Losing the last few % of body fat - tips please

[FutopiaDad]

Hi all

I'm currently in the region of 17% body fat and have never been able to get myself down anywhere between 12-15%.

I do a mixture of weights and cardio although it's biased towards weights. I generally eat healthily and never diet as my intake is such that I don't really put on or lose weight.

For once I'd love to drop the final few % but really don't know what's ahead of me in terms of discipline. Has anyone here been in a similar situation and be kind enough to share their experience e.g. change in exercise routine, key diet changes etc.

I have a sweet tooth so know that needs to go but any other tips would be appreciated.

Maybe if anyone is in the same boat then we could keep a log and offer some moral support!

Why would you want to? 17% is well within the usual limits for fit blokes?

Or are you prepping for a performance? In which case, you need a specialist site, and to realise that it is not maintainable as a norm.

I think wanting to be 12-15% is a reasonable goal for a man. Have you done a bulk and cut cycle?

Men's Health might be able to help more than Mumsnet.

Thanks for the feedback

It's tricky as there is different info available and 17% seems to lie in the 'ideal' band (so you're right houseofnerds). But I didn't think 12-15% was extreme, or at least I hope not.

Vivacia

I've never really done the bulk/cut thing hence appealing to the more knowledgeable. My thing has always been to eat and exercise well, which has served me well but just for once I'd like to get leaner.

Do you think this is possible for an amateur or is a PT necessary? Thanks

I definitely don't think a PT is necessary. It's mostly done in the kitchen anyway.

If you split your cardio so you do two sessions a day that helps. When I was in my 20s my body fat was 13.5% measured using 5 points & callipers & I did two cardio sessions a day, split weights 4 times a week & lots of waterskiing. I ate very lean, lots of lean protein and veggies.

"Men's Health - Men's Health the number one online magazine for men - sex tips, fashion, sport and health advice"

Yeah, I think this explains why it's not my first port of call for advice on body recomp.

Eastpoint

Lol that's probably true but there are many ultra fit people here too and men's health is all about supplements and unrealistic nonsense. I used to buy their magazine but gave up as it just seemed to peddle the same old guff.

As an aside have you ever been on the men's health boards? So much 'broscience' there's no wonder why I'd rather be here asking!

Futopia, do you respond well to cardio (in terms of fat loss) or do you find that reducing calories works best for you?
Either way I'd say that in order to maintain muscle mass it may be best to make very gradual changes ?.

The law of diminishing returns is usually evident when seeking to maximize muscle and minimize fat, as you get closer to your 'natural limits' it becomes harder to make further improvements?

Although broadly speaking it is easier for men to have higher muscle mass and lower body fat.
?
What is your body composition history have you spent most of your life reasonably lean??

Futopia, do you respond well to cardio (in terms of fat loss) or do you find that reducing calories works best for you?

Hi Suzanne

That's a really good question and one I have to find out!

For as long as I can remember I've been hovering around 74kg's, 40% muscle mass and 17% body fat (using scales so very approximate). I may fluctuate +/- one or two kg's but nothing significant.

I'm lucky but the downside of not doing any extreme/crash regimes is that it's hard to pinpoint whether calories or carido has the biggest effect.

Ideally I'd like to maintain what (little) muscle mass I have whilst steadily dropping the fat (I think your suggestion of a gradual change is a good one).

Ideally I'd like to maintain what (little) muscle mass I have whilst steadily dropping the fat

Calorie deficit to lose weight and heavy lifting to preserve as much muscle mass as possible?

?If I was a bloke I think I would focus on maximum muscularity, because you chaps have it so much easier in that respect!
Oh yes, if I was a bloke I'd have the body of a greek god and no mistake!

?

hit the iron Futopia, thats my suggestion :o

I think Suzanne's right, given that you're not female and not over-weight.

I think it's easier for men to not get fat in the first place but once you do get fat it gets out of control more quickly because men (due to higher androgen levels) ar e more prone to intra abdominal adiposity

Calorie deficit to lose weight and heavy lifting to preserve as much muscle mass as possible?

I've never actually done a cut, but a good friend does bodybuilding competitions and pretty much does the above to cut.

Have you tried myfitnesspal.com? The food diary is great to make sure you're maintaining a deficit (although don't use their default settings, google TDEE calculator and work out how many calories you need, then take off maybe 10% as you don't have much to lose and want to maintain muscle mass). The forums are pretty good, broscience tends to get shouted down pretty quickly ime.

Sorry if all this is obvious!

Thanks again Vivacia/Suzanne

I guess I'll hit the iron then although I'll have to google intra abdominal adiposity as that one just flew right over my head [woosh!].

Lol at Greek God. Do you lift yourself Suzanne?

I guess us guys are lucky but it's all vanity really.

I envy women in some respects as they hide their strength so well. There are a number of women in the gym that seriously out lift me but are more like Jessica Ennis-Hill than Geoff Capes. That makes us men all show and no go!

Look at www.reddit.com/r/Fitness same as MFP, a lot of guff advice, but look at well respected posters and top posts of all time. our start your own post.

You're going to need to check you're getting enough protein too OP.

Gunshot

I've heard of myfitnesspal but not used it. I'll give it a go so thanks for the heads up.

I guess it is obvious now you mention it but maybe the reason I've never looked into seriously (apart from laziness) is because I don't really know how much tweaking I need to do i.e. do I radically change to low fat/sugar/carbs or just make subtle alterations and up the protein.

I think the same applies to women too. I watched a programming once where this woman wanted to drop her body fat and embarked on this crash diet. After a few weeks she'd lost a few pounds but when they took her body fat measurement found she hadn't lost any. As she wasn't exercising this, combined with the crash diet, meant that all she'd lost was valuable muscle mass.

I'm wondering if the proper way to do this is by playing the long game?

I think weight-lifting is a long game. After initial gains I've been told that you have to think in terms of years and not months.

Diet? I think you need to ensure you're getting carbs in before lifting (to fuel your workout) and protein afterwards (for muscle repair/building). By recording what I was eating I realised I was nowhere near getting enough protein in.

I think subtle alterations are best, as Vivacia said you'll need carbs for fuel and protein for recovery. I think some fats are good for joint health, which is important when lifting too.

Play around a bit with macros to see what works for you, but give each change a month or so. MFP tends to underestimate protein requirements so again don't use their standard recommendations.

Another way would be to eat at current TDEE, keep lifting but add in cardio to put yourself into a deficit. Depends how much time you have to exercise though.

yes I'm a lifter, who also runs
or maybe a runner who also lifts

I'd say get a good solid strength training regime going as a priority and maybe clean up your diet a bit

radical change can be hard to sustain

it's all a long game really, as soon as you stop for any length of time fitness and strength will decline

Ok so I'm going to ditch the idea of anything radical and am cool with the long game.

So what sort of routines are you doing?

I read another thread where the OP was talking about olympic lifts. I like the idea of cleans etc. but never see anyone doing these ever. Not sure why.

My current schedule looks something like this (limited to 40 min sessions due to my working out during my lunch hour):

Mon: Bench, Cable Flyes, Incline Bench, Tricep Pulldowns
Tues: 30 mins treadmill (~5k), Abs
Weds: Weighted Dips, Upright Row, Military Press, Tricep Pulldowns
Thurs: Leg press, 20 mins bike, Abs
Fri: Pull ups, Seated Row, Curls, Back Extensions

I'd love to get back into doing more squats/deadlifts but my knees have never thanked me for these, hence the leg press. For some reason I'm ok with these so maybe a form thing.

If anyone has the time/inclination then I'd welcome any comments (negative or otherwise) as I'm happy to change things up.