Losing a couple % body fat
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chrisredmayne
Posts: 28 Member
I really wanna get myself down to 15 or 16 percent body fat for my holidays in September! My scales fluctuates around 18 usually, I know they aren't the best to record this but it seems like a good average.
Would you cut down on food groups to achieve this? Or just keep it the same but really clean? I haven't been tracking my foods very well lately, just been focusing on building strength through ddp yoga and cardio running and cycling. Which is working, I just have a belly where when I'm standing up tall it looks toned but if I've drank too much water or I'm slouching I look fat again ha
Would you cut down on food groups to achieve this? Or just keep it the same but really clean? I haven't been tracking my foods very well lately, just been focusing on building strength through ddp yoga and cardio running and cycling. Which is working, I just have a belly where when I'm standing up tall it looks toned but if I've drank too much water or I'm slouching I look fat again ha
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Replies
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You haven't given people your age/height/weight which gives context but you also haven't mentioned calories - it's your calorie balance that (primarily) determines if you gain or lose body fat.
You could eat 100% junk food (but please don't!) and get slimmer, you could eat 100% really clean (whatever that means to you) and get fatter.
It's not specific foods that cause weight gain or loss, your body fat is an energy store you either add to in a calorie surplus or reduce in a calorie deficit.
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You haven't given people your age/height/weight which gives context but you also haven't mentioned calories - it's your calorie balance that (primarily) determines if you gain or lose body fat.
You could eat 100% junk food (but please don't!) and get slimmer, you could eat 100% really clean (whatever that means to you) and get fatter.
It's not specific foods that cause weight gain or loss, your body fat is an energy store you either add to in a calorie surplus or reduce in a calorie deficit.
My weight never really changes, I'm always between 11 stone 7 to 12 stone. I'm 36, male, 6 ft. When I was tracking calories I was getting about 2100 but then on the weekend when I was eating out or having a few drinks it was really hard to track.0 -
You haven't given people your age/height/weight which gives context but you also haven't mentioned calories - it's your calorie balance that (primarily) determines if you gain or lose body fat.
You could eat 100% junk food (but please don't!) and get slimmer, you could eat 100% really clean (whatever that means to you) and get fatter.
It's not specific foods that cause weight gain or loss, your body fat is an energy store you either add to in a calorie surplus or reduce in a calorie deficit.
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chrisredmayne wrote: »You haven't given people your age/height/weight which gives context but you also haven't mentioned calories - it's your calorie balance that (primarily) determines if you gain or lose body fat.
You could eat 100% junk food (but please don't!) and get slimmer, you could eat 100% really clean (whatever that means to you) and get fatter.
It's not specific foods that cause weight gain or loss, your body fat is an energy store you either add to in a calorie surplus or reduce in a calorie deficit.
My weight never really changes, I'm always between 11 stone 7 to 12 stone. I'm 36, male, 6 ft. When I was tracking calories I was getting about 2100 but then on the weekend when I was eating out or having a few drinks it was really hard to track.
So if you are intending on maintaining your weight the way you can make a slow difference to your body fat is by building muscle - it's got the name "recomp" these days. Used to be called simply "getting in shape".
But to gain muscle you really need to train to achieve that, you need to give your muscles a reason to grow and that's by progressively overloading them - weight training is by far the most efficient way.
Running won't do much at all, cycling can do a little but hypertrophy of endurance muscle fibres is far more limited, yoga a little if very challenging.....
If you started training to gain muscle at twelve stone or 168lbs (my weight too) for every 1.68lbs of muscle you gain your bodyfat percentage will improve by 1% - that would seem achievable in three months to hit your BF% goal.5 -
chrisredmayne wrote: »You haven't given people your age/height/weight which gives context but you also haven't mentioned calories - it's your calorie balance that (primarily) determines if you gain or lose body fat.
You could eat 100% junk food (but please don't!) and get slimmer, you could eat 100% really clean (whatever that means to you) and get fatter.
It's not specific foods that cause weight gain or loss, your body fat is an energy store you either add to in a calorie surplus or reduce in a calorie deficit.
My weight never really changes, I'm always between 11 stone 7 to 12 stone. I'm 36, male, 6 ft. When I was tracking calories I was getting about 2100 but then on the weekend when I was eating out or having a few drinks it was really hard to track.
So if you are intending on maintaining your weight the way you can make a slow difference to your body fat is by building muscle - it's got the name "recomp" these days. Used to be called simply "getting in shape".
But to gain muscle you really need to train to achieve that, you need to give your muscles a reason to grow and that's by progressively overloading them - weight training is by far the most efficient way.
Running won't do much at all, cycling can do a little but hypertrophy of endurance muscle fibres is far more limited, yoga a little if very challenging.....
If you started training to gain muscle at twelve stone or 168lbs (my weight too) for every 1.68lbs of muscle you gain your bodyfat percentage will improve by 1% - that would seem achievable in three months to hit your BF% goal.
