How to reduce Body fat %

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  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    You store fat on your body from excess energy (simply: calories), not from the amount of fat you consume. The amount of dietary fat has absolutely no correlation whatsoever to the amount of fat on your body. Take a look at the primal/paleo folks if you want an example of this.

    You need to be eating a great amount of protein (at LEAST 1g per lb of body weight... I would suggest more if you are lifting heavy), and reduce the amount of carbohydrates and sugars you consume.

    If you don't have weight to lose but you are looking to change your body composition, stop fearing fat, get off the treadmill, eat lots of animals and plants. Cardio is the enemy of muscle build. I'm not saying don't ever do cardio, but 5-7 days a week is too much if you're looking to build.

    You look great, by the way.
  • m60kaf
    m60kaf Posts: 421 Member
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    I was wondering about this- what is it that actually reduces your body fat? Exercise or your diet?

    A caloric deficit reduces body WEIGHT. That will be a combination of fat and muscle. How much fat and muscle depends on your diet and exercise.
    More cardio = more muscle loss
    Less protein = more muscle loss
    More heavy lifting = more muscle preservation
    More protein intake = more muscle preservation

    Thus... protein + heavy lifting = good.

    Genetics also play a role.

    Totally agree and if that is within a calorie defecit it will prob mean low carb diet

    I pay no attention to fat - eat the right food it takes care of itself (I think :) )
  • garbanzalo
    garbanzalo Posts: 61 Member
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    You need to stop the cardio and increase the intensity of your weight training. Look up interference effect. Cardio gets int he way of the effectiveness of building muscle.
  • GalaxyDuck
    GalaxyDuck Posts: 406 Member
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    In my experience, limiting sugars has more of an impact on reducing Body fat %. Don't worry so much about your fat intake, watch your sugar & carbs intake instead.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    In my experience, limiting sugars has more of an impact on reducing Body fat %. Don't worry so much about your fat intake, watch your sugar & carbs intake instead.

    sugar is just a type of carb and has the same amount of cals/gram as protein. You can lose weight eating a diet of 80% sugar, if you are in a caloric deficit, that being said a lot of your loss would be lean muscle, and you probably wouldn't be healthy, but the point I am making is that sugar does not turn into body fat unless you are in a caloric surplus.
  • mousepaws22
    mousepaws22 Posts: 380 Member
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    Thanks- I have lost 27 pounds through cardio alone and reduced my body fat by 14% but am now working with a trainer and have started doing some weights. It's only light weights at the minute (becasue that's all I can do right now) but I will work on building up the weight. Also doing things like weighted squats and lunges and quite a lot with kettlebells at the minute as well. Oh I'm trying to do low card/high protein as well, but struggling with the carbs! Mostly they come from fruit and veg though. I usually manage at least 100g protein a day.
  • jennifer52484
    jennifer52484 Posts: 888 Member
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    In my experience, limiting sugars has more of an impact on reducing Body fat %. Don't worry so much about your fat intake, watch your sugar & carbs intake instead.

    Already do this. I was told from when i started my fitness journey to "avoid sugar like its the plague". I do my best to limit my sugar and I keep my carbs fairly low and under control.
  • tuffytuffy1
    tuffytuffy1 Posts: 920 Member
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    I agree with another poster, to reduce body fat percentage add more weight training and decrease the intense cardio sessions.
  • jennifer52484
    jennifer52484 Posts: 888 Member
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    I should also probably add that I've dropped my body fat % a significant amount already. I'll learn tonight how much when I get measured by my trainer. I am really just looking for additional guidance. Thanks so far for your input!
  • Jennifer0878
    Jennifer0878 Posts: 94 Member
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    I highly recommend The New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler. It's an awesome book that focuses on lifting HEAVY weights. In doing this, you can increase muscle, which will help you burn more fat. I would talk to your trainer and see if he/she recommends reducing your cardio. Too much cardio can slow down the muscle-building process of weight lifting. Lifting heavy weights = more muscles = more burning of body fat! Good luck!
  • jennifer52484
    jennifer52484 Posts: 888 Member
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    He may suggest reducing cardio. Up until this point i've been on the weight loss track. I started at 187 June 2011 and Currently weigh 135lbs. So maybe that is the next step in his plan.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
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    I am already on a low fat regimin of 30g or less per day. Does anyone know if this will continue to make my body fat dwindle or do i need to consume even less fat? I am also working out intense cardio 5-7 days/week along with strength training m-w-f.

    Your bodyfat % is not a byproduct of your fat intake, in the slightest. I would even venture to say that the focus on any one macronutrient is unfounded.

    I personally like a balanced, sustainable approach. The primary key to reducing bodyfat is preserving lean muscle. That means VERY slight calorie deficits...large deficits lead to muscle catabolism. This reduces your metabolic rate and increases the proportion of fat in your body. Exactly what you DON'T want.

    It is a bit excessive, but I'd consume 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight--this will also help in not only satiety but in ensuring you are consuming enough amino acids to increase muscle mass.

