How to Lower Body Fat Percentage?

[Geometrid Member Find all posts View Profile Close Geometrid]

body-fat-percentage-men-1.jpg

I mentioned in my progress log that I'm also trying to make some improvements to the body attached to my penis. So I did a little research about body fat percentage. I have pretty skinny arms and legs but I'm a little pudgy in the abdomen. One of those bioelectrical impedance scales pegged me at 18.5% body fat. Maybe this is relatively accurate because my physique does look to be in the 15-20% range on the scale above, but closer to the 20% image. I'd like to get near the 12% range. I've already quit drinking soda entirely and I'm trying to improve my diet and cook more at home, but I think to make real progress is going to require some strength training. I'm strategizing about what kind of short, efficient fitness routine I could fit in my busy schedule. Any suggestions?

[Hound Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hound]

Honest NO BS assessment and opinion here is this. You need to get on all lean proteins and forget the strength training part unless you want to build muscle... then By all means go for it. TO cut fat you need to be eating right all DAY and all WEEK of every month. While helping yourself to some good old cardio. Jump rope is supposedly the best and I like it, running is goo too, swimming, and just some good old situps and pushus can help. if you can get into a good routine of 15-30 minutes a day doing what I just said while eating properly so as your metabolism keeps firing.....well good buddy you are well on the way to making that fat burn off like gas on a fire. Just don't stop because it isn't happening fast enough. Just like PE it takes time but you should expect to see good noticeable results within 2 weeks to a month. at three months if you keep it up and do it right you will not only know but want to keep getting more. More than likely choose to get bigger and start weight training at that point.

[silversid23 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close silversid23]

It's honestly the worlds simplest formula and ill tell you what it is.

Eat Less (Yes many people say nooo dont eat less, im telling you, less calories = less fat)

Eat lean (No chips no food high in carbs and no sweets)

EXERCISE (This is very important, excercise, run, do anything that burns fat. Unless you burn fat you wont lose body fat percentage)

[Geometrid Member Find all posts View Profile Close Geometrid]

Thanks for your advice guys!

[TheAnimal220 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close TheAnimal220]

If it's an efficient and effective weight training workout that you're looking for, then you can't really beat properly programmed Complexes. Their effect on fat burning is astounding. Anytime I'm going over 12% bodyfat I'll just scale my calories down 500 or so and cram in some complexes and I'm back at 10% or less in under a month.

Doing a complexes-routine 3 times per week with some HIIT or sprints 2-3 times per week, along with a solid diet will have the fat come flying off. It's an intensive way to diet down, but one of the most effective.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Ton of stuff on the net .
The bioelectrical test seems to be inaccurate for people with over average muscle mass ,if you are going to do weights the visual scale may be better.

[Seeya45 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Seeya45]

Reducing carbohydrate intake is the most effective way to lose body fat over time. I would definitely recommend strength training during your diet. In fact, I would say weight training is 100X more important than cardio to burn fat. Weight training initiates muscle growth, and more muscle mass = more daily caloric expediture at rest = less body fat over time. Once you're done running on a treadmill, you're done...there is no real lasting effect beyond the actual exercise period. With any sort of diet, you always run the risk of losing muscle mass as your body looks around for alternate sources of energy you aren't getting from food. Losing muscle of course has the opposite effect of gaining muscle...reducing your metabolism, and making you more suscetible to weight gain, especially if you fall off the diet. (This is why most people balloon back up once they stop dieting, and gain some more than where they started). You need to tell your body to leave the damn muscle alone and look to fat instead for energy. This is accomplished by lifting weights, and letting the body know the muscle is needed. Besides, who doesnt want a bit more muscle? Being slim and toned will look much better than just being skinny.

Weight lifting is a definite must, however, 95% of your results will come from what you put in your mouth, not how long or hard you exercise. I can't emphasize that point enough.

To get in a real fat burning zone, you'll want to reduce your carb intake to around 50 g per day (which you'll discover is quite hard to do in the modern era). A couple pieces of fruit, or any bread, and you've already gone over your daily intake. Substitue carbs for lean protein and healthy FATS! very important to get good fats (avocados, nuts etc.) when on a low carb diet. This will require you reading nutrition labels and figuring out a diet plan that meets your caloric needs, while reducing carbs simultaneously. For foods without nutrition labels, you will have to either look online for nutrition info, or purchase a food scale and do the calculations yourself. This is a lot of work, but without knowing how much of what you're putting in your body, your diet will be completely useless, lead to frustration, and ultimately failure. By spending some time doing a bit of research and tracking what you eat, you will get 100% better results, 100% faster.

With a low carb diet, you may lose up to 5 pounds in the first week. (jenny craig and other diet companies use this to sell their plans on TV). What they don't tell you is that this is all water weight. For every g of carbs you consume, your body stores 3 g of water. So at first, you may be very happy when you see 5 pounds drop, and then become frustrated when the weight loss plateaus. Just remember, that first initial weight loss was water, and your body is now losing fat, but at a much slower rate, which is normal. The important thing is to stay the course and be consistent. Do not gauge your progress on scale weight! In fact, toss the damn thing in the trash. The scale can ironically be the biggest contributer to diet failure. Gaining muscle while losing fat simultaneously will make overall body weight an unreliable variable. When the number doesn't go down, you get frustrated and give up. STAY THE COURSE.

It's much better to take photos and measure your waist with a measuring tape to assess progress. Also may want to invest in a cheap pair of skin fold calipers to measure body fat percentage, as the electronic ones aren't very accurate. Any case, the best and cheapest measuring tool is the mirror!

