I'm 180 lbs but I have a body fat % of 28% please help

[mathew2607]

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out this thread, I really appreciate it. So I need some help, I came down from 220lbs to 180lbs but my body fat percentage is still a whopping 28%. I've gained a bit of muscle on my chest and legs and back and arms but it's not really visible. I've been doing resistance training since last September and I feel like I should have a bit more muscle for all the work I've put in. my maintenance calories are 2500 but I eat about 1000 which gives me a 1500 deficit. For breakfast I have 2 eggs with a slice of brown bread. For lunch I have either chicken breast or fish. I eat a bowl of spinach too. For dinner I have 2 eggs and a slice of bread. Please kindly help me out. Thank you. so much for your time

[rhadam]

How tall are you? You've been on too large of a calorie deficit and it's likely time to reverse diet and start giving your body the calories/macro nutrients it actually needs. It's time to build muscle.

[mathew2607]

How tall are you? You've been on too large of a calorie deficit and it's likely time to reverse diet and start giving your body the calories/macro nutrients it actually needs. It's time to build muscle.

I'm 182 cm tall. i actually educated myself and did a few calculations and found that the ideal deficit I need to be in is around a 1200-1300 deficit to lose a good amount of fat but maintain my muslce. because I still am nowhere near my goal. i still have a lot of belly fat to lose.But I really don't know if I'm correct.

[mathew2607]

How tall are you? You've been on too large of a calorie deficit and it's likely time to reverse diet and start giving your body the calories/macro nutrients it actually needs. It's time to build muscle.

also one more thing I'd like to add. i just checked my maintenance calories and it's actually dropped to 2241 calories as opposed to 2500 which was my previous maintenance calories.

[rhadam]

My previous advice still stands. I would reverse diet back to a 500 calorie deficit and focus on building lean tissue.

[mathew2607]

My previous advice still stands. I would reverse diet and focus on building lean tissue.

so increase the amount of calories I take in a day? if I were to do so, what kind of foods do u recommend? rn due to this whole coronavirus thing, it's a bit hard to be really picky on the food, so what would u recommend. Thank you

[beowulf359]

That is too large a deficit. If your maintenance is 2500 I would have aimed for 1800-2000. It is possible you are miscalculating your intake or maintenance calories so your deficit may not be that large.

What was your rate of weight loss over the diet period? Best to aim for no more than a 1% weekly loss so in your case no more than about 2 lbs a week. If you are doing that with lifting and sufficient protein you should retain most of the muscle you have while burning fat.

[leeniepie]

an aggressive deficit is considered to be 20%, which would be 2000kcal for you, so to eat only 1000kcal a day is ridiculous. Also how are you measuring your bodyfat?

its really hard to build muscle in a deficit, so you wont have gained much during this time. I agree with the other poster - time to reverse back to maintenance and start gaining muscle. Food intake can be anything you like/ is available, as long as you hit your macros.

[mathew2607]

That is too large a deficit. If your maintenance is 2500 I would have aimed for 1800-2000. It is possible you are miscalculating your intake or maintenance calories so your deficit may not be that large.

What was your rate of weight loss over the diet period? Best to aim for no more than a 1% weekly loss so in your case no more than about 2 lbs a week. If you are doing that with lifting and sufficient protein you should retain most of the muscle you have while burning fat.

my rate of weight was was 2-2.4 lbs lost per week. and true enough I just calculated my maintenance and it's actually 2241 calories. how much would u say is an ideal Protein intake per day?

[mathew2607]

an aggressive deficit is considered to be 20%, which would be 2000kcal for you, so to eat only 1000kcal a day is ridiculous. Also how are you measuring your bodyfat?

its really hard to build muscle in a deficit, so you wont have gained much during this time. I agree with the other poster - time to reverse back to maintenance and start gaining muscle. Food intake can be anything you like/ is available, as long as you hit your macros.

but reversing back would actually prevent me from losing fat, would it not? i still have quite a bit of belly fat, so I'm looking for a balanced deficit where I can maintain my muscle but lose a sufficient amount of fat. I was thinking of going up to consuming about 1400 calories with regular resistance training. that would put me in a deficit of 800 calories(my maintenance is 2200 calories). Would u say this is appropriate?

[beowulf359]

my rate of weight was was 2-2.4 lbs lost per week. and true enough I just calculated my maintenance and it's actually 2241 calories. how much would u say is an ideal Protein intake per day?

Anything over 0.7g/lb of bodyweight should be fine so aim for 125+ grams a day of protein.

[mathew2607]

Anything over 0.7g/lb of bodyweight should be fine so aim for 125+ grams a day of protein.

alright thanks man, also I need an accurate way to measure my body fat percentage. I don't think I'd be able to out and buy some clippers rn, so are there any alternatives to getting an accurate measurement?

