What's better: lose 5% body fat or 20lbs

christina_fitz · November 2017

I'm wondering if it's a better success to lose 5% of my body fat or 20lbs? I remember looking and feeling thinner and stronger but the scale didn't more - so i assume it's BF? I'm 5"3 177lbs. I tried to do research but it got more complicated. Thanks!

pogiguy05 · November 2017

Instead of worrying about those small things try concentrating on the more positive changes to yourself. Eating healthier and exercising will get you to where you want to be weight wise. Along the way you will start to feel better physically and emotionally. Unless you get one of them Dexa scans or other BF analysis done then we really dont know are true BF%. I have an Aria scale and an older scale that also shows BF% and they both give me very different readings.

How about take measurements and pics and then you can see the changes over a period of time. that is my advice to you.

dwilliamca · November 2017

How do you plan on measuring BF? I'd start with weight and body measurements which are easy to take, and then if you want add a measurement for body weight, choose a method/calculation you plan on using and check it maybe once a month for another indicator. However, when you start losing fat the scale will drop.

lemurcat12 · November 2017

Most measures of fat loss aren't terribly reliable, and I wouldn't trust them in the absence of weight loss when you have a decent amount of weight to lose.

One option is to measure yourself and take photos every week or two, however. Added encouragement.

nowine4me · November 2017

For me, a 10# loss is about equal to a 1% reduction in body fat. Of those two choices, I’d much rather lose 5%bf than 20#

Viking_Batman · November 2017

people put to much emphasis on bodyweight, I would choose 5% body fat over 20lbs of weight every time

LiftHeavyThings27105 · November 2017

Body composition is a funny thing. I am going to be VERY GENERAL here - not talking about you @christina_fitz .

So, 5'3" at 130lbs can be skinny fat....which is where you look pretty good, pretty thin, pretty "skinny"....but you have no muscle tone and little, if any, strength. You wear size 5 pants (or whatever....that should be close - assuming that we are talking about US sizes).

Then, because some awesome dude who lifts heavy things, you start going to the gym and following a program - something like Strong Lifts 5x5 - and six months later you are still 5'3" and still 130lbs but you are now wearing a size 3 and your waist is two inches smaller and you are tone and lean and strong af.

So, the scale still spits out the same data (130lbs) but you look and feel totally different. As a result of your lifting (and, to be sure, nutrition plays a HUGE role....being a bit "simplistic" with this next statement) your body fat is down. You can eat more.

You have just performed what is called a body re-comp. Take a look at Lyle McDonald for information on this....

So, where am I going with that rant?

It is all relative. Numbers are numbers, data points are data points.

And, to answer your initial question directly - it is almost always a good thing to lose 10% body weight. Generally speaking, this applies to almost everyone. The effect of losing 10% of your body weight has a HUGELY positive impact on your overall health. Very general statements there....but, generally speaking, very true. Are there exceptions? Of course. Talking about for most people in most cases.

ninerbuff · November 2017

If you're losing body fat, you're losing weight. People want to lose body fat (to an extent) and not MUSCLE. So if one lost 20lbs, but say 8lbs of that was muscle, is that worth it?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

rybo · November 2017

Don't over think it. Just lose weight for now, and follow a good strength program to minimize muscle loss.

christina_fitz · November 2017

Thanks everyone. I am currently in a 6 week challenge and they asked us which one we prefer - as they have a guarantee if we don't lose the option we chose then we get our money back. This is why i wanted to know which would have the best results. I agree the percentage because of the weight of muscle and 2 people can have the same weight but look totally different. Thanks for all the replies

PAV8888 · November 2017

christina_fitz wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I am currently in a 6 week challenge and they asked us which one we prefer - as they have a guarantee if we don't lose the option we chose then we get our money back. This is why i wanted to know which would have the best results. I agree the percentage because of the weight of muscle and 2 people can have the same weight but look totally different. Thanks for all the replies

You didn't specify WHY you were asking. The answer is not the same about which you SHOULD prefer to do... and which one WINS you money!

Your body fat cannot be measured accurately. Skin fold and bio-impedance which are the common methods are both unreliable.

You can easily manipulate water weight for a good 25% + of your target weight loss, if not more.

Time your initial weight in so that you do it just as you're getting bloated at the appropriate time of the month.

And don't forget to measure your initial weight in after eating a huge all you can eat sushi or chinese buffet with plenty of salt and carbs the night before.

And after drinking as much water as you can before your weight in... and before going to the washroom.

That establishes a good "starting" point ;-)

Now, time your weigh out on day ~5 of going hard core low carb (keto). After going to the washroom, doing some faster cardio, and before drinking or eating anything!

If you faint, feel bad, hurt your self, or anything like that... that ain't my problem. I am just letting you know how to manipulate your water weight to win the challenge!

By the way, unless you're just about exactly 350lbs, losing 20lbs in 6 weeks would exceed what most would consider a safe loss rate of 1% of body weight per week. Some weird people, like myself, even think that this should be lowered to 0.5% to 1%

And would be quite hard to achieve (if you really were to lose 20lbs of fat in 6 weeks you would need a deficit of ~1670 Calories a day, which for most people AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN WITHOUT ADVERSE HEALTH IMPLICATIONS) ... hence the money back guarantee! (unless you pick 5% and unreliable measurements perhaps even performed by the people paying out the money)

So, IF YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO LOSE FAT... your idea of participating in this challenge SUCKS *KITTEN*. **

If you just want to manipulate the results to get some money... see above.

**how about just setting MFP to losing 1lb a week and following a sane weight loss plan?

steveko89 · November 2017

If I’m understanding this correctly you get to pick a goal between the two they’ll guarantee you to achieve in 6 weeks or you can get your money back? Breaking down the numbers assuming your starting lean mass is 125 lbs and weight loss is 80% fat loss, you start with an assumed current bf% at 29.37%; going from 177 to 157 would therhetically bring you down to 22.9% where A 5% change in body fat would obviously be less at the same loss rate (161-162 lbs scale weight = 122 lbs LBM, 24%bf). In this scenario, easy to see it’s more aggressive to lose 20 vs 15 lbs (5% body fat).

PAV8888 · November 2017

.... apparently you're right and they give you money if you fail to meet the option you pick.

Usually it is the opposite (they only refund you when you meet an impossible goal) but that is not what the OP said now that I re-read it!

So all my advice as to how to measure your weight before and after.... reverse it and you will fail to lose 20 pounds no matter what the program does short of amputate!

What's better: lose 5% body fat or 20lbs

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