BF loss in relation to weight loss

Crotalus

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I recently read in another thread that you should expect to lose 4 pounds of body weight for every 2 percentage points of body fat reduction ... is this accurate ?

I'm at 188 and an all time high of 15% bodyfat and want to get to 10% if possible. When around 12% BF in past summers I always wanted to be alittle leaner , though I certainly wasn't looking fat at 12% BF.

According to that calculation , I'll have to drop to below 180 ... lose 10 lbs (!) to hit 10% ... does that sound right ? I just have this phobia about not weighing less than 180 - 182 since I've worked so hard to get where I am.

On the average, does this 4lbs = 2% body fat sound right to you guys ? :think:
 

former_SlimJim

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Yes. That's about right. If you weighed exactly 200lbs at the beginning of your weight loss and lost 2% bf, you would of lost 4lbs of fat. This ratio varies as your weight changes though ( 2% bf @ 200lb = 4lb : 2% bf @ 150lb = 3lb) Starting out at your current weight of 188 and going from 15% down to 10% you would need to lose exactly 9.4 lbs - of course this is all mathematical and not very easy to verify because of all the variables involved in measuring skin folds and bodyweight changes throughout the day.
 

glenihan

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well you'd need to lose 9.4 pounds of fat, that doesn't take into account weight gained if he was able to put on lean body mass at the same time
and i know some claim that can't be done, but i'm living proof it can happen if you have the proper diet, training, and cardio
 

Crotalus

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How much stock to you guys put into the 'accepted' caloric tables. For example, in another thread I read where no one should be taking in under 1500 calories a day . You guys agree with this ?

I'm asking because like I said I'm at an all time high of 15% BF and want it down ...way down from that .... I'm disgusted I let it get that high. So for the first time in a long time (when I was 150lbs and was trying to shove 5000 calories down my throat in an effort to gain weight) I'm counting calories.

I figured after about two weeks of writing everything down I'd know what my mainatinace number was and that was turned out to about 2000 a day which was about 50P/40C/10F . Some times I was slightly over and many times a couple hundred under 2000. When I'd weigh myself at the gym I was never less or more than one pound from 188 but have to remember heavier / lighter clothes has to be taken in coinsideration also when you get withing one pound.

Thing is , I could see easily dropping to 1500 calories and I know many times I've eaten less than that without even trying just from being busy , being and on the road , etc. I just think at 52 years old I don't need the calories I did ten years ago and can get away with alot less than I'm eating now.

I think about cutting back to 1500 but hesitate because of reading of 1500 being the absolute bottom number to be at. I mean, dropping 400 - 500 calories a day wouldn't seem like anything to me ; hunger-wise I wouldn't miss it a bit .... just dropping from four small meals to three .

You guys think this is such a bad idea ? It just seems that I don't need that much if I'm maintaining 188lbs at 15% BF with 1900 - 2000 a day.

I'm training two days a week with HIT on the weights. The cardio I just seriously started with one HIIT session following my upper body wokout on the stairmaster , one day on the bike ( thinking to go with the row machine today ) and another at home with the heavy bag. I'd prefer to do one of the other two cardios after my lower body workout but my lower back is so fried after that workout it's a bitch just to walk out to the truck and drive home ; no way can I do anything other than lie down after my squats and deadlifts.

What do you think about cutting the calories back as much as I say? Since I've never really tried doing this in the past, is cutting back a couple hundred a day really too drastic ?

I also started taking Sesathin the other day ( 1.75 - 2 ml 3X a day ) besides my ECA. I read alot of good reviews so decided to give it a shot.

I appreciate your thoughts and advice.
 

former_SlimJim

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Initially you should not decrease calories more than 10 - 20% below maintenance. If you do, your metabolism will slow down much faster. If you are not losing weight after 2 wks, then drop the calories down some more. Small drops in 2 wk increments will minimize metabolism slowdown. Also, you should never take calories more than 1,000 cals below maintenance. In your case, that is probably too low since you are starting out at 2,000. As far as absolute minimum caloric intake goes, I have seen some say 1200, 1400, and others 1500 - who knows.
 

Crotalus

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Thanks for the good advice, and I should have known better than to think about dropping that drastically but I was ready to jump the gun.

I also just read about another approach that has you increasing your calories a couple days every ten days in order to trick your metabolism into burning more , than you decrease them again. Is this sort of the reason many diet plans give you a 'cheat day' ? It sounded interesting but didn't get the full story as it is a 'pay diet' site.

Here's the link if anyone was interested in seeing it. I'm sure it's something you all heard before but it was first for me since shedding excess fat wasn't a concern for me until recently.

Though I've never tried it ..... they named it after me ! :icon_lol:

http://weightloss4idiots.com/fill.gif
 

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