Getting down to 10% bodfat

[STH81098]

The is my second time cutting since several years ago. I started 5 months ago at 186 lbs at over 30% bodyfat. Since then, i've followed a strict diet for losing bodyfat with my macros managed at 50% protein, 30% complex carbs, and 20% fat. I've been losing weight at a rate of about 2 lbs per week. I currently weigh 154 lbs as of two days ago. I have measured my body fat using three different methods (scales, measuring tape, and calipers. It looks like i'm close to 15-16% accoring to the tape and calipers. The scales claim im 21 % but i've heard they can be very inaccurate due to hydration. I've never been able to achieve 10% bodyfat with any visible abs. The first time I cut 3 years ago I was stuck at 12% before I decided to start bulking again. Anybody got any advice of how I can accomplish this in the best way possible? Its always been a goal of mine.

[fatlosspunk]

Yes, continue what you have been doing so far until you look like you want to. As long as you are still strong in the gym, you're doing fine.

[Jsl1994321]

The is my second time cutting since several years ago. I started 5 months ago at 186 lbs at over 30% bodyfat. Since then, i've followed a strict diet for losing bodyfat with my macros managed at 50% protein, 30% complex carbs, and 20% fat. I've been losing weight at a rate of about 2 lbs per week. I currently weigh 154 lbs as of two days ago. I have measured my body fat using three different methods (scales, measuring tape, and calipers. It looks like i'm close to 15-16% accoring to the tape and calipers. The scales claim im 21 % but i've heard they can be very inaccurate due to hydration. I've never been able to achieve 10% bodyfat with any visible abs. The first time I cut 3 years ago I was stuck at 12% before I decided to start bulking again. Anybody got any advice of how I can accomplish this in the best way possible? Its always been a goal of mine.

If you couldn't see ANY abs at 12% you may be lacking the Lean Body Mass. A picture would help us better assess where you are at.

[STH81098]

If you couldn't see ANY abs at 12% you may be lacking the Lean Body Mass. A picture would help us better assess where you are at.

These pictures were taken a couple of days ago. Back then, I would have to agree. I didn't have much muscle at all; I was sorta skinny-fat. I don't think I lack lean body mass now; I spent two years since then bulking getting my strength up.

[shaneinga]

I hate to tell you, but you still have a long way to go. I would say you are between 20 and 25 percent right now.



Here is an image that gets passed around here a lot that gives you an idea of what different bf percentages look like.

As others have said, keep doing what you are doing. Building muscle takes a long time. Good luck.

[STH81098]

The frustrations of having an endomorphic body type. I've followed all the rules i'm suppose to with the caloric defecit, macros, etc for the past 6 months. Sometimes I wonder if its genetically possible for me. What percentage do you think I'll be at 140?

[shaneinga]

It really depends on how much muscle you are carrying right now. Let's do some quick math with round numbers. You weigh 154 pounds. Let's say you are 20 percent body fat. That means you are carrying 30.8 pounds of fat at 20 percent body fat. Say you lose 18 pounds, do you really think that will be all fat? I can tell you it won't. It is a conundrum that we all face when you lose fat, muscle goes with it. We can slow the muscle loss by lifting heavy weights and eating a lot of protein. I try to get a gram of protein per pound that I weigh. Some people say less, a gram per lbm, some say more, this works for me.

I would cut your calories back to 500 calorie a day deficit, this will help minimize your muscle loss. This should have you losing a pound a week instead of the 2 pounds a week that you are accustomed to losing now. A lower deficit will help you maintain muscle as you lose weight. That coupled with higher protein, and lifting weights will minimize it, but you will still lose some muscle.

What lifting program are you following?

Honestly though, I would quit chasing a number man. Keep working hard and don't worry about that 10 percent number. Abs on a skinny guy don't count, or so I have heard.

