Realistic Body Fat Percentage Loss

leebrayshaw
leebrayshaw Posts: 10 Member
edited November 26 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
It's likely to be a 'how long is a piece of string' kind of question, but I'm wondering what a realistic change in body fat percentage would be over a period of 1 month.

I'm currently 15.5% (using bioelectric scales, so likely not accurate). I'm at a weight I'm happy with but of course there is the stubborn belly fat and muffin tops I'd like to boot.

Is a change of 0.5% a realistic goal over a month? At work (office) we are setting individual health targets and measuring every month to keep us all accountable. Not quite sure what I should be aiming for, given I've only just starting with dumbells and resistance bands.

Any help appreciated :)

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    If you are maintaining weight then really your potential rate of fat loss equals your rate of muscle gain and that's highly variable. Your age and gender are advantages and if you are new to training that would be another major factor.

    You might find this interesting...
    https://bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/whats-my-genetic-muscular-potential.html/

    But these are averages and based on good training regimes, optimal conditions and recomp isn't likely to be optimal compared to a surplus.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    If you have a muffin top and belly fat you aren’t at 15.5% - maybe low 20’s...13-15 is considered essential fat for women
  • leebrayshaw
    leebrayshaw Posts: 10 Member
    Thanks both for your comments. Will take a look at the article. If it helps, I'm a 25 year old guy, 5ft 10".
    Granted, the muffin tops aren't drastic, but they're going :wink:
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    If you have a muffin top and belly fat you aren’t at 15.5% - maybe low 20’s...13-15 is considered essential fat for women

    @deannalfisher

    OP isn't a woman.

    whoops...even then - i dont' think a muffin top/belly fat is even close to 15.5%....
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    If you have a muffin top and belly fat you aren’t at 15.5% - maybe low 20’s...13-15 is considered essential fat for women

    @deannalfisher

    OP isn't a woman.

    whoops...even then - i dont' think a muffin top/belly fat is even close to 15.5%....

    For a male I think of around 15% BF as athletic build but a little "soft". A good shape but probably not a lot of muscle definition. Looks good in clothes but not got the "ripped on the beach" look perhaps?
    I'm around 15% in my profile picture but my back is leaner than my front and you can still pinch an inch for sure around my waist.

    The Builtlean description is....
    The 15% body fat level is usually within the “lean and fit” category in most body fat percentage charts. The outlines of muscle can be seen, but there is no clear separation between them. Vascularity is usually a bit more limited as are muscle striations, which are typically covered by a thin layer of fat. The overall shape is still there, which can create an aesthetic appearance despite less muscle definition.

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited May 2018
    I've been wondering the same thing as I'm slowly shifting into a longer recomp phase (a first for me).

    I've run some numbers just so I have some idea of what is a reasonable expectation... and keeping in mind that this is all based on HUGE approximations and estimates, here is what I'm looking at for me (this assumes maintain my weight at 170lbs and gaining 1lb muscle per month)...

    qu9bf5iy74fc.jpg


    What this tells me is that everyone is right... progress on a recomp can be mind-numbingly slow. But that doesn't mean progress isn't happening. I'm all about managing expectations, so this is helpful/meaningful for me.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    If you have a muffin top and belly fat you aren’t at 15.5% - maybe low 20’s...13-15 is considered essential fat for women

    @deannalfisher

    OP isn't a woman.

    whoops...even then - i dont' think a muffin top/belly fat is even close to 15.5%....

    For a male I think of around 15% BF as athletic build but a little "soft". A good shape but probably not a lot of muscle definition. Looks good in clothes but not got the "ripped on the beach" look perhaps?
    I'm around 15% in my profile picture but my back is leaner than my front and you can still pinch an inch for sure around my waist.

    The Builtlean description is....
    The 15% body fat level is usually within the “lean and fit” category in most body fat percentage charts. The outlines of muscle can be seen, but there is no clear separation between them. Vascularity is usually a bit more limited as are muscle striations, which are typically covered by a thin layer of fat. The overall shape is still there, which can create an aesthetic appearance despite less muscle definition.

    The two measuring devices I have for bf% (both bio-impedance) give me an average of ~13% but by description and picture comparison to those who have had more accurate analysis done, I know I'm closer to that 15% mark. Using that as a comparison and OP's comments I'm guessing 17-18% is probably a good assumption. Pertaining to your question of what you should use as your goal for the office accountability exercise, I would stay away from quantitative body fat percentage changes due to the inaccuracy of how it's measured, my nearly all methods beyond DEXA scans. One of the devices I mentioned I use is also a scale with bio-impedance pad built in. Despite not being overly confidant in it's accuracy, I still track the number it spits out daily. If plotted as a function of body weight it's a nearly linear relationship so I believe much of the calculation my scale does is based on height/weight/age assumptions and not an actual reading, YMMV. From a methodology standpoint, with access to only dumbbells and resistance bands you likely won't be building as much additional muscle quickly as much as you'll be maintaining the muscle you have, especially in a caloric deficit. Assuming your goals are like most and you want to lose fat and gain muscle, conventional wisdom suggests you get lean first, then add lean mass. For fat loss target losing 0.5-1% of your total body weight per week, eat adequate protein and use those dumbbells & bands to keep the muscle you have. Once you get down to where you can be sure you're clear of 15% you can pick between going into recomp at maintenance or try bulk/cut cycles. My gut says recomp would be better long-term if you don't have access to additional equipment, you don't often hear of people bulking unless their lifting in a more traditional progressive overload program, which will get harder to accomplish with your current equipment as you get stronger.

    If you still want to use your scale body fat % for a metric instead of scale weight, the observed linear relationship I found for my scale works out to a change of 0.178% per pound.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    I just did one of those hand held electric things while I was waiting for one of my kids at the chiropractor's office; they are big on getting in shape not just adjusting. It said 20.5%. I am a male and turn 60 later this year, so I was happy to see a chart in another thread recently that said I am in the good range for my age and gender. I still want it under 20. Of course, with the accuracy of those hand held devices, who knows what it really is. I am 5'8" on a good day, weighed 157.8 this morning and just have a small roll above the waist I want to get rid of. I had started maintaining at 160, but I think maybe low 150s will be better so I am back in a deficit the last few days.
  • ricka1962
    ricka1962 Posts: 84 Member
    Yes its possible. You could drop a 1/2 percentage point in a month if you are in a slight deficit and getting enough protein (1g/1lb lean body weight) to retain muscle.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    It varies.

    I have had my BF% measured hydrostatically regularly during 2 different time periods in the past 5 years.

    During 1st time period, my weight dropped from 185.5# to 158# (-27.5#) and my BF% dropped from 25.8% to 12.5% (-13.3%) in just 6 months; a drop of about 2.2%/month.

    During the 2nd time period, my weight dropped from 166# to 154.4# (-11.6#) and my BF% dropped from 16.9% to 8.9% (-8%) in 9 months; a drop of about 0.89% or just under 1%/month.

    During the last 12 months, while I've been in maintenance, my weight dropped from 158# to 156.4# (-1.6#) and my BF% dropped from 8.9% to 8.3% (-0.6%); a drop of only 0.005%/month.

    So, the more weight you have to lose, the more rapidly your BF% can drop.

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