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Need help getting to 15% body fat.

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' Forum started by ArkI5, Aug 9th, 2017 at 23:03 PM.
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Aug 9th, 2017, 23:03 PM  
ArkI5
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 2

Need help getting to 15% body fat.

Hello, I'm a seventeen year-old, 5ft6 male and I've been stuck at 66kg-67kg for months after losing about 15kg. According to my scales (I know they're not entirely accurate) I'm at 20% body fat but I want to get to at least 10-15% body fat.

My diet has been made up of 1300-1400 calories a day, consisting of lunch: two wholemeal wraps (200 calories per wholemeal tortilla) filled with half a chicken breast each (53 calories per half a chicken breast) and a quarter of an avocado each (not entirely sure on how many calories but I think it's 50 calories per quarter of an avocado), dinner: wholemeal pasta (about 250-300 calories), a chicken breast (106 calories) and broccoli, and then two snack chocolate bars in between it all (175 calories each). I do no notable exercise as apparently it would only hinder my process considering my calorie intake is as low as it is and I find it difficult to eat more than I already am. I used to do half an hour of rowing every Monday to Friday but stopped when my weight loss came to a halt.

Please help and explain what I'm either doing wrong or what else I need to do/both to get to where I want to be as I feel as if I've exhausted all my options! Thankyou!
 
Aug 17th, 2017, 08:24 AM  
harrythomas14
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: London
Posts: 12

Hi Arkl5

I think you should start by actually calculating how many calories you need for the day if you haven't already. From there eat in a deficit of anywhere between 250-500 cals - anything more would be unhealthy over time and any less would be less effective.

Also, exercise. Not only will it get your body fat down, it'll also help you feel better and give you more energy throughout the day. I wouldn't worry about you not being able to eat anything more - you'll grow hungrier if you exercise because the body needs more fuel.

Have a breakfast, too - this'll help set you up for the day. Add some more calories to your meals as well if you decide to exercise. For example, have that bowl of oats with a tablespoon or 2 of peanut butter. Use olive oil in your cooking. Be that as it may you still want to eat in a deficit, however this number will be different given that you've started exercising.

You'll find that you'll sleep better as well, which is key for any health and fitness program.

Any more questions don't hesitate to message me.

Hope that helps.
 
Aug 17th, 2017, 12:31 PM  
AlfredLarsen
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 11

It sounds like you've done really well so far, so well done!

Perhaps your metabolism has dropped. I've seen some scary graphs showing how it drops when calorie restricting. However, those same graphs show that it returns to normal pretty quickly once restriction loosens or ceases.

Perhaps having a few days or maybe longer where you eat more calories of your healthy diet, before returning back down, will nudge your metabolism back up again? I've seen accounts of people using this method to break out of a plateau.
 
Aug 17th, 2017, 14:49 PM  
Wobbles
Maintainer
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Here!
Posts: 5,930

You scales have nothing to do with your body fat percentage. You can be 60kg and 20% body fat, you can be 65kg and 17% body fat for example. Also bathroom scales to monitor body fat is far from accurate. I sucked into this myself.

Who advised you exercise would hinder your progress? That's shit advice to be blunt ... insane ! If you want to lose body fat and not weight get training, it's the best formula if you can fit it into your life style!



How much more weight do you want to lose?
  • If you want to shape, slim down and reduce body fat definitely ignore that really shit advice.
  • You sound like you need to up your calories - Believe it or not eating helps you lose weight not under eating (for continuous and long term results).
  • Replace carbs (breads potatoes rice pasta) with more greens and whole foods. To add more benefiting carbs eat slow release carbs and avoid grains - for example bananas, nut butters, none starch veg, quinoa, oats ...
This year I put on some weight due to personal reasons but I'll give you an example of last year when I dropped from a size 12 to a size 10 as a woman:
I ate 2000 calories a day
I ate high fat
I had carb days
I train 4-5 times a week
I had a combination of strength and conditioning
I lost 4lbs - Just weight loss I need a stone to drop a jean size *eye opener*
I dropped to 22% body fat (I think from 25%)
I lost inches (lots of from everywhere)

It's not that I don't understand because I was a NO to going over 1200 calories and I was exercising hard. It took me time and seriously good coaching at a slow rate increasing my calories to teach myself to eat. I'm glad I did. Now I love food

And forget the physical side of it - exercise is the best medicine for so much and great for you mental health!
 
 
Sep 13th, 2017, 19:26 PM  
kingconall29
Maintainer
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Canada
Posts: 2

I would focus on building lean muscle. Yes you have to count calories but having a lean muscle will help you burn calories even at rest. And since you're building muscle you'll have more energy, you'll feel stronger, you'll last longer on your workouts.

I would not rely on losing weight by cutting down too much calories in my diet. This could lead to muscle loss or feeling lethargic throughout the day. This could affect your metabolism too.

So again I will focus on getting stronger, building lean muscle, eating protein in every meal which you're doing right now and combine resistance training and cardio.
 
 
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