Body composition test, now what ?

I got a body composition test today that gave me #s/%s of my weight, fat, muscle, water. Now what? I need some help figuring out what to do now to lose some of the body fat. I need to increase my water intake but really need some guidance on fat burning.

Replies

  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,110 Member
    To add to the above -

    Eat less, move more, add strength training to maintain muscle during the process
  • lkdeegee
    lkdeegee Posts: 11 Member
    My BMR is 1382. Suggestions on calories I should aim for each day for fat burning/weight loss? Calculations say between 1150-1600.
  • MarkusDarwath
    MarkusDarwath Posts: 393 Member
    BMR is what you burn if you're basically comatose. What is your activity level? To figure your calorie needs you need to add what you burn in your daily activities to your BMR. The easiest (tho not always the very most accurate) way to do this is to multiply BMR times an adjustment factor for your general level of daily activity. The factor is 1.2 for 'sedentary' so even if you spend most of your waking time sitting down your Total Daily Energy Expenditure would be 1658.4 calories. TDEE is the number you want to base your calorie target upon.
  • lkdeegee
    lkdeegee Posts: 11 Member
    I workout 3-4x a week. I would like to lose 1.5 a week if I can. Should I also drink 1/2 my weight in ounces of water? Should I eat the extra calories it calculates for the days I workout ?
  • lkdeegee
    lkdeegee Posts: 11 Member
    Do I eat the amount it calculates or create a deficit and subtract 500?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    What are your stats? If you don't have much to lose, 1.5 pounds a week is going to be too aggressive.

    Drink enough water to hydrate you. Make sure your urine is light/pale in color. The amount of water that works for you is different from everyone else.

    If you set your goals on MFP, you eat the calories back. If you go with a TDEE calculator, exercise calories are already factored in.
  • lkdeegee
    lkdeegee Posts: 11 Member
    I want to lose 20-25 lbs. it’s ok if it takes all year. I gained my weight over the last couple of years. I was consuming too much alcohol.
  • Davidsdottir
    Davidsdottir Posts: 1,285 Member
    lkdeegee wrote: »
    I workout 3-4x a week. I would like to lose 1.5 a week if I can. Should I also drink 1/2 my weight in ounces of water? Should I eat the extra calories it calculates for the days I workout ?

    Working out doing what?
  • lkdeegee
    lkdeegee Posts: 11 Member
    Orangetheory. High intensity cardio (rower, treadmill) and weight lifting. Mix in some spin classes. Running.
  • loriflask
    loriflask Posts: 13 Member
    To lose about 1 lb per week, you need to be in a calorie deficit of about 500 calories per day. If your BMR is 1500 (calories to burn if you’re comatose), and you do orange theory which burns 500 calories, your body now burning 2000 calories. But if you eat 2000 you will maintain. Subtract 500 from whatever your BMR+exercise is, and keep that as your total calorie intake goal. Don’t obsess too much about the volume of water. Drink 60+oz/ day. One of the important parts of incorporating water into your lifestyle is to cut out sugary juices, high calorie coffee drinks, calorie-dense alcohol, and to generally replace your liquid intake with water. Get your diet right, measure and record, get moving, strength train, drink water, and sleep eight hours. Progress will come!
  • Lesscookies1
    Lesscookies1 Posts: 250 Member
    lkdeegee wrote: »
    I want to lose 20-25 lbs. it’s ok if it takes all year. I gained my weight over the last couple of years. I was consuming too much alcohol.

    Set your goal on MyFitnessPal to to lose 0.5 pounds a week. If you don't have a food scale buy it. Good luck!
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    edited February 2018
    lkdeegee wrote: »
    I want to lose 20-25 lbs. it’s ok if it takes all year. I gained my weight over the last couple of years. I was consuming too much alcohol.

    This part is extremely wise of you. Taking a year you can set a modest deficit and really get good at maintaining your new lower weight once you're done losing. I cringe when I see people who only have a few pounds to lose being way too aggressive because they're more focused on getting it over with than learning the skills needed to stay at their new weight.

    I wish more people had this attitude. Your my hero!