Here is another site that I like to use to get a quick idea for where I am.

http://www.davedraper.com/bodyfat-calculation.html

[STH81098]

Thanks, but here's the thing... I'm already doing every bit of that you just listed. From the time I started cutting 6 months ago, I always made sure to eat my body weight or over in grams of protein per day. I cut my carbs back, and got my macros taken care of. I've actually been on a less than 500 defecit for some time now. My strength went down after I dropped below 170, and my bench went down 25 lbs. I blame part of that on the ****ty new football coach I had as a weightlifting teacher at my school who forced me to lift extremely light weight for 5 weeks. When I was sticking to my previous routine of lifting heavy, my bench and squat actually went up after I had lost 12 lbs. Now i'm back to lifting heavy again to preserve my muscle and strength. As for the website you provided, i've already followed that formula after measuring my waist as I described in my inital post. It gets frustrating. Cutting is defienetly a challenge for a person 5'5" tall with what is most likely an endomorphic build. Do any of you reccomend any type of supplements? For now, i've only taken green tea extract.

[shaneinga]

Only way you are going to know if you are happy at 140 is to cut to 140 and see if you like what you see.

I don't know of any supplements for weight loss. I think the best thing for weight loss is a food scale and strict calorie counting.

Maybe ask around the supplement forum and see what they recommend.

Good luck.

[STH81098]

Thanks again. If i'm still not at 10% at 140, then I'll probably start an extremely clean bulk til I start cutting agin next spring. Do you think a genetic factor is playing into this? I've been following all the rules for cutting, but i've lost 32 pounds with my body fat percentage only going down 9%. Something dosen't seem right at all.

[unplugged]

Thanks again. If i'm still not at 10% at 140, then I'll probably start an extremely clean bulk til I start cutting agin next spring. Do you think a genetic factor is playing into this? I've been following all the rules for cutting, but i've lost 32 pounds with my body fat percentage only going down 9%. Something dosen't seem right at all.

I'm sorry but if you are 154lbs in those pictures then there is no way you will be 10% at 140 as you'd probably have to loose 30lbs or more to get there but it's hard to tell exactly how much. You are probably still at least 25% bf and would need to put on a considerable amount of lean mass before you look decent at 10%

[STH81098]

I guess my ****ty genetics just won't allow it. If thats the case, then I'll start bulking super clean when I get to 140 and consider trying cutting again next spring. Its incredibly frustrating.

[fatlosspunk]

It is very easy: if you want to be ripped in a few month (that's at least how long it will take), you need to lose weight until you are ripped. Or you stay at your current body weight and wait until the fat loss is compensated by muscle gains. This will take a lot longer. What you certainly don't need is a bulk.

[STH81098]

Stay at my current weight but have muscle gains? How is that possible. If I had muscle gains, wouldn't that mean I was gaining weight?

[benh2]

Fat loss will even out muscle gains so weight stays the same. It's hard to do, you have to be really committed to your diet.

[STH81098]

Explain how I would do it. Do I just eat at my maintenance and lift heavy?

[LoganBrown]

Quick tip for you, don't worry about your genetics. Just get in the gym and bust your ass, eat right according to your goals, and let your body do the rest. Worrying about genetics is pointless because it is something that can't be changed; what can be changed is your work ethic and mindset.

I think your best bet right now would be to continue cutting until you are happy enough with how you look in the mirror to bulk. Don't put your focus on a certain bf % or body weight, put more of an emphasis on how you look in the mirror. I know some people who can look leaner and have better abs at 11-12% than others who are at 8%. My advice is to just continue cutting until you are happy with your look in the mirror and then slow lean bulk for ~1-2 years from there. If you cut properly, then by fall you should be at a respectable look in the mirror leanness wise.

I know some people recommend bulking at a high bf % when you don't have much lean mass, but I'm actually against this. Given that you cut right, it can be done in a relatively short amount of time (ie. a few months) and from that point you can focus on gaining lean mass and minimizing fat gain; thus making your next cut even easier if you gain little fat. If you bulk straight from the bf % you are at right now, then yes you will gain muscle but you will also gain fat on top of what you have. All this will do is prolong your next cut and leave you in a deficit longer to where you can potentially lose more muscle than if you had just focused on cutting for a bit longer rather than jumping straight to a bulk. There's also the added benefit of seeing more of your gains in the mirror when bulking from a lower body fat

[benh2]

I know some people recommend bulking at a high bf % when you don't have much lean mass, but I'm actually against this. Given that you cut right, it can be done in a relatively short amount of time (ie. a few months) and from that point you can focus on gaining lean mass and minimizing fat gain; thus making your next cut even easier if you gain little fat. If you bulk straight from the bf % you are at right now, then yes you will gain muscle but you will also gain fat on top of what you have. All this will do is prolong your next cut and leave you in a deficit longer to where you can potentially lose more muscle than if you had just focused on cutting for a bit longer rather than jumping straight to a bulk. There's also the added benefit of seeing more of your gains in the mirror when bulking from a lower body fat

This is so fkn true. All these "should i bulk or cut" threads, I never recommend bulk over 15% BF as a good rule of thumb.

