate the fat burning. My diet is strict and at 1600 calories at the moment (from the MFP direction) BUT as I suppose is to be expected I have hit a level where its kind of maintained rather than I constantly lose weight.

I dont necessarily want to lose any more weight but I need to lose the last of the body fat.

Should I just keep slogging away or can anyone suggest a change in diet etc?

Im currently eating lots of eggs (whites), fish, sweet potato etc and drink plently of water. Im very happy with my gain in muscle etc but Im getting frustrated with this 'plateau'. I cant possibly do anymore working out as I am strict.

Oh, I should add that I do drink alcohol often but its now gin and slimline.

Thanks for any advice.

Kris

Replies

  • TiniTurtle
    TiniTurtle Posts: 595 Member
    switch up your workouts & food choices a bit. it sounds like you've hit a plateau because your body is used to what you've changed :o)
  • yazi_livefit
    yazi_livefit Posts: 51 Member
    If you want to get lean, you must drop the alcohol. Sorry :(

    Pure alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram, which makes it nearly twice as fattening as carbohydrates or protein and only just under the caloric value for fat (9 calories per gram). Which means, if you want to lose weight and reduce excess body fat, alcohol is not a good choice.

    Your body processes alcohol first, before fat, protein, or carbs, so drinking slows down the burning of fat, and on the other hand the alcohol is a by-product of yeast digestionand is known to damage the stomach, kidneys, and liver....why consume it excessively anyways???
  • pj_writer
    pj_writer Posts: 107 Member
    this should help!
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/113609-relatively-light-people-trying-to-get-leaner

    basically maybe eat more calories but step up the weight training and make sure you're eating plenty of protein

    good luck!

    edited to add that 1600 cals net for a 12 stone man sounds very low, I think you may well do better on more calories.
    I'm a 122lb woman and am currently shedding fat on 1600 cals a day quite successfully so I'm sure you probably should be eating more than that!

    edited again to add that I drink moderate amounts of alcohol at least 3 nights most weeks and don't find that it stops me losing as long as I keep within my calorie goal. Maybe I'd lose faster if I was teetotal but that's never going to happen :bigsmile:
  • Loko_Ino
    Loko_Ino Posts: 544 Member
    Drop the alcohol, as suggested above, and i bet you see a difference in a few weeks.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,331 Member
    When you get close your final goal, you will have to first of all eat more. You want to seriously build muscle and burn fat, but your body cannot handle large calorie deficits at lower weights. I don't know what you have your MFP weight loss goal set at, but go down to .5 pound a week. Also eat back your exercise calories.

    What sort of training do you do. You will probably want to incorporate Metabolic Resistance Training instead of normal cardio, or use High Intensity Interval Training. Better yet a mixture of the two. Long duration steady state cardio doesn't burn near the fat amount at those two modalities of exercise.
  • Imthatg1rl
    Imthatg1rl Posts: 109
    Ditch the alcohol... It sabotages everything you work hard for
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