What's my BF%? Want lovehandles gone. (srs)

[dogandbroom]

Guys: I really do appreciate your input but I want to make it clear that this thread is about estimating my BF% and a guess as to when I'll be lovehandle free. It is not a "should I bulk or cut" thread. I'm going to continue cutting and maintaining mass until I'm satisfied with my results and then clean bulk.







unflexed vs. flexed pics (NOT before & after)

I've been on a cut recently (past 8 weeks) and dropped from 180lbs to current 163lbs:

Keto diet. 1400-1800 cals a day. 100-140g protein. <30g carbs.
Weights (4sets of 8-10 reps) 4 days a week.
Cardio (elliptical machine) 4-5days a week (60minutes sessions @ 170bpm avg = 800cals)

I've progressively upped the cardio and downed the cals/nit-picked macros over these weeks.

I know that I cannot target fat loss, but I'm most concerned with getting rid of my lovehandles so obviously my total BF% must continue to drop.

I'm asking for educated estimates for:

What's my current BF%
What % (and how many less lbs) should I expect to no longer have love handles?

What baffles me is that my waist measures 34-1/2" but my hips measure 36-1/4"?
Do I just have a very small waist line under the flab?

[dogandbroom]

impatient bump

[zQt]

15-16%

1400 calories is WAY too low even for keto and they'll be gone once you hit the 12-13% point depending on genetics, you really need to eat more and lift heavier son

[dogandbroom]

15-16%

1400 calories is WAY too low even for keto

well, since it's keto I eat more cals during my 36hr carb up.
probably double that during my carb up

and yes - my strength has diminished significantly.
for example: I went from flat benching 90lb dumbbells down to 65lbs.
feelsbadman

[zQt]

well, since it's keto I eat more cals during my 36hr carb up.
probably double that during my carb up

and yes - my strength has diminished significantly.
for example: I went from flat benching 90lb dumbbells down to 65lbs.
feelsbadman

Why the **** would you do that? Carb up doesn't mean to nuts, you still eat a specific amount of calories but just eat a crapload of carbs

Stop being dumb and sacrificing muscle for fatloss, you will regret it. EAT MORE

[dogandbroom]

Why the **** would you do that? Carb up doesn't mean to nuts, you still eat a specific amount of calories but just eat a crapload of carbs

Stop being dumb and sacrificing muscle for fatloss, you will regret it. EAT MORE

I don't go nuts during carb-up. It's only for 36hrs and I only treat myself to one cheat meal during so (usually a single Chinese food dish = about 800cals alone)
the rest of my carbs during that time are good (brown rice, yams, fruit etc)
from the carb-ups that I have measured, I end up taking in about 3000 cals instead of 1400-1800

and well I keep track to all of my body measurements and apparently I have not lost any obvious muscle (upper arms and shoulders remained pretty much the same)
my chest has decreased but most of that was flab.
this isn't my first rodeo - I know to keep the protein high to keep mass.
the reason why I'm getting weaker is lack of cals/energy

[bvalks]

like 20%, you're skinnyfat

[dogandbroom]

like 20%, you're skinnyfat

that was my guess

[bvalks]

I went from flat benching 90lb dumbbells down to 65lbs.
feelsbadman

with that physique and your stats i find it very hard to believe you were flat benching 90 lbs dumbbells

[dogandbroom]

with that physique and your stats i find it very hard to believe you were flat benching 90 lbs dumbbells

really not that hard.
if your read my stats, my upper arms (stabilizers) measure close to 15" which is pretty decent for 163lbs @ 5'10".

PS: finding it hard to take any criticism or suggestions that I'm BSing from a guy w/ no avi/similar stats

[neverwinter]

well, since it's keto I eat more cals during my 36hr carb up.
probably double that during my carb up

and yes - my strength has diminished significantly.
for example: I went from flat benching 90lb dumbbells down to 65lbs.
feelsbadman

yourdoingitallwrong.jpg

strength should increase on keto , and for 8 weeks your progress isn't good at all. looks like you dropped alot of weight, but not alot of fat. eat more, eat around 2000 cals a day and chill out on your cardio , burning 800 cals in an hour means your heart is pumping. when you're on keto anything you do burns fat, but when your heart is beating that fast your just burning muscle , try to keep your heart rate in the 133 range. a good solution is walk for an hour in between 3.3 to 4.0 speed depending on how healthy your heart is. you also mentioned you lack energy/cals, seems like you answered your own question, UP the fat intake and UP the calories, you shouldn't be tired on keto.

if i were you i'd forget about keto right now and worry about building some muscle, let's be realistic you won't have abs or any toned muscle by the summer, do a clean bulk or eat at maintenance so you can build some muscle and do it on a more balanced diet perhaps 40/30/30 with carbs in the first half of the day. Keto is for fatloss, but you don't have any muscle yet so fatloss is kind of pointless, doing a balanced diet will make you lose fat while gaining muscle.

