Questions about body fat.?
Last time I checked I had 15.2% body fat ( a month ago?).And my target is 10%(from NOW to the END of the year) or less.How much cardio exercise do you recommend everyday?How many calories should I lose a day and still be healthy?Should I do weights?I'm eating a healthy diet.I have my lean meats and eggs for protein source.I eat whole wheat bread.I have my servings of veggies and fruits(more fruits).But i'm moving along rather slowly since I haven't seen any fat loss on my stomach.Advice appreciated...and it's the fat around my stomach area that bugs me. O yes some info: Male 5'8 134lbs Age:17 BMI:20.4
Public Comments
- You don't sound fat, (134 lbs for 5' 8") but the best would be to get a medical checkup and ask the doctor how many calories he would recommend for more fat loss. If you want then, I can send you a meal plan according to the doctor's calorie recommendation. I follow the American Diabetic Association meal plan of 1,000 calories daily, although I am not diabetic. It's not only for diabetics, but for healthy eating. Very balanced. There are meal plans for more calories, based on activity and other factors. I see you eat a lot of fruit. Fruit sugars revert to fat and it's a good idea to watch for that. A healthy amount of exercise , cardio and weights would do you good. Never overdo. I assume you are in good health for it.
- Burn more calories than you eat. Cut your fat intake. Eat three cups of fat free low cal yogurt a day (make sure it has live cultures in it) and pineapples. This helps you break down your food and promotes weight loss.. Do 45-60 min. of aerobic exercise a day (preferably before you eat in the morning). This will attack the fat. Try to supplement your training with some running, running stairs or hills, and cycling. Mix it up, it will keep your body guessing. Do 30 min of weight training three times a week. This will build lean muscle which will in turn burn fat. Keep moving all the time. Tap you feet while at the computer, tap you hands on your legs while walking. Keep moving and keep burning calories. I lost 40 lbs in two months and have kept it off for 18 more months doing this. I did not lose any strength and gained more energy. I also took my body fat % from 30% to 12% and my waist from 36 inches to 31 inches. But check with a doctor to see where you are really at and where you need to get to.
- It's really not the question of body fat or its percentage here...... Because you could be lean but have an unhealthy body fat percentage or you could be heavy in weight but have healthy body fat percentage...... It boils down to the amount of lean muscle mass vs. fat in your body. Anyway, body fat percentage is just a way to gauge your body fat composition. From the illustration above, doesn't mean that when the percentage is low, you're healthy....... It'll be more pertinent to know where your excess body fat is deposited as fat stored in abs/tummy area carries higher risk of cancers, diabetes and heart diseases........ I gather you've excess body fat in your tummy area? OK, do a round of cardio exercise 4-5 times per week for at least 45 mins per session plus strength training with weights, 3-4 times per week for 15-20 mis per session. The cardio boosts up your metabolic rate to burn off fat from your entire body (that includes fat in your tummy too) while strength training boosts your muscle growth and as muscle is metabolically active, the more muscle you pack into your frame, the higher your metabolic rate, hence you burn off more fat calories. To lose 1 lb of body fat in a week, you need to create a caloric deficit of 500 calories per day (vide exercise and eating healthily) Note: 1 lb of body fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories.
