12% Body fat to 7% body fat diet plan. Give me your opinions!

[AdamWW]

OP, you're not 12%... you look more like 15-16% or so maybe.

You also don't appear to have much lean mass on you, so why try to cut to 7%?

Take it from me, someone who is around 7% bodyfat right now... it doesn't feel good...

[KalElLoco]

OP, you're not 12%... you look more like 15-16% or so maybe.

You also don't appear to have much lean mass on you, so why try to cut to 7%?

Take it from me, someone who is around 7-8% bodyfat right now... it doesn't feel good...

I second this, I reached 6% for a contest and it was terrible, feeling like **** and literally dying for cold all the time, libido gone on ****

I'll never get back to that point, never

Definitely not worth staying under 9% imo, but as I said it's just my opinion, a more comfortable 9-10% that can you maintain all year and makes you feel great is one million times better and more balanced for every purpose

[AdamWW]

I second this, I reached 6% for a contest and it was terrible, feeling like **** and literally dying for cold all the time, libido gone on ****

I'll never get back to that point, never

Definitely not worth staying under 9% imo, but as I said it's just my opinion, a more comfortable 9-10% that can you maintain all year and makes you feel great is one million times better and more balanced for every purpose

Yeah for all I know i could be lower... and I am actively in recovery from an eating disorder, which is what it took to get me here.

My spine hits the back of chairs, my ass hurts sitting on hard surfaces... hold all the time... 'unreliable' sex drive... you name it.

From this point forward, at least for me (based on experience in the past), I know that I have the best balance of look and performance when i'm roughly 10%, and I have the most strength when I'm around 15% or so, give or take.

I will never, ever allow myself to get to this point again... there is NO point... it's not healthy.

[Akotic]

[QUOTE=AdamWW;1515776361]OP, you're not 12%... you look more like 15-16% or so maybe.

You also don't appear to have much lean mass on you, so why try to cut to 7%?

Take it from me, someone who is around 7% bodyfat right now... it doesn't feel good...

I respect your input. I certainly dont believe that I'm up to 15-16% bodyfat. And if I am, Then I definitely shouldn't be bulking right now. 15% is the highest you should go before cutting again. Everyone seems to be stuck on talking about weather I should bulk or cut, or what my body fat percentage is. All I'm after is opinions on dieting and shredding the 8lbs of fat that I want gone

[KalElLoco]

Yeah for all I know i could be lower... and I am actively in recovery from an eating disorder, which is what it took to get me here.

My spine hits the back of chairs, my ass hurts sitting on hard surfaces... hold all the time... 'unreliable' sex drive... you name it.

From this point forward, at least for me (based on experience in the past), I know that I have the best balance of look and performance when i'm roughly 10%, and I have the most strength when I'm around 15% or so, give or take.

I will never, ever allow myself to get to this point again... there is NO point... it's not healthy.

Damn man, you have all my support, you'll recover greatly I'm sure, just think you can use this to fuel your mind in crushing the gym even more, go on and be strong!

Also yes, you reminded me that ****in' spine feeling lol, crunches became a nightmare for a long time too


Big quote about the best bf %, basing on my, your and many others experience I've heard and read of, 10% looks like the perfect 360°, best performance - look - wellness combination for the majority of people

[AdamWW]

[QUOTE=Akotic;1515777601]

OP, you're not 12%... you look more like 15-16% or so maybe.

You also don't appear to have much lean mass on you, so why try to cut to 7%?

Take it from me, someone who is around 7% bodyfat right now... it doesn't feel good...

I respect your input. I certainly dont believe that I'm up to 15-16% bodyfat. And if I am, Then I definitely shouldn't be bulking right now. 15% is the highest you should go before cutting again. Everyone seems to be stuck on talking about weather I should bulk or cut, or what my body fat percentage is. All I'm after is opinions on dieting and shredding the 8lbs of fat that I want gone

So basically you want people to tell you what you want to hear instead of what we think is right?

Good luck getting people to change their honest opinions when we have plenty of experience with these subjects.

And sorry but you're not 12%, and your choices of arbitrarily assigning 'appropriate' times for cutting/bulking are baseless and without evidence to support them.

Anyone can cut or bulk whenever they please.

Beyond that, if you want to lose weight, you're probably aware you need to eat fewer calories than you burn, and if you want to bulk, you do the opposite. WHat else do you expect us to say?

PS - There are many videos on YouTube of VERY lean-looking people getting DEXA scans who have full 6-packs of visible abs who return BF%'s around 10-12%... do you really think you're in that area?

A more realistic chart, in my opinion, would be like this:




But again, who gives a rat's ass about the %? Shouldn't it be about what you think looks/feels better? You're below 20%, which is all you need to worry about from a health point of view.

