Goal for Body Fat Percentage

[LindaMT]

What would be a good, attainable goal for body fat percentage? And how is it done? A lot of aerobics? Weights? Obviously, diet must play a role, but exactly what shouldn't I eat and what are the proper foods to eat? My goal for my overall body is to be very lean and muscular. I'm not looking to do a show (although if I see some serious results, I might think about it :)

[freebirdmac]

I'm shooting for 17-percent myself.

You first need a really good weight lifting routine. We lose more muscle than we realize as we age. So first up is putting some of that muscle back on. Losing body fat can be achieved just through diet or a combo of diet and cardio. But you've got to keep the resistance training and protein consumption going so you don't lose muscle.

Some can more easily than others gain muscle and lose body fat at the same time. More often than not you need to focus on one or the other. To maximize muscle gains you really need to eat 100-200 cals above maintenance. So many people will go through a period of "bulking" or focusing on muscle gains, then go through a period of leaning out, or losing body fat. Rinse/repeat.

As for what to eat, clean up your diet. Get rid of junk food, processed food, and eat as close to natural as possible. Track your diet on a site like fitday. Use the info on teracotta's website for everything http://www.hotnfit.com/.

And most of all, give yourself time to make changes. Muscle takes consistency and time. A healthy dose of patience is needed.

[precisou2004]

I'm shooting for 17-percent myself.

You first need a really good weight lifting routine. We lose more muscle than we realize as we age. So first up is putting some of that muscle back on. Losing body fat can be achieved just through diet or a combo of diet and cardio. But you've got to keep the resistance training and protein consumption going so you don't lose muscle.

Some can more easily than others gain muscle and lose body fat at the same time. More often than not you need to focus on one or the other. To maximize muscle gains you really need to eat 100-200 cals above maintenance. So many people will go through a period of "bulking" or focusing on muscle gains, then go through a period of leaning out, or losing body fat. Rinse/repeat.

As for what to eat, clean up your diet. Get rid of junk food, processed food, and eat as close to natural as possible. Track your diet on a site like fitday. Use the info on teracotta's website for everything http://www.hotnfit.com/.

And most of all, give yourself time to make changes. Muscle takes consistency and time. A healthy dose of patience is needed.

x 10000000 on the patience :)

[LindaMT]

As for what to eat, clean up your diet. Get rid of junk food, processed food, and eat as close to natural as possible. Track your diet on a site like fitday. Use the info on teracotta's website for everything http://www.hotnfit.com/.

And most of all, give yourself time to make changes. Muscle takes consistency and time. A healthy dose of patience is needed.

Yes, I cleaned up my diet awhile ago. Here's a sample of what I eat daily:

Breakfast: protein shake made w/1 cup skim milk

Mid Morning Snack: 1/4 cup raw almonds and 1/4 cup LF cottage cheese

Lunch: HUGE salad w/2 Tbsp. dressing, 6-7 oz. grilled chicken or lean beef, 1/3 cup brown rice

Mid afternoon snack: protein bar (around 200 cals)

Dinner: 5-7 oz. lean protein, veggies and 5 prunes

3-4 quarts pure water throughout the day

So hopefully, I am eating enough protein throughout the day. I'm not sure because lifting is all new to me still. I eat only organic foods, no processed foods whatsoever and I don't use salt either. I eat no sugar, very little pasta (maybe once a week) and I eat no bread. My carbs are usually brown rice or potatoes. On weekends, I usually eat eggs, 1 whole egg and 4 whites. I usually scramble them together and top with home made salsa. I'll eat an orange with that.

So, tell me your honest opinion. Am I on the right eating track to build muscle?

Yes, the patience thing is tough because its two fold; weight loss and building muscle. The age thing adds to the struggle, I'm sure. Looking at your avatar, you have great arms!

[freebirdmac]

Yes, I cleaned up my diet awhile ago. Here's a sample of what I eat daily:

Breakfast: protein shake made w/1 cup skim milk

Mid Morning Snack: 1/4 cup raw almonds and 1/4 cup LF cottage cheese

Lunch: HUGE salad w/2 Tbsp. dressing, 6-7 oz. grilled chicken or lean beef, 1/3 cup brown rice

Mid afternoon snack: protein bar (around 200 cals)

Dinner: 5-7 oz. lean protein, veggies and 5 prunes

3-4 quarts pure water throughout the day

So hopefully, I am eating enough protein throughout the day. I'm not sure because lifting is all new to me still. I eat only organic foods, no processed foods whatsoever and I don't use salt either. I eat no sugar, very little pasta (maybe once a week) and I eat no bread. My carbs are usually brown rice or potatoes. On weekends, I usually eat eggs, 1 whole egg and 4 whites. I usually scramble them together and top with home made salsa. I'll eat an orange with that.

So, tell me your honest opinion. Am I on the right eating track to build muscle?

Yes, the patience thing is tough because its two fold; weight loss and building muscle. The age thing adds to the struggle, I'm sure. Looking at your avatar, you have great arms!

Your diet looks great! If you can split up your lunch and dinner even better. It's tough eating that much protein in one sitting plus your body can only utilize 3-4oz in one sitting. I can do that myself for lunch, but don't have enough hours in the day to split up my dinner. I would track your diet. The info is invaluable for debugging a plateau. Also take progress picts, even if you do not show them here. The scale lies, body fat measurements carry significant error, but the mirror and picts tell the true story.

I think it's tough starting in the spring as bathing suit/short season is here and that makes it really hard to ignore body fat and just shoot for muscle. Then again, newbies can make gains that are hard to replicate once you've been lifting for awhile. If you can, I'd start eating and lifting while just looking for muscle gain. Take advantage of newbie gains. If you can't ignore the body fat, eat as much as you can to lose only 1 pound or less a week. Come fall you can up the cals and just focus on muscle.

