Guide: Properly lose BODY FAT % (For Women)!

This is mainly for women (but really can also be used by Men) who are concerned more so with body fat % than just losing weight (fat and lean muscle). Yes, you are losing body fat when you're dieting but you are also losing some lean muscle to go with it. The reason why most fitness experts pay attention to body fat % is mainly to NOT lose lean muscle mass they have already gained while they are still shedding weight from losing body fat.

So, this is your basic guide you can use to get started on losing body fat %.

Even though this website already has a system of calculating how many calories you really need daily (depending on how long you want to lose weight/your goal). I still think it's important to calculate your BMR (Body Metabolic Rate) and TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure).

Doing that is reassurance on your part and most importantly it's a good way to figure out how many calories you need to consume to lose body fat % and not lose much lean muscle % you already started with.

I'll use me as an example:
My TDEE is around 2700, and if I fell under that calorie range - I will surely lose more body fat.
However, my BMR is around 1800, meaning if I fell under the 1800 calorie range- I'm likely to lose more lean muscle than fat.

So losing body fat (w/out muscle mass) is all about finding your sweet spot between your TDEE and BMR where you don't lose too much strength at the gym (muscle mass) but still lose weight. You can actually go under your BMR by a safe amount because not everyone has the same metabolism rate. Right now, I'm keeping my calories around 2000 when I'm cutting body fat, less on the days I don't go to the gym because my body needs a bit more energy to function/recover when I work out.

Here are some basic tips I recommend that has worked for me (some of it you may already know):

While cutting body fat, you'll be eating the least amount of calories your body needs. So it's important that you properly portion out your meals throughout the day so you don't starve yourself.
The reason:
Our bodies actually panic when we get into a starving mode and it ends up storing more fat later which you obviously don't want to happen. The more consistent your meals are, the more body fat you will actually lose since your body will "think" you don't need to keep it. So that's another reason why you shouldn't jump down to a real low calorie diet to start, gradually progress down and by keeping it close to your BMR.

Next, you have to get your nutrients with a variety of foods, important because you're putting a lot of pressure on your body with exercise and you need to recover properly. It may be helpful in my opinion to use a multivitamin while you are cutting to add to your daily vitamin intake.

And last but not least, carbs and protein, fats play a big part when it comes to cutting body fat.

I don't recommend really low carb diets (like Atkin's) however, cutting the right amount of carbs out will get you the most results. This is because overdose of carbs is readily stored as fat and in times of deprivation, fat-storage increases. Picking the right carbs also helps, low digestive carbs help you not feel hungry unlike less complex carbs.

Protein (lean obviously) is also recommended to be taken to the grams of your lean body mass. So if you had 15% body fat and weighed 100lbs, you would have to have 85 grams of protein each day to not lose lean muscle mass. However, most people who cut carbs agree that you should have a higher protein intake (10%-15% higher than your lean mass).

Fats are recommended to be taken a bit higher than normal because your body needs it to recover properly. Good fats are also a great way to get protein most of the time (peanut butter is an example).

So, that's really all you need to know to get started on burning fat!.

Here is an article you may find helpful for losing fat but I don't recommend everything (especially not fat burners) they addressed: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/catcommand2.htm

But make sure you do your research on the appropriate food intake and take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt (even what I just told you) because everyone is different and we all function differently.

I hope this helps, and best of luck losing body fat % without losing your lean muscle mass!

Ok, break it down for my brain to understand.
Currently, MFP has me set up to lose one pound a week at a base of 1560 cals a day. (sed. job, I use a HRM and add cals when I work out) I suppose I keep at that rate of a pound a week, I don't weigh in every week.
My BMR is 1646.
My TDEE with moderate (3-5 days of excercise) is estimated 2586.

I'm 5'8, 190 pounds, and 27 years old. I have a large amount of body fat to lose while also building muscle.

Now I'm lost as to what you're suggesting. Am I to be consuming between 1646 and 2586?

If you take 500 from your TDEE (2580) you should lose 1 lbs a week (3500 calorie deficit). You do eat back your exercise calories because they are taken into account with TDEE.

Ok, break it down for my brain to understand.
Currently, MFP has me set up to lose one pound a week at a base of 1560 cals a day. (sed. job, I use a HRM and add cals when I work out) I suppose I keep at that rate of a pound a week, I don't weigh in every week.
My BMR is 1646.
My TDEE with moderate (3-5 days of excercise) is estimated 2586.

I'm 5'8, 190 pounds, and 27 years old. I have a large amount of body fat to lose while also building muscle.

Now I'm lost as to what you're suggesting. Am I to be consuming between 1646 and 2586?

If you take 500 from your TDEE (2580) you should lose 1 lbs a week (3500 calorie deficit). You do eat back your exercise calories because they are taken into account with TDEE.

Ok, thank you. I feel like a dumbass now for not seeing it.
That makes perfect sense now. :flowerforyou:
Would there be, in your opinion, any use in wearing my HRM for a full day to see how much it "says" I burn a day and working with that number directly as my TDEE?

Op- you know that article is from 2001. Spend some time in the nutrition section instead of the misc if you really want to learn.

The a whole post is about the basics of body fat % which really isn't brain science and nothing significant has happened in the past 3 decades to change the rules of it.

If you look at articles from 2012, they will say almost the same thing. Please feel free to add what you find will help and criticize what I wrote...just don't post something saying I'm wrong without any reasoning behind it. We are all here for help and everyone's body is different so TAKE EVERYTHING WITH A GRAIN OF SALT when it comes to fitness.

I've recently plateaued on my body fat percentage.
I can't seem to move it AT ALL even though I do cardio for an hour fives times a week.
And not moderate cardio, my shirt is soaking by the time I'm done.
In addition to 30-45 minutes of weight training by myself and with a trainer.

I calculated my TDEE and BMR.
TDEE: 2899
BMR: 1685

Should I not stay at consuming 1200 cals a day?
Should I bump it up to maybe 1500? 1600?