[KalElLoco]

What AdamWW said, and I add: you could have better results just starting a lean bulk / body recomp right now, than wasting more time in a pointless and dangerous cut

If you want, let's say, a future 10% with a respectable amount of lean mass, why trying to feel like **** when you get there anyway with patience and a little effort in paying nutrition and training the right attention?

The ending result will be the same, your life will be much better with a well done recomp

I don't want to be an *******, it's just my modest opinion

[KalElLoco]

Read this too, OP


http://truth-dealer.com/physiology/f...weight-03.html

[Akotic]

[QUOTE=AdamWW;1515778451]

So basically you want people to tell you what you want to hear instead of what we think is right?

Good luck getting people to change their honest opinions when we have plenty of experience with these subjects.

And sorry but you're not 12%, and your choices of arbitrarily assigning 'appropriate' times for cutting/bulking are baseline and without evidence to support them.

Anyone can cut or bulk whenever they please.

Beyond that, if you want to lose weight, you're probably aware you need to eat fewer calories than you burn, and if you want to bulk, you do the opposite. WHat else do you expect us to say?

I am not requesting people to tell me what I want to hear. And 15% body maximum isn't my opinion. I read a book titled Superior Muscle growth, which is a very good read, And all my knowledge is based upon the facts of optimum training and achieving the best results. When you let your body go above 15% bodyfat, It is then harder to lose fat when you begin cutting. The more fat you have, the harder it is to lose fat. Like I said, I respect your input. If you think that I'm 15-16% bodyfat, I'll take that into consideration. And yes, we all know that a calorie deficit causes you to lose weight, and a calorie surplus causes you to gain weight. What I was asking for are the opinions from people who know a lot about macro and micro nutrient intake and the whole dieting process when it comes to shredding fat. Also, I wanted opinions on if people think that all of my nutrient intakes look correct as well as the timing for each. And lastly, if i'm missing any key nutrients or other methods that would better assist me in cutting to around 10% bodyfat. If my bodyfat percentage is 12% or if its 16%, it doesn't matter. I want to know if my diet program that I posted will be able to get me to 10%

[AdamWW]

[QUOTE=Akotic;1515779911]

I am not requesting people to tell me what I want to hear. And 15% body maximum isn't my opinion. I read a book titled Superior Muscle growth, which is a very good read, And all my knowledge is based upon the facts of optimum training and achieving the best results. When you let your body go above 15% bodyfat, It is then harder to lose fat when you begin cutting. The more fat you have, the harder it is to lose fat. Like I said, I respect your input. If you think that I'm 15-16% bodyfat, I'll take that into consideration. And yes, we all know that a calorie deficit causes you to lose weight, and a calorie surplus causes you to gain weight. What I was asking for are the opinions from people who know a lot about macro and micro nutrient intake and the whole dieting process when it comes to shredding fat. Also, I wanted opinions on if people think that all of my nutrient intakes look correct as well as the timing for each. And lastly, if i'm missing any key nutrients or other methods that would better assist me in cutting to around 10% bodyfat. If my bodyfat percentage is 12% or if its 16%, it doesn't matter. I want to know if my diet program that I posted will be able to get me to 10%

LOL tell that nonsense to the obese people who can lose 10lbs of fat in like a week's time.

I'm sorry but you're off on so many levels, but don't listen to me or everyone else, what do we know, anyway? What do I know about getting lean?

Have fun.

[Akotic]

I completely agree that I should bulk right now. But you can go ahead and call me stubborn I guess because my goal is to get around 10% before I bulk

[Ghawk21]

If you insist on further cutting then try the macros you have laid out. Track everything, be consistent. If you're losing weight, 0.5-1lbs per week, then its working. If its not, or when the weight loss stalls then you will need to cut calories further. No one here can tell you that what you have laid out is your magic cutting number, only trial and error will tell.

[AdamWW]

I completely agree that I should bulk right now. But you can go ahead and call me stubborn I guess because my goal is to get around 10% before I bulk

10% is different than 7%. Please reread your thread title.

[Akotic]

10% is different than 7%. Please reread your thread title.

Yes, my title states differently. Other people earlier in the thread changed my mind to only cut to 10% due to the proposed muscle loss. I don't really see how I'm off on so many levels. I promise that if you do some research you will find out then for someone that does yearly bulking and cutting phases, letting yourself go above 15% body fat is not good. The phrase "don't let yourself get fat" takes place here.

[Akotic]

If you insist on further cutting then try the macros you have laid out. Track everything, be consistent. If you're losing weight, 0.5-1lbs per week, then its working. If its not, or when the weight loss stalls then you will need to cut calories further. No one here can tell you that what you have laid out is your magic cutting number, only trial and error will tell.

Thank You

[boo99]

Has WonderPug been absent for so much time?! I swear I'd have read his posts lately, maybe reading too many old threads confused me lol

Anyway, welcome back and please stay with us WP!

End of OT

Yes

Hopefully, as IronWill stated, he'll stick around

[WonderPug]

Where the heck