I'd rather not do weight training tbh. Got light weights in the house and even those make me feel sore the next day. Ddp yoga seems to be good for building strength, noticing improvements, just probably not as fast or effective as weight training but should get me more toned if I keep it up. It's not just yoga there are push ups and dynamic resistance moves in it using body weight.0 -
chrisredmayne wrote: »chrisredmayne wrote: »You haven't given people your age/height/weight which gives context but you also haven't mentioned calories - it's your calorie balance that (primarily) determines if you gain or lose body fat.
You could eat 100% junk food (but please don't!) and get slimmer, you could eat 100% really clean (whatever that means to you) and get fatter.
It's not specific foods that cause weight gain or loss, your body fat is an energy store you either add to in a calorie surplus or reduce in a calorie deficit.
My weight never really changes, I'm always between 11 stone 7 to 12 stone. I'm 36, male, 6 ft. When I was tracking calories I was getting about 2100 but then on the weekend when I was eating out or having a few drinks it was really hard to track.
So if you are intending on maintaining your weight the way you can make a slow difference to your body fat is by building muscle - it's got the name "recomp" these days. Used to be called simply "getting in shape".
But to gain muscle you really need to train to achieve that, you need to give your muscles a reason to grow and that's by progressively overloading them - weight training is by far the most efficient way.
Running won't do much at all, cycling can do a little but hypertrophy of endurance muscle fibres is far more limited, yoga a little if very challenging.....
If you started training to gain muscle at twelve stone or 168lbs (my weight too) for every 1.68lbs of muscle you gain your bodyfat percentage will improve by 1% - that would seem achievable in three months to hit your BF% goal.
I'd rather not do weight training tbh. Got light weights in the house and even those make me feel sore the next day. Ddp yoga seems to be good for building strength, noticing improvements, just probably not as fast or effective as weight training but should get me more toned if I keep it up. It's not just yoga there are push ups and dynamic resistance moves in it using body weight.
much much easier to lower BF% with lifting, but bodyweight exercises can work. check out you are your own gym and convict conditioning. As long as you are progressively overloading the muscle while getting adequate protein, your body will choose mostly body fat as fuel to make up the difference, if in a deficit, or slow recomp at maintenance. Not getting enough protein or overloading the muscles will not result in recomp.4 -
I've gotten my BF down to 8% at 150# but that was an extreme and in hindsight was too low for me. After a minor binge, I went up to 160 w/12% BF. This was all w/o doing any lifting which I did extensively b4.
Basically, to lose BF, you have to burn (use up) your stored fat.
You do this 1st by losing wt which is done by CICO, eating fewer cals than your body needs so that your body will draw upin your stores fat for the energy.
The problem is that if you don't use your muscles and don't eat enough protein to maintain your musculature, if you eat in a deficit, your body may also consume muscle to make up for the deficit. It is a delicate balance and there is no one-fits-all solution to the problem.
When I went up to 12% BF, the loss of muscle was part of the reason for it but I like my appearance better at 155 and 12% now than I ever did b4, depite,the loss of muscle wt.
You'll have to work out what the best method to do it will be 4u but FWIW my recommendation is to simply lose wt by eating less AND by engaging in low intensity cardio at a stready rate (no HIIT) preferably early in the morning b4 you eat breakfast (if you eat it, I don't) so that you are in at least a semi-fasted state when your glycogen levels are lowest which will increase the possibility of burning fat as you lose wt.
I do 16:8 IF and row 5k meters @ morning for this purpose but low intensity biking (stationary or on the st) and jogging could be just as effective.
The other thing you need to do if you are serious about losing fat is to get an accurate measurement of it. The 2 best methods for this are DEXA and hydro. I do both W/o an acccurate measurement of your BF, you'll never know how well or I exercise in a fasted state when I get up in the morning.poorly you are doing.
BTW, electonic devices are all but useless for this purpose.
Good luck!3 -
I've gotten my BF down to 8% at 150# but that was an extreme and in hindsight was too low for me. After a minor binge, I went up to 160 w/12% BF. This was all w/o doing any lifting which I did extensively b4.
Basically, to lose BF, you have to burn (use up) your stored fat.
You do this 1st by losing wt which is done by CICO, eating fewer cals than your body needs so that your body will draw upin your stores fat for the energy.
The problem is that if you don't use your muscles and don't eat enough protein to maintain your musculature, if you eat in a deficit, your body may also consume muscle to make up for the deficit. It is a delicate balance and there is no one-fits-all solution to the problem.
When I went up to 12% BF, the loss of muscle was part of the reason for it but I like my appearance better at 155 and 12% now than I ever did b4, depite,the loss of muscle wt.
You'll have to work out what the best method to do it will be 4u but FWIW my recommendation is to simply lose wt by eating less AND by engaging in low intensity cardio at a stready rate (no HIIT) preferably early in the morning b4 you eat breakfast (if you eat it, I don't) so that you are in at least a semi-fasted state when your glycogen levels are lowest which will increase the possibility of burning fat as you lose wt.
I do 16:8 IF and row 5k meters @ morning for this purpose but low intensity biking (stationary or on the st) and jogging could be just as effective.
The other thing you need to do if you are serious about losing fat is to get an accurate measurement of it. The 2 best methods for this are DEXA and hydro. I do both W/o an acccurate measurement of your BF, you'll never know how well or I exercise in a fasted state when I get up in the morning.poorly you are doing.