[STH81098]

Quick tip for you, don't worry about your genetics. Just get in the gym and bust your ass, eat right according to your goals, and let your body do the rest. Worrying about genetics is pointless because it is something that can't be changed; what can be changed is your work ethic and mindset.

I think your best bet right now would be to continue cutting until you are happy enough with how you look in the mirror to bulk. Don't put your focus on a certain bf % or body weight, put more of an emphasis on how you look in the mirror. I know some people who can look leaner and have better abs at 11-12% than others who are at 8%. My advice is to just continue cutting until you are happy with your look in the mirror and then slow lean bulk for ~1-2 years from there. If you cut properly, then by fall you should be at a respectable look in the mirror leanness wise.

I know some people recommend bulking at a high bf % when you don't have much lean mass, but I'm actually against this. Given that you cut right, it can be done in a relatively short amount of time (ie. a few months) and from that point you can focus on gaining lean mass and minimizing fat gain; thus making your next cut even easier if you gain little fat. If you bulk straight from the bf % you are at right now, then yes you will gain muscle but you will also gain fat on top of what you have. All this will do is prolong your next cut and leave you in a deficit longer to where you can potentially lose more muscle than if you had just focused on cutting for a bit longer rather than jumping straight to a bulk. There's also the added benefit of seeing more of your gains in the mirror when bulking from a lower body fat

I get some people use genetics as their excuse, but I don't think you understand where i'm coming from. I've literally done everything in the book and followed all the "rules" for cutting. I've been in a defecit, but not a huge one. I've managed my macros, ate my weight in grams of protein every day, ate every 2 hours, and did decent amounts of cardio but not overloads to avoid muscle loss. I've always lifted as heavy as I possibly could to maintain lean mass. Yet, after doing all that, my body fat still only went down 8% after losing 34 lbs. It has to be genetics playing into that. Thats the only reason I can possibly think of that would make sense according to the countless articles i've read on cutting. I'm gonna keep cutting til 140 and see how it goes. If i'm close to 15%, I might consider a clean bulk.

[LoganBrown]

I get some people use genetics as their excuse, but I don't think you understand where i'm coming from. I've literally done everything in the book and followed all the "rules" for cutting. I've been in a defecit, but not a huge one. I've managed my macros, ate my weight in grams of protein every day, ate every 2 hours, and did decent amounts of cardio but not overloads to avoid muscle loss. I've always lifted as heavy as I possibly could to maintain lean mass. Yet, after doing all that, my body fat still only went down 8% after losing 34 lbs. It has to be genetics playing into that. Thats the only reason I can possibly think of that would make sense according to the countless articles i've read on cutting. I'm gonna keep cutting til 140 and see how it goes. If i'm close to 15%, I might consider a clean bulk.

Well then I think it's time to look at outside life stressors man. Anything going on outside of the gym that could potentially affect performance? I know for me personally, when I'm stressed and have things outside the gym such as work, relationships, or just any other worries in general then it affects things pretty bad. Hell, I was squatting 275x8 pretty easy a couple months ago, but I had a few close friends die in a car wreck, finals week in college, and then some relationship problems on top of all that and it severely impacted my performance in the gym. I'm still working my way back up on squats. In fact I'm barely getting 275x2 right now. I know people on the forum like to say cals in vs cals out for weight/fat loss. However, I think a lot don't understand how much stress can affect your overall body composition. This is purely anecdotal on my part so take it with a grain of salt, but when I'm stressed I seem to put on fat easier regardless of diet and it's harder to lose fat even when in a deficit. Stress can definitely affect the way your body partitions its calories IMO. So if I were you, I'd also put a big emphasis on making sure you're as happy and stress free as you can possibly be outside the gym.