[dogandbroom]

yourdoingitallwrong.jpg

strength should increase on keto , and for 8 weeks your progress isn't good at all. looks like you dropped alot of weight, but not alot of fat. eat more, eat around 2000 cals a day and chill out on your cardio , burning 800 cals in an hour means your heart is pumping. when you're on keto anything you do burns fat, but when your heart is beating that fast your just burning muscle , try to keep your heart rate in the 133 range. a good solution is walk for an hour in between 3.3 to 4.0 speed depending on how healthy your heart is.

these aren't "before & after" pics. just unflexed & flexed

[neverwinter]

these aren't "before & after" pics. just unflexed & flexed

I know that, you said you lost 20 lbs but i'm looking at the pics and i don't see any muscle at all, don't worry so much about fatloss only, worry about building some muscle, your calories are too low and your cardio is too high intensity. when you build muscle you'll be losing fat too. hit the weights hard 10 reps won't be building any muscle, do a reverse pyramid type workout for every muscle group, start with max weight 4 reps ( PROPER FORM) , then move on to 6 reps, 8 reps and 10 reps. you'll be gaining strength and mass this way so when you do decide to do a full out cut you'll have some muscle to show :P

[dogandbroom]

I know that, you said you lost 20 lbs but i'm looking at the pics and i don't see any muscle at all, don't worry so much about fatloss only, worry about building some muscle, your calories are too low and your cardio is too high intensity. when you build muscle you'll be losing fat too. hit the weights hard 10 reps won't be building any muscle, do a reverse pyramid type workout for every muscle group, start with max weight 4 reps ( PROPER FORM) , then move on to 6 reps, 8 reps and 10 reps. you'll be gaining strength and mass this way so when you do decide to do a full out cut you'll have some muscle to show :P

I think my mid section really discredits my gains, but I have packed on a significant amount of muscle mass and lost a lot of BF in the past few years:


This in my in the spring of 2009.
Significant body measurement deltas:
weight 190 - 163
waist 41" - 34-1/2"
upper arm 13" - 15"

I am in the mindset of cutting down more and then doing a very clean bulk.
There would be no point in me bulking right now when it's so hard to even notice and discouraging given my BF so I am simply maintaining mass.

Back to my original point of this thread:
I am looking for BF% estimates and what % & weight I should expect to have no more love handles.

[Germond10]

highly suggest weight training... alot of it

[dogandbroom]

I appreciation all real input, but is anybody with an avi going to comment so that I can at least assume that they have any experience with this?

[neverwinter]

I appreciation all real input, but is anybody with an avi going to comment so that I can at least assume that they have any experience with this?

You're saying what i'm saying is all wrong because i don't have an avatar?

Listen to what i said and you'll be on the road to success.

here's my 12 week progress thread . check it out , i barely had any muscle before 12 weeks ago either.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=133375903

[dogandbroom]

You're saying what i'm saying is all wrong because i don't have an avatar?

Listen to what i said and you'll be on the road to success.

here's my 12 week progress thread . check it out , i barely had any muscle before 12 weeks ago either.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=133375903

saying that it is hard to take anyone's advance about this if I don't see any pics.
I wasn't going to rummage through your profile to find a thread w/ pics but thanks for providing these.
We seem to be about the same muscle mass wise and you're just leaner - do you have any actual body measurements?
I'm still confused about my physique. I'm coming across profiles of guys w/ the same size upper arms and chest as me, but have a bigger mid-section w/ no real built abs yet no love handles/gut.

also - the lighting in my pic is not overhead (unlike yours) so you see no exaggerated definition in my pics
here is a recent pic w/ light overhead (and black/white)

it makes a world of difference

[neverwinter]

saying that it is hard to take anyone's advance about this if I don't see any pics.
I wasn't going to rummage through your profile to find a thread w/ pics but thanks for providing these.
We seem to be about the same muscle mass wise and you're just leaner - do you have any actual body measurements?
I'm still confused about my physique. I'm coming across profiles of guys w/ the same size upper arms and chest as me, but have a bigger mid-section w/ no real built abs yet no love handles/gut.