BTW, electonic devices are all but useless for this purpose.
Good luck!
That makes a lot of sense, I was doing the same fasting and doing my exercise before work but when I was getting better at it my workouts were lasting longer so I put them after work now maybe I should try changing it back to mornings.
I have been losing body fat doing what I'm doing now, but as you say the scales aren't great for rrsvkung this and it can be disheartening. Like ill have a great 4 days eating and exercise, look in the mirror and think I've done great but the scales would say my bf gas went up! But before I started this I was about 22 percent at least and I'm a lot more thin in the stomach and toned in my legs and arms. Guess it depends how much I want it if I want to push to the extremes
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I've gotten my BF down to 8% at 150# but that was an extreme and in hindsight was too low for me. After a minor binge, I went up to 160 w/12% BF. This was all w/o doing any lifting which I did extensively b4.
Basically, to lose BF, you have to burn (use up) your stored fat.
You do this 1st by losing wt which is done by CICO, eating fewer cals than your body needs so that your body will draw upin your stores fat for the energy.
The problem is that if you don't use your muscles and don't eat enough protein to maintain your musculature, if you eat in a deficit, your body may also consume muscle to make up for the deficit. It is a delicate balance and there is no one-fits-all solution to the problem.
When I went up to 12% BF, the loss of muscle was part of the reason for it but I like my appearance better at 155 and 12% now than I ever did b4, depite,the loss of muscle wt.
You'll have to work out what the best method to do it will be 4u but FWIW my recommendation is to simply lose wt by eating less AND by engaging in low intensity cardio at a stready rate (no HIIT) preferably early in the morning b4 you eat breakfast (if you eat it, I don't) so that you are in at least a semi-fasted state when your glycogen levels are lowest which will increase the possibility of burning fat as you lose wt.
I do 16:8 IF and row 5k meters @ morning for this purpose but low intensity biking (stationary or on the st) and jogging could be just as effective.
The other thing you need to do if you are serious about losing fat is to get an accurate measurement of it. The 2 best methods for this are DEXA and hydro. I do both W/o an acccurate measurement of your BF, you'll never know how well or I exercise in a fasted state when I get up in the morning.poorly you are doing.
BTW, electonic devices are all but useless for this purpose.
Good luck!
A lot of miss information here. yes low intensity cardio will burn more fat as a fuel source and more body fat at rest. but if your calories are the same for the day, you will not lose any more fat at the end of the day doing something at low intensity fasted, vs high intensity fully fueled. If anything, if you eat the same cals, you will actually lose more fat doing higher intensity while fueled, as you will have the energy to burn more calories and end up either being able to eat more and lose the same, or lose more by eating the same amount.
Weight and fat loss comes down to caloric deficit, not the state in which you exercise. Keep in mind almost 100% of your fuel source while sleeping is fat, so should you just sleep more to lose weight then? No, why, your TDEE and NEAT would be lower doing that (much like the fasted low-intensity cardio)3 -
We are at a similar body fat and have a similar goal, mine is to get to 16 percent around same time. I weigh a little more than you but not much. You’re one inch taller while I’m 28 years older.
It’s a tall task.
I did the math and for me, the goal translates to something like adding 4 lbs. of muscle while losing the same in body fat. Doing it by September is, as I said, a tall task.
My goal is by the first day of Fall.
I realize I may not achieve my goal but can have fun trying.
I’ve shared a DXA-Scan of my fat loss journey in other posts and have made some good progress but the task gets tougher when you’re at an ideal weight.
Bottom line, have fun trying, like me. If you miss it, keep marching forward which is what I’ll be doing.1 -
chrisredmayne wrote: »That makes a lot of sense, I was doing the same fasting and doing my exercise before work but when I was getting better at it my workouts were lasting longer so I put them after work now maybe I should try changing it back to mornings.
I have been losing body fat doing what I'm doing now, but as you say the scales aren't great for rrsvkung this and it can be disheartening. Like ill have a great 4 days eating and exercise, look in the mirror and think I've done great but the scales would say my bf gas went up! But before I started this I was about 22 percent at least and I'm a lot more thin in the stomach and toned in my legs and arms. Guess it depends how much I want it if I want to push to the extremes
Just to be clear, you do not need to do IF to lose weight/BF but it is one way to try to do it if other methods don't work for you.
I dropped 10# from 160 to 150 and reduced my BF to 8% by eating 2200-2400 cals/day, lifting and rowing 10k meters/day (about 50 mins of rowing for me) over a uear. However, I also lost 5# in just a month from 160 to 155 by doing IF, eating 1800 cals/day and rowing 5k meters (25 mins/day).
As I said previously, losing w/BF is mainly CICO but you need to do something to burn cals (whether in a fasted state or not). I was able to drop the 5# quickly switching to IF and dropping my food intake by about 600-800 cals a day but I was still w/in 5# of my ideal weight and the ONLY thing I did differently was switch to IF and exercise while fasted.
However, your results may differ. All I can say is that, if you can't lose any more wt/BF, you can try IF to see if that help you achieve your objective. If it works, great. If not, just try something else.
Again, good luck!
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