Sleep and recovery is another area to think about.. Are you sleeping enough? At least enough restful sleep? And recovering properly from the gym? Just trying to cover all areas here so you can get the most out of any advice I can give you

[STH81098]

Well yeah, tbh I have had a lot of stressful things going on the past 6 months. That could very well be part of it. Sleep is not terrible the past couple months, but i've been improving it lately. While school was still going on, I was getting 6-6.5 hours. Now i'm getting about 7, but i'm trying for 8. Even with these two factors, I still think my endomorphic body type is playing a big part in this. Picture the 5'5" frame of Leonard from The Big Bang Theory. Thats basically my body shape, except i'm pretty sure I have more muscle mass underneath the fat layers than he does. Anyways, i'm thinking about trying fat burning supplements to help overcome the genetic disadvantage for looking cut. How well do you think hydroxycut works? Its fairly cheap to buy in drug stores.

[fatlosspunk]

Yes.

Explain how I would do it. Do I just eat at my maintenance and lift heavy?

[STH81098]

But if i'm adding muscle mass, wouldn't that mean more weight on the scales?

[benh2]

But if i'm adding muscle mass, wouldn't that mean more weight on the scales?

Like I said before, that is not possible at maintenance or in a slight deficit. There will be fat loss to compensate.

[fatlosspunk]

Yes.

Like I said before, that is not possible at maintenance or in a slight deficit. There will be fat loss to compensate.

[Groce]

I hate to tell you, but you still have a long way to go. I would say you are between 20 and 25 percent right now.



Here is an image that gets passed around here a lot that gives you an idea of what different bf percentages look like.

As others have said, keep doing what you are doing. Building muscle takes a long time. Good luck.

the 15% looks basically the same as 20%

[Devils]

The is my second time cutting since several years ago. I started 5 months ago at 186 lbs at over 30% bodyfat. Since then, i've followed a strict diet for losing bodyfat with my macros managed at 50% protein, 30% complex carbs, and 20% fat. I've been losing weight at a rate of about 2 lbs per week. I currently weigh 154 lbs as of two days ago. I have measured my body fat using three different methods (scales, measuring tape, and calipers. It looks like i'm close to 15-16% accoring to the tape and calipers. The scales claim im 21 % but i've heard they can be very inaccurate due to hydration. I've never been able to achieve 10% bodyfat with any visible abs. The first time I cut 3 years ago I was stuck at 12% before I decided to start bulking again. Anybody got any advice of how I can accomplish this in the best way possible? Its always been a goal of mine.

How tall are you? good job on the weight loss so far. You look about 22-25% bodyfat right now, I predict you would need to lose another 30 lbs to get to 10%, are you prepared to do that or does it seem too much?

Take it 10 lbs at a time and see how you go, drop your macro's to about 30% pro, 50% carb and 20% fat, or 40/40/20 if you want the extra protein. Aim for about 1 lb a week so that's 10 weeks of cutting and reassess from there.

[STH81098]

I'm 5'5. Thirty pounds is a lot to me. In my opinion, i'm gonna look scranwy at 125. I'm not sure if i'm willing to go that low. At this point i'm thinking about altering my goal slighty and stopping the cut at 15%. I might not have the 6 pack I wanted, but I should be pretty close. From there, I'll probbaly stick to a super clean bulk until next spring when I try cutting again. Is this what you would reccomend?

[STH81098]

Like I said before, that is not possible at maintenance or in a slight deficit. There will be fat loss to compensate.

Okay. So i'm basically just maintaing the muscle i've already got except the scales are still gonna be going down from the fat loss?

[Gimle]

Brah
you need to cut more, alot more. You should not think about bulk rigth now. Not when you have a fat percentage of over 20.

I would not recommend you to bulk at 15 percent.
You should think about bulk when you are about 10-12 percent, ore wen youer abs are visible.

There are many ways to Cut body fat, but this has worked for me leangains. You should not follow the if modelen , but with cab cycling works fine. Try that. But good work with what you've lost until now.

The truth is that you are too overweight right now. Do as the others say , look at the mirror and use the weight as small part goal . And lifting heavy.

I can not post links as I have not over 50 post, but search for ama leangains pdf on google, and leangain ***s and traning on reddit.