5'11 / 163 lb father of 3 (need help getting to 7 percent body fat %)

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jasonsunlee
jasonsunlee Posts: 48 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I've been at my target weight for over a month now and need some motivational MFP friends that will help me jump start my body to a lower body fat %. My goal is 7% so I'm going to need as much support and help thart I can get.

I've lost 24 lbs in the past 4 months (and I worked extremely hard to get to where I am today). Time for a new challenge!
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  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    Good luck with that! Single digits are generally reserved for Bodybuilders on steroids. You'll be doing great to hit 11 or 12. :)
  • mirrim52
    mirrim52 Posts: 763 Member
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    What approx. BF% are you now?
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Given you have established maintenance,
    either do a cut, lifting heavy to maintain muscle. Or if you haven't been lifting (progressive compound structured programme), start a controlled bulk, to increase muscle mass, followed by a cut (higher protein levels to help retain muscle) to goal weight to expose muscle.

    Your alternate is a recomp eating at maintenance and lifting, this is a slower method.

    Not knowing more about you that is the best I can do.
    You may have better advice reposting in the fitness sub-forum. Give all your stats - age, weight, BF, cals, lifting programme, etc.

    Cheers, h.
    PS, why such a low BF?
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    Have you been 7% body fat before?

    Why don't you be realistic and just say you want to lower your body fat bit by bit and see where you are happy?

    I recommend a visit to the gaining weight section. The knowledgable people there have halted countless people realise their body fat dreams. Me for one! Over 30% to 15%.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I agree. This is a specialized question for people training for competitive body building.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    Did you do any lifting during your initial weight loss? What is your current body fat %?
  • jasonsunlee
    jasonsunlee Posts: 48 Member
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    Never did any competitive lifting but I am committed to earning the body that I deserve. I lift 3 to 4 times a week with mixed cardio 3 to 4 times a week. I watch what I eat and limit my fat intake to 74 grams a day. My body fat percentge is now 11 percent... struggling to cut it further down without losing my weight.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
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    jasonsunlee wrote: »
    Never did any competitive lifting but I am committed to earning the body that I deserve. I lift 3 to 4 times a week with mixed cardio 3 to 4 times a week. I watch what I eat and limit my fat intake to 74 grams a day. My body fat percentge is now 11 percent... struggling to cut it further down without losing my weight.
    Busy curious which method you used to get your bf%?
  • codsterlaing95
    codsterlaing95 Posts: 221 Member
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    7% bf as a goal? Are you planning on competing or something? Try for 10-12% bf.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
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    Stop losing weight and start focusing on either recomp or a clean bulk. Focus on lifting.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    Maintaining a body fat percentage lower than 10 % (for males) requires significant effort and muscle.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    Maintaining a body fat percentage lower than 10 % (for males) requires significant effort and muscle.

    Not only that, it's not really healthy for all but a small percentage with the genetics that allow for it to be sustain for a long period of time. Men under 10% generally will have hormonal issues and be at health risks that might even be worse than being overweight. I would seriously reconsider the motives for this and if it's even healthy and sustainable for him to be under 10 to 12% let alone under 8%.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    jasonsunlee wrote: »
    Never did any competitive lifting but I am committed to earning the body that I deserve. I lift 3 to 4 times a week with mixed cardio 3 to 4 times a week. I watch what I eat and limit my fat intake to 74 grams a day. My body fat percentge is now 11 percent... struggling to cut it further down without losing my weight.

    You won't do it naturally. You can't recomp from 11% to 7% unless you want to use drugs. One factor is that once you get under 10% or so you will find your testorone levels drop, not to mention as you cut more you will need to drop muscle as you go. Sorry, I don't see this as realistic so why do you want let alone "deserve" 7%? Do you have a full 6 pack now? What's the advantage to going lower?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    I agree it seems rather arbitrary

    Why 7% if not for stage
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    Maintaining a body fat percentage lower than 10 % (for males) requires significant effort and muscle.

    I agree. It's a pain in the butt. No one deserves 7%, you work hard for it. 10-12% is very respectable.
  • Neversettle78
    Neversettle78 Posts: 208 Member
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    I agree with several of the above posters that 7% bf as a goal in a non-competitive setting is unrealistic. For almost all this is not a sustainable or ideal body fat percentage to remain at for extended periods of time.
    If you are currently already at 11% bf and are still unhappy then I suspect that building muscle is what you require to achieve what you seem to think you will have at 7% bf. I am only guessing at that though.
    Perhaps find an image of what your physical goal looks like, then do a side by side comparison with a current picture of yourself to see what the differences are and work towards those. I am almost certain it is going to be to add lean muscle mass to your frame and not lose body fat.
  • Zmac34
    Zmac34 Posts: 32 Member
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    jasonsunlee wrote: »
    I've been at my target weight for over a month now and need some motivational MFP friends that will help me jump start my body to a lower body fat %. My goal is 7% so I'm going to need as much support and help thart I can get.

    I've lost 24 lbs in the past 4 months (and I worked extremely hard to get to where I am today). Time for a new challenge!

    I'm the same height and 7% body fat is my long term goal as well. If you haven't tried already you could include intermittent fasting, lifting heavy with compound exercises, plyometrics in between sets, rest pause sets, hill sprints on off days, and reverse pyramid training. what I've found works the best for me is resistance training 3 days a week with split workouts of 30 minutes so I hit each muscle group at least twice a week. Then on the off days I am running hill sprints 10-12 reps ranging from 25-50 meters. My core exercises include chin-ups, pullups, dips, bench, incline bench, pistol squats, lunges and then the rest is more single muscle exercises.

    I'm not sure what your diet is like but attempt to continue for a high carb, medium fat and low to medium protein for macros and a daily deficit of at least 250 calories. Some good fat burning foods include grapefruit, coconut, cruciferous vegetables, hot peppers, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric.

  • Zmac34
    Zmac34 Posts: 32 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    Maintaining a body fat percentage lower than 10 % (for males) requires significant effort and muscle.

    I was at 8% at 24 years old but worked out 6 days a week for 45-55 minutes each workout and played basketball every other day. However my diet was terrible relying on meal replacement shakes, and fastfood as 40% of my daily calories. So genetics and age play a significant factor as well.
  • Zmac34
    Zmac34 Posts: 32 Member
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    jasonsunlee wrote: »
    I've been at my target weight for over a month now and need some motivational MFP friends that will help me jump start my body to a lower body fat %. My goal is 7% so I'm going to need as much support and help thart I can get.

    I've lost 24 lbs in the past 4 months (and I worked extremely hard to get to where I am today). Time for a new challenge!

    What are you using to measure your body fat%? The most accurate way is to have a dexa scan done and after that is a bioelectrical scale.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Zmac34 wrote: »
    jasonsunlee wrote: »
    I've been at my target weight for over a month now and need some motivational MFP friends that will help me jump start my body to a lower body fat %. My goal is 7% so I'm going to need as much support and help thart I can get.

    I've lost 24 lbs in the past 4 months (and I worked extremely hard to get to where I am today). Time for a new challenge!

    What are you using to measure your body fat%? The most accurate way is to have a dexa scan done and after that is a bioelectrical scale.

    No, scales are unpredictable. If you just look at the study numbers you will think they are pretty decent because on AVERAGE they are pretty good, but the variance is very high so individuals can be off by several percentage. You have to remember that the scale is just a potentiometer and it tries to convert that number into a BF% based on model given your hieight, weight, age and sex. For someone like me, who isn't close to the model, it can be off by 8% or more.

    Dexa, Bod Pod and water are the best. 7 fold caliper is very good too as long as the person is well trained and the adjustments are done properly.

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