Dropping 10% body fat

[Saints50]

I am 28 years old, I currently weigh 255lb and I am 5'10" with 22% body fat (water tested). My final goal is to be at 8% body fat but currently working towards 12%. I am eating a 2000 calorie diet and taking/eating 200grams of protein daily (probably a little low). I lift upper and lower body 3 times a week and do 40 minutes of cardio 4 times a week. If you figure out the numbers I have 56lbs of body fat (I think its all in my stomach area minus my 2 pack i'm kicking, LOL) so to hit my final goal I will need to drop around 35lbs of fat. My problem is I want to do this fast. I don't mind if I loose SOME lean muscle. I would rather be fit (cut) then have the current muscle mass I have. Besides I could always add mass later right??? Is the only problem with dropping more than 2lbs a week is that I will loose some muscle? Please help me figure out how much cardio is enough and is my diet good enough? How quickly can I drop 10% body fat?

[moneymango]

If you're truly 255 at 22% you can definitly lose some muscle and be fine

[Saints50]

This is what I am told I had the test done last week. I have a friend that works for an NFL team who set it up for me. Last time I maxed out in Bench =305lb squat=605lb (I don't max out much was just a little comp. we had going on between a few friends).

[Bespetna]

255 22% fb, hmmm...
Na your protein at 200g is good, u don't even actually need that much (but its better for you) if your waay more consintrated on losing fat then gaining muscle. Also, your gunna drop like crazy at first, but if u don't gain muscle after you've gone 80% threw your weightloss its gunna be hard as crap to lose it cus of caloric differences and your body needs to tone up, also make your goal at 14%.

[Bespetna]

255 22% fb, hmmm...
Na your protein at 200g is good, u don't even actually need that much (but its better for you) if your waay more consintrated on losing fat then gaining muscle. Also, your gunna drop like crazy at first, but if u don't gain muscle after you've gone 80% threw your weightloss its gunna be hard as crap to lose it cus of caloric differences and your body needs to tone up, also make your goal at 14%.

[gooseguy312]

I am 28 years old, I currently weigh 255lb and I am 5'10" with 22% body fat (water tested). My final goal is to be at 8% body fat but currently working towards 12%. I am eating a 2000 calorie diet and taking/eating 200grams of protein daily (probably a little low). I lift upper and lower body 3 times a week and do 40 minutes of cardio 4 times a week. If you figure out the numbers I have 56lbs of body fat (I think its all in my stomach area minus my 2 pack i'm kicking, LOL) so to hit my final goal I will need to drop around 35lbs of fat. My problem is I want to do this fast. I don't mind if I loose SOME lean muscle. I would rather be fit (cut) then have the current muscle mass I have. Besides I could always add mass later right??? Is the only problem with dropping more than 2lbs a week is that I will loose some muscle? Please help me figure out how much cardio is enough and is my diet good enough? How quickly can I drop 10% body fat?

The answer your looking for is pretty simple.

Just create a higher calorie deficit to lose more weight fast. Ofcourse dont go under 1200 calories a day at your weight, that would not be very smart at all!

Id say eating 1500 calories a day on top of your cardio/weights will be the best you can do. Youll definetly lose a little muscle doing it but itll work. Thatll be about 2 pounds of fat a week tho!

I wouldnt go too crazy on the cardio also, 4-5 times a week sounds good, that on top of a really big calorie deficit will probably end up to more muscle being burned then you would like.


best of luck

[Liquid Rage]

An addition to that would be taking fat burners to hasten your fat burning process. Lessen your fat intake diet to just about 10% a day.

[AlwaysTryin]

An addition to that would be taking fat burners to hasten your fat burning process. Lessen your fat intake diet to just about 10% a day.

Less than 10%?

Bit extreme, seeing as fats keep your hormones regulating and testosterone. Unless you want to stuff your body

[gooseguy312]

I am 28 years old, I currently weigh 255lb and I am 5'10" with 22% body fat (water tested). My final goal is to be at 8% body fat but currently working towards 12%. I am eating a 2000 calorie diet and taking/eating 200grams of protein daily (probably a little low). I lift upper and lower body 3 times a week and do 40 minutes of cardio 4 times a week. If you figure out the numbers I have 56lbs of body fat (I think its all in my stomach area minus my 2 pack i'm kicking, LOL) so to hit my final goal I will need to drop around 35lbs of fat. My problem is I want to do this fast. I don't mind if I loose SOME lean muscle. I would rather be fit (cut) then have the current muscle mass I have. Besides I could always add mass later right??? Is the only problem with dropping more than 2lbs a week is that I will loose some muscle? Please help me figure out how much cardio is enough and is my diet good enough? How quickly can I drop 10% body fat?

Ugh sorry i didnt adress that 1 other question re-reading what you posted.

Losing way past 2 pounds per week will mean youll start losing more LBM then fat, and possibly stop losing fat for a while as your body will want to store everything you eat as fat making workouts catabolic (no carb stores, muscle used for energy). But this is completely subjective for each person as for how much it takes to achieve this mode your body enters i imagine. This really wouldnt be an issue honestly unless you pretty much stopped eating i think lol, but like i said before at your weight id be careful not going under 1200.

learned that in college.

[uflcook]

An addition to that would be taking fat burners to hasten your fat burning process. Lessen your fat intake diet to just about 10% a day.

Dietary fat intake has little to do with actual weight gain or fat in the body, it doesn't make your body gain fat, excess calories do. Forcing your body to use fat reserves for energy is what leads to body fat being decreased. Not to mention your body needs fats, omega fatty acids and such.

Just keep a calorie deficit, I wouldn't recommend more than a 1000 calorie deficit, take your time and watch the weight go. Cardio should be used as a supplement if your diet is not giving you the results you want and don't want to eat less.

[cyco85]

I wouldn't rush it. In the beginning you could probably have a 1500 calorie deficit but within about 6 weeks I'd drop the deficit to 1000 (2 pounds per week). Don't sacrifice muscle for some arbitrary timeline goal. Anyway, I am extremely curious to see 5'10 @ 255/22% BF. That's an LBM of 199 pounds.... straight up beast right there. Any pics? (no homo)

[Saints50]

So am I crazy for wanting to loose fat so bad that I don't care if I loose some muscle? Will it be harder for me to gain muscle at a lower weight than it is now, I have always been told it is? Should I treat this as a cutting phase and then work on bulking?

[Saints50]

255 22% fb, hmmm...
Na your protein at 200g is good, u don't even actually need that much (but its better for you) if your waay more consintrated on losing fat then gaining muscle. Also, your gunna drop like crazy at first, but if u don't gain muscle after you've gone 80% threw your weightloss its gunna be hard as crap to lose it cus of caloric differences and your body needs to tone up, also make your goal at 14%.

Why make my goal 14%? Should I not be so focused on losing fat then? Sounds like I am going to hit a brick wall and I don't want that either. Just don't want this to be a 1-2year goal of getting ultimately down to 8% BF.

[moneymango]

Eating 2000 calories a day seems low as hell to me. I am eating around 2250 calories a day at 170lbs 13%bf, so you might end up ****ing your metabolism. I would up your protein to atleast 250g a day and have a deficit of at most 750cals. Like others have said, take it slow, you dont want to end up with loose skin or anything like that. Also, I am curious to see what 5'10 255 at 22% looks like.

[Saints50]

Eating 2000 calories a day seems low as hell to me. I am eating around 2250 calories a day at 170lbs 13%bf, so you might end up ****ing your metabolism. I would up your protein to atleast 250g a day and have a deficit of at most 750cals. Like others have said, take it slow, you dont want to end up with loose skin or anything like that. Also, I am curious to see what 5'10 255 at 22% looks like.

Thanks. I will post a pic soon. I was kinda suprised at the 22% number so maybe its not correct but thats what I was told and I know that water submersion is the most accurate of all. I have been all accross the board over the years. I was 170lb as a freshman in high school competeting in karate at a national level and also the world cup. I also played football for 16 years through college. I started lifting when I was 12 years old. When I was a senior in HS I weighed 225lbs and then that summer from running a lot I dropped to 195 but lost some strenght however it came back quick. Still don't know if the 22% is accurate but my buddy kept reminding me of all of the above and was not suprised what so ever. However I was and I still am.

[moneymango]

Thanks. I will post a pic soon. I was kinda suprised at the 22% number so maybe its not correct but thats what I was told and I know that water submersion is the most accurate of all. I have been all accross the board over the years. I was 170lb as a freshman in high school competeting in karate at a national level and also the world cup. I also played football for 16 years through college. I started lifting when I was 12 years old. When I was a senior in HS I weighed 225lbs and then that summer from running a lot I dropped to 195 but lost some strenght however it came back quick. Still don't know if the 22% is accurate but my buddy kept reminding me of all of the above and was not suprised what so ever. However I was and I still am.

Check out the stickies in the nutrition section to get a good idea of your maintenance calories and macro needs. For 200lbs of LBM I believe your BMR is 2333 calories, so 2000 is way too low.

[Porls]

Why make my goal 14%? Should I not be so focused on losing fat then? Sounds like I am going to hit a brick wall and I don't want that either. Just don't want this to be a 1-2year goal of getting ultimately down to 8% BF.

Really you don't want to focus so much on losing weight by cutting and counting calories. please correct me if I am wrong but 14% is a good mark because otherwise you will focus on losing fat which will cause you to lose muscle. in reality, you want to build more muscle because muscle burns more calories in result more fat loss.

counting calories is no fun, in my opinion I would suggest you to just eat more clean. no soft drinks, fast food, complex carbs, etc. you should focus on eating 6 times a day which will speed up your metabolism and your meals should be protein (chicken, turkey, tuna, etc.), simple carbs ( leafy greens, fruits, etc.) and good fats (avocado, oil, nuts, etc.) look into the "zone diet". you will get all the calories and protein needed to keep up with you work out. see no need to count calories

** don't forget about your water intake, very important.

[yemff]

thread is almost 3 years old...

Really you don't want to focus so much on losing weight by cutting and counting calories. please correct me if I am wrong but 14% is a good mark because otherwise you will focus on losing fat which will cause you to lose muscle. in reality, you want to build more muscle because muscle burns more calories in result more fat loss.

counting calories is no fun, in my opinion I would suggest you to just eat more clean. no soft drinks, fast food, complex carbs, etc. you should focus on eating 6 times a day which will speed up your metabolism and your meals should be protein (chicken, turkey, tuna, etc.), simple carbs ( leafy greens, fruits, etc.) and good fats (avocado, oil, nuts, etc.) look into the "zone diet". you will get all the calories and protein needed to keep up with you work out. see no need to count calories

** don't forget about your water intake, very important.

[RJLDomingo]

lol it is. but losing 10% body fat quickly... is it possible? 'cause I'm gonna do it