    Begin lifting HEAVY weights--as mentioned, NROLFW is AWESOME! I do it and love it :)

    Incorporate HIIT (high intensity interval training) ...operative words being "high intensity" that means all out--as if your life depended on it effort. 10-15 minutes is sufficient 2-3x a week. If you're unfamiliar this is essentially going full force for 20-30sec (i sprint) and follow it with 60-90 seconds recovery (some people do an equivalent recovery period of 30 seconds but you'll burn out faster).

    Lastly, patience, that's your best friend. It takes time to lose bodyfat. It is hard work but it pays off. Also, don't compare yourself to other people. Your body/genes are going to make you look different than the next person at an equivalent bodyfat.

    Try to enjoy the process--remember to eat enough...eat all macronutrients...lift as heavy as possible...sprint fast. Recover. That's the secret.
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
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    January-February
    I was 34% body fat on January 2nd and did cardio only for 1 month and lost 22 lbs and 1.5% body fat (32.5%).

    February-March
    I then started Strength training and cardio (less than before) and lost 11.5lbs and 5% body fat (27.5%), I also saw a huge difference in the pictures I took.

    I notice now that I really don't care what the scale says anymore because my arms and legs have gotten much bigger and I look much healthier even though i am not losing as much weight week to week.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    Just want to chime in because I'm curious-

    Alot of you keep stressing to lose WEIGHT you must be in a caloric deficit. My question is-

    If you consume your TDEE, lift heavy 3 times a week, consume your body weight in grams of protein can you lose FAT/change body composition? Or is losing fat based solely on caloric deficit.


    Edit:should mention im 19% body fat looking to get to 16%
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
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    Just want to chime in because I'm curious-

    Alot of you keep stressing to lose WEIGHT you must be in a caloric deficit. My question is-

    If you consume your TDEE, lift heavy 3 times a week, consume your body weight in grams of protein can you lose FAT/change body composition? Or is losing fat based solely on caloric deficit.


    Edit:should mention im 19% body fat looking to get to 16%

    well, if you're wanting to lose change your bodycomp you can do it by 1) adding more muscle or 2) losing fat...if you add muscle by eating at your TDEE and lifting heavy then you'll naturally shift BF% downward. So the answer is...yes. :) Hope that makes sense.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    This is folly.
    Low fat is no bueno!

    Really? Thanks for you super helpful advice.

    Read up.
    All the big hitters already say low fat isnt good for a body recomp.
    You should be hitting at least 30% fat in your macronutrients.
    Protein at least 30%.
    If you start cycling carbs, you should be doing this to get very low body fat, youll need to raise fat intake even higher.
    So enjoy eating nuts and oils and fatty fish and meat.
    Have some tic tacs for the bad breath.
    Compete then decide what to do next.

    Or....

    Intermittent fast and eat just about everything with moderate carbs.
  • m60kaf
    m60kaf Posts: 421 Member
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    Wow a thread, I largely agree on - theres a first!!!

    All slightly different viewpoints on the same common theme

    More heavy weights, more protein (less carbs/fat)

    To OP - I am sort of in your situation - lost a lot of weight by cal deficit.

    But to get the all important last few percent what you eat is king
  • Annafly3
    Annafly3 Posts: 63
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    bump
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,398 MFP Moderator
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    Just want to chime in because I'm curious-

    Alot of you keep stressing to lose WEIGHT you must be in a caloric deficit. My question is-

    If you consume your TDEE, lift heavy 3 times a week, consume your body weight in grams of protein can you lose FAT/change body composition? Or is losing fat based solely on caloric deficit.


    Edit:should mention im 19% body fat looking to get to 16%

    Well you can eat at maintenance or even a caloric surplus and still cut body fat. If your goal isnt' weight loss but rather increasing lean muscle mass, the you wouldn't eat at a deficit. In my case, I am trying to cut body fat while maintaining weight (aka - increasing lean muscle mass). I do eat at a small deficit (10-20% of tdee). Now my diet isn't always clean, but I have seen progress in my arms, back and legs and a little in my abs as compared to previous pictures.

    I will note, if you eat a surplus, there is a good chance that some of your weight gain will be from fat. It can be very difficult to gain 100% lean muscle mass from your surplus.
  • HoosierMomma1
    HoosierMomma1 Posts: 76 Member
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    This discussion is interesting since I've kind of done this on my own and while I'm happy with how awesome my butt looks now, I really need to focus on other areas

    I've lost 10% body fat over the last 10 weeks (over 6 inches overall and about a dress size) without losing a single pound. I do 30-60 min of interval elliptical 4-5 times a week, 25 pound kettlebell swings ~3 times a week (50 swings) and also toning with hand weights. This discussion is interesting since I've kind of done this on my own and while I'm happy with how awesome my butt looks now, I really need to focus on other areas

    -5 x a week i do 69 min Cardio elliptical (interval training)
    25 pound kettle bell swings 50 each 3 x week
    Core toning with hand weights 3-4 times a week

    I work at a desk job but I have a fit bit and try for at least 10,000 steps a day, 5 miles of distance and at least burn 2300-2500 on cardio days. I don't have the average handy but I'd guess a conservative 2,100 calorie burn per day

    My goal is 1400 calories intake and I usually try to eat at least half my additional exercise calories

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