In all honesty, your muscle mass seems to be the same as when i started 12 weeks ago. my lifts have went up alot in the past 12 weeks, started with 135 lbs on bench for 6 reps and now i'm at 245 for 4 reps. my diet was just high protein/med carbs/med fat for the first 8 weeks and i think that's what build me alot of muscle, and recently, 4 weeks ago i started a ckd diet which is getting me alot leaner, while also improving my lifts. The reason your body looks really disproportionate and weird is becuase you don't have any muscle not because you have alot of fat. with added muscle your fat will go down

[dogandbroom]

In all honesty, your muscle mass seems to be the same as when i started 12 weeks ago. my lifts have went up alot in the past 12 weeks, started with 135 lbs on bench for 6 reps and now i'm at 245 for 4 reps. my diet was just high protein/med carbs/med fat for the first 8 weeks and i think that's what build me alot of muscle, and recently, 4 weeks ago i started a ckd diet which is getting me alot leaner, while also improving my lifts. The reason your body looks really disproportionate and weird is becuase you don't have any muscle not because you have alot of fat. with added muscle your fat will go down

please see my updated (edited) post above again
and if you could post some stats:

upper arm relaxed
waist (around naval) relaxed
shoulders (relaxed)

these will help me gage where I'm at

[neverwinter]

please see my updated (edited) post above again
and if you could post some stats:

upper arm relaxed
waist (around naval) relaxed
shoulders (relaxed)

these will help me gage where I'm at

Don't have measurements sorry. I started at 170 lbs 12 wks ago and i'm still 170lbs if that matters.

[dogandbroom]

Don't have measurements sorry

well when you get around to it I can guarantee that my upper arms and shoulders are bigger meaning that I do have mass, but not a real noteworthy amount (just like you).
You're just leaner than me and weigh more (idk if you're taller than me + I have twig upper legs) I'm not going to bother w/ saying chest since fat is stored there/not accurate comparison from me to you.

[moetstylesbrah]

unflexed vs. flexed pics (NOT before & after)

I've been on a cut recently (past 8 weeks) and dropped from 180lbs to current 163lbs:

Keto diet. 1400-1800 cals a day. 100-140g protein. <30g carbs.
Weights (4sets of 8-10 reps) 4 days a week.
Cardio (elliptical machine) 4-5days a week (60minutes sessions @ 170bpm avg = 800cals)

I've progressively upped the cardio and downed the cals/nit-picked macros over these weeks.

I know that I cannot target fat loss, but I'm most concerned with getting rid of my lovehandles so obviously my total BF% must continue to drop.

I'm asking for educated estimates for:

What's my current BF%
What % (and how many less lbs) should I expect to no longer have love handles?

What baffles me is that my waist measures 34-1/2" but my hips measure 36-1/4"?
Do I just have a very small waist line under the flab?

Ok first thing is stop making everything so fkn complicated..

Ditch cardio on any machine. Do HIIT style, uphill sprints and moderate paced running anywhere just not on a machine

Dw too much about diet, eat as if you want to clean bulk, lift heavy like you want to put on muscle


Try this.. I think you will benefit from sprints

[dogandbroom]

Ok first thing is stop making everything so fkn complicated..

Ditch cardio on any machine. Do HIIT style, uphill sprints and moderate paced running anywhere just not on a machine

Dw too much about diet, eat as if you want to clean bulk, lift heavy like you want to put on muscle


Try this.. I think you will benefit from sprints

I have been thinking of switching over to HIIT.
I used to run outdoors but haven't since I moved to a much more urban (lots of traffic) setting. Thanks for the input!

[fgeorge]

I also find it hard to believe that you did 90lb dumbbells......
first off you shouldnt be concerned with dieting...
second, you should be eating alot more then 1400 calories...
third, you should NOT be doing that much cardio, ESPECIALLY on keto.
fourth, you should be worried about putting on muscle because from those pictures it doesnt look like you have very much, not to be rude or anything.

the more you bulk now, and get your back wider, the smaller your hips are gonna look, once you have enough muscle; you can slow cut all the way down to where you wanna be.
which is what you should be doing.

Pick heavy **** up and put it down!

[revolver318]

16%

[ShogunG]

I'd say 16%, and there is no way you were flat benching 90lb dumbbells.

Do yourself a favor, drop the keto and just eat clean and in deficit.

[DNDC]

18 - 20% my guess

[Prezzy]

I am guessing prob between 18-20% though you do not have much muscle mass at all so if you cut down you are just gonna look skinny !! I say bulk up & gain muscle then try & stripe the body fat by carb cycling.

I bulked up for 2yrs to about 15 stone (205lbs) & since August last year have went though 20 weeks of carb cutting, 2 months clean re-bulk & now I am carb cycling until the summer with hopefully maintaining my muscle mass & dripping the body fat off.

[NegativeX]

I'm sitting @ 12/13% bodyfat and still have my love handles... depending on genetics you may have to get sub 10% to have them completely gone.

I'd put ya around 17-20% bodyfat...

I'm not sure what you'd cut into tho atm... you don't look to have a lot of mass underneath.

I'd lift and a lot... and ditch the cardio for now.