Here's a step by step:

Step 1: figure out your basal metabolic rate (BMR)
Step 2: reduce caloric intake to 500 calories under your BMR
Step 3: Limit carb intake to around 50 g per day
Step 4: Substitue carbs for lean proteins and healthy fats
Step 5: Keep a diet log. Measure all protein, carbs, and fats
Step 5: Do weight training 4-6 days per week. Alternate upper/lower body days with adequate rest periods.
Step 6: Have a cheat day once per week

Step 6 is VERY important. One time per week, you'll want to re-introduce carbs into your diet. I usually pick Friday as this is the day im most likely to go out drinking with buddies etc, but you can choose any day you want. Basically eat whatever you want on this day. Dont count calories and dont restrict carbs. This will reset your bodies hormones and avoid the so called "starvation mode." Low carb for too lengthy of a period will wreak havoc on your metabolism and hormones, so its very important to re-introduce them once per week. Plus, its a good way to reward yourself for a week's hard work! Dont skip this cheat day.

I have lost 45 pounds using this method over the past 6 months, while gaining muscle mass. The weight loss has plateaued lately, and I am now going in on "intermittent fasting" and "fasted weight training," which are advanced techniques you may want to eventually look into, but are not necessary when first starting out. They run around the general concept of keeping insulin levels low, which is required for fatty acid metabolism (fat loss).

Again, this is a lot of work, but just like PE, weight loss is something that does not show results over night. Get srious about your diet, get serious results. It's that simple.

Best of luck!



disclaimer I guess...Always consult your doctor when starting any diet plan

[Seeya45 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Seeya45]

Also I forgot to address the "quick, easy" part of your question. I do weight training first thing in the morning (6 am), as like yourself, I would not have any time during the rest of the day to work out otherwise. It may be difficult to get up earlier, but you gotta do what you gotta do to get results.

[Geometrid Member Find all posts View Profile Close Geometrid]

Wow, Thanks Seeya! I'm on board with needing to gain some muscle mass. I feel like my arms and legs are already too skinny. My abdomen is just a little pudgy. I don't have a lot of experience with weight lifting, so I'm trying to settle on a routine. I'm reading online and the responses in this thread have been helpful.
An online calculator put my BMR at 1747.59. I'm planning to record my diet in my progress log here on the forum, but I hadn't planned to be so detailed as to weigh foods and count calories. Maybe I should! I like your cheat day idea! I'm also curious what your intermittent fasting schedule is. Do you alternate days or fast after dinner until after your morning workout to deplete glycogen stores?

Thanks again for all of your effort and insights!

[Geometrid Member Find all posts View Profile Close Geometrid]

Doing a complexes-routine 3 times per week with some HIIT or sprints 2-3 times per week, along with a solid diet will have the fat come flying off. It's an intensive way to diet down, but one of the most effective.

Thanks Animal! I had to look up what complexes are, but it does sound like an efficient way to shed body fat and boost metabolism.

[Seeya45 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Seeya45]

I fast from about 6 pm at night (dinner), until lunch time the next day 12 pm. That gives me a 6 hour eating window and an 18 hour fast. Basically, just skip breakfast each day.

by the time I wake up in the morning, my glycogen stores are already pretty low (especially since I'm on a low carb diet). By going to the gym at 6 am each day on an empty stomach, and doing moderate weight lifting, I am forcing my body to look to fat for energy. Cardio on an empty stomach is okay in moderation. You do not need nor want to go crazy with cardio on an empty stomach, as your body may start breaking down muscle for energy. Besides, a good weight lifting routine should elevate your heart rate enough as it is, so you can kind of accomplish "cardio" at the same time.

combine the above routine consistently with low carb dieting, and it's pretty much the fastest way to lose body fat, aside from liposuction. Again, consistency is key. If you fall off the diet one weekend, dust yourself off Monday morning, and get back in the saddle. Don't let a bad weekend turn into a bad week.

Just imagne, a bigger dick on a lean physique...it's what we all want right? So what are you gunna do to get it?

[Seeya45 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Seeya45]

And when fasting, the first couple days may be tough, but it's crazy how quickly your body adjusts. I literally have 0 hunger when I get up in the mornings now, all the way until lunch. In fact, I could probably go another entire day without food if I wanted to. Give it a try. Just know the hunger the first few days is not the norm.

[Geometrid Member Find all posts View Profile Close Geometrid]

I downloaded the myfitnesspal app to help keep track of my diet. It seems like a helpful tool. I'm still sorting out what goals to input and it seems like it will be a challenge to record food from local restaurants that don't have their menu in the database (more encouragement to cook at home).

[Seeya45 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Seeya45]

I only go out to eat on my cheat days for this very reason. Gauging calories in restaurant meals is very difficult. The rest of the week, I am eating from the grocery store, where I can measure and prepare everything. (It's also cheaper)

if time is an issue, buy premade salads, and chicken breasts etc. The nutrition info is right there on the package! No excuses.

Remember, you will only get out, what you put in. Best of luck on your journey and keep me posted.

[WoodyWombPecker Member Find all posts View Profile Close WoodyWombPecker]

It's honestly the worlds simplest formula and ill tell you what it is.

Eat Less (Yes many people say nooo dont eat less, im telling you, less calories = less fat)

Eat lean (No chips no food high in carbs and no sweets)

EXERCISE (This is very important, excercise, run, do anything that burns fat. Unless you burn fat you wont lose body fat percentage)

I don't agree with you.
Eating less will make you lose fat AND muscle...
You need to eat only like 300 calories less than your maintenance, don't go much lower than that otherwise you will lose muscle too, you don't want that.