[sunsean]

but reversing back would actually prevent me from losing fat, would it not? i still have quite a bit of belly fat, so I'm looking for a balanced deficit where I can maintain my muscle but lose a sufficient amount of fat. I was thinking of going up to consuming about 1400 calories with regular resistance training. that would put me in a deficit of 800 calories(my maintenance is 2200 calories). Would u say this is appropriate?

alright thanks man, also I need an accurate way to measure my body fat percentage. I don't think I'd be able to out and buy some clippers rn, so are there any alternatives to getting an accurate measurement?

Your stats indicate you lack muscle mass...definitely something you need to focus on if you want to improve your physique.

It's very inefficient to try to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, so instead of trying to do both at once, it's best to pick one goal and commit to it before switching gears. If you are truly 28% body fat or around there, then yeah you should probably cut more fat but it's hard to say without a pic.

And re: body fat, no - there is no accurate way to measure body fat easily. Best is to use a combination of scale weight, measurements, and mirror.

[beowulf359]

alright thanks man, also I need an accurate way to measure my body fat percentage. I don't think I'd be able to out and buy some clippers rn, so are there any alternatives to getting an accurate measurement?

Unfortunately there is no accurate way to measure body fat. I wouldn’t get too hung up on percentages but rather focus on what the mirror tell you.
If you need something for a baseline there is a US Navy calculator (just search online) that will take in as input a few body measurements and spit out a number. There is also a thread on this forum where you can post your pics and some members with a good eye for this sort of thing can give you an estimate.

[mathew2607]

Your stats indicate you lack muscle mass...definitely something you need to focus on if you want to improve your physique.

It's very inefficient to try to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, so instead of trying to do both at once, it's best to pick one goal and commit to it before switching gears. If you are truly 28% body fat or around there, then yeah you should probably cut more fat but it's hard to say without a pic.

And re: body fat, no - there is no accurate way to measure body fat easily. Best is to use a combination of scale weight, measurements, and mirror.

yup I definitely lack muscle but I think I wanna stick to fat loss for the moment and then once I get down to a lower body fat percentage I think I'll start building muscle. I'm going to increase my calorie intake to 1400 calories from tomr, which will put me in a deficit of 800 calories. This is sufficient to lose a good amount of fat right? And thank you for the body fat percentage suggestions, I really appreciate it

[mathew2607]

Unfortunately there is no accurate way to measure body fat. I wouldn’t get too hung up on percentages but rather focus on what the mirror tell you.
If you need something for a baseline there is a US Navy calculator (just search online) that will take in as input a few body measurements and spit out a number. There is also a thread on this forum where you can post your pics and some members with a good eye for this sort of thing can give you an estimate.

yeah I mean I got 28% by just measuring my waist and neck. I will definitely upload a photo of myself in the days to come just to get an update on my progress. Thank you so much man, I really appreciate it

[sunsean]

yup I definitely lack muscle but I think I wanna stick to fat loss for the moment and then once I get down to a lower body fat percentage I think I'll start building muscle. I'm going to increase my calorie intake to 1400 calories from tomr, which will put me in a deficit of 800 calories. This is sufficient to lose a good amount of fat right? And thank you for the body fat percentage suggestions, I really appreciate it

1400 calories is very low - but if you don't have any muscle you're trying to protect, I guess you can go for it.

Generally accepted rate of weight loss is 1% of your body weight per week. So if you weigh 180lb you would want to lose no more than 1.8lb/week. This is the rate that will ensure you maintain your muscle mass, if you lose faster you will lose muscle which is the opposite of what you want for body composition goals.

[mathew2607]

1400 calories is very low - but if you don't have any muscle you're trying to protect, I guess you can go for it.

Generally accepted rate of weight loss is 1% of your body weight per week. So if you weigh 180lb you would want to lose no more than 1.8lb/week. This is the rate that will ensure you maintain your muscle mass, if you lose faster you will lose muscle which is the opposite of what you want for body composition goals.

aww man I get it now, so it boils down to whether I wanna go all out on fat loss or take it slow but maintain muscle as well. Tough decision to make huh. Thank you so much g, I've learnt a lot and I'll definitely update when I hit my goals. Thank you so much

[mathew2607]

Thank you all so much for actually taking time to help a rookie like me, it really really means a lot. Nutrition was something I was struggling at and now I'm more confident in that aspect so thank you. I will definitely update once I achieve my goals. THANK YOU

[rhadam]

yup I definitely lack muscle but I think I wanna stick to fat loss for the moment and then once I get down to a lower body fat percentage I think I'll start building muscle. I'm going to increase my calorie intake to 1400 calories from tomr, which will put me in a deficit of 800 calories. This is sufficient to lose a good amount of fat right? And thank you for the body fat percentage suggestions, I really appreciate it

You need to post a picture. 1400 calories is still likely below your BMR and is not advisable. My advice goes against the posters in here, slightly. You, being untrained and higher body fat can build muscle through a deficit. I'm saying this as someone with the credentials and experience in the field. But ultimately it's your choice on what to do.