Thanks for the arm complement! That was 6 months of work. I had toothpick arms before that :)

[LindaMT]

Your diet looks great! If you can split up your lunch and dinner even better. It's tough eating that much protein in one sitting plus your body can only utilize 3-4oz in one sitting. I can do that myself for lunch, but don't have enough hours in the day to split up my dinner. I would track your diet. The info is invaluable for debugging a plateau. Also take progress picts, even if you do not show them here. The scale lies, body fat measurements carry significant error, but the mirror and picts tell the true story.

I think it's tough starting in the spring as bathing suit/short season is here and that makes it really hard to ignore body fat and just shoot for muscle. Then again, newbies can make gains that are hard to replicate once you've been lifting for awhile. If you can, I'd start eating and lifting while just looking for muscle gain. Take advantage of newbie gains. If you can't ignore the body fat, eat as much as you can to lose only 1 pound or less a week. Come fall you can up the cals and just focus on muscle.

Thanks for the arm complement! That was 6 months of work. I had toothpick arms before that :)

Thanks so much for reviewing my eating plan. I thought I wasn't eating enough to build muscle. You seem so knowledgable about things - thanks for taking the time to actually write back. I'm sure us newbies can be a pest! Oh, and I was on the website hotnfit.com. Great stuff on there. I read a bunch of articles that stunned me - wow, we've been lied to for so very long about building muscle and the myths of aerobics. And this is probably why my husband is now training me heavy - so I can burn the fat through weight lifting, not just walking and doing an aerobic tapes!

I have a diary that I write down my food/water/supplements. My husband hid my bathroom scale, which probably is the best thing he's ever done for me with the exception of training me! I was a scale hog - I was weighing myself weekly; he is now weighing me monthly.

We did pics already - I can already tell after 1 month of weight training that there is a difference already. I figured that this time next year, I will (hopefully) be either almost at goal or I would have hit my goal weight. Goal is 160-170. I currently weigh around 273 (probably less now).

I will work on splitting my lunch/dinner. Not sure how I will do that, but I guess I should add protein to my snacks? Thanks again :)

[freebirdmac]

Oh yeah, we've been lied to a lot. The world would implode if women were told to lift more than 10# weights :)

I'm only 6 months in myself so I'm no expert. But the more you learn the more you realize so much of this is common sense. For example, you can weight the same now as you did at 25 and look completely different. Aside from southern migration of body parts, it's all due to muscle loss. Even if you didn't think you had much back then. Meaning we have much more body fat now and look more like walking jello molds. Muscle really is the key to sculpting your body and liking how you look.

That's great your husband is training you! It makes it easier when both partners are on the same page with exercise and diet. Plus having a partner at the gym is invaluable.

[LindaMT]

Oh yeah, we've been lied to a lot. The world would implode if women were told to lift more than 10# weights :)

I'm only 6 months in myself so I'm no expert. But the more you learn the more you realize so much of this is common sense. For example, you can weight the same now as you did at 25 and look completely different. Aside from southern migration of body parts, it's all due to muscle loss. Even if you didn't think you had much back then. Meaning we have much more body fat now and look more like walking jello molds. Muscle really is the key to sculpting your body and liking how you look.

That's great your husband is training you! It makes it easier when both partners are on the same page with exercise and diet. Plus having a partner at the gym is invaluable.


LOL! Yeah, I think I was one of those ladies who thought by lifting super heavy, I'd look bulky and big like a man. What dumb thinking that was.

Yes, hubby is awesome. He's been lifting since he was 14, so he knows what it takes to build serious muscle. His fat percentage is low - it's always been that way for him. Maybe it's because he has a physical job - who knows. He got huge just from lifting with me in 1 months' time. Makes me nuts! But it also keeps me motivated and determined to get this fat off my body once and for all.

[precisou2004]

LOL! Yeah, I think I was one of those ladies who thought by lifting super heavy, I'd look bulky and big like a man. What dumb thinking that was.

Yes, hubby is awesome. He's been lifting since he was 14, so he knows what it takes to build serious muscle. His fat percentage is low - it's always been that way for him. Maybe it's because he has a physical job - who knows. He got huge just from lifting with me in 1 months' time. Makes me nuts! But it also keeps me motivated and determined to get this fat off my body once and for all.

Men have way more testosterone than we do, hence why they bulk up much faster

[freebirdmac]

If you haven't seen this thread yet, it's hugely inspirational. Regardless of how much you have to lose http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=3618061

[LindaMT]

Men have way more testosterone than we do, hence why they bulk up much faster

I know - that's the part that makes me crazy!

[LindaMT]

If you haven't seen this thread yet, it's hugely inspirational. Regardless of how much you have to lose http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=3618061

Girl, you are awesome. Thanks for posting this. It's great. Thanks again for everything - I appreciate it!

And thanks to the other posters as well. You all are so great - I love it here very much. I can't wait to post before and after pics for all of you to see. Thanks again :)

[SophieM]

Instead of having a BF% goal, you might want to have an idea of how you want to look instead. Difference BF% will look different on different people. Just my $0.02. Good luck!!

[LindaMT]

Instead of having a BF% goal, you might want to have an idea of how you want to look instead. Difference BF% will look different on different people. Just my $0.02. Good luck!!

I have no clue, truly. That's because I've never lifted like this before. My idea of lifting weights was doing 10-12-15 pound dumbbells with my cardio routine (tapes called "The Firm"). Silly me!! I had NO idea what a tough workout really was. I thought I did, prior to lifting. HAA!!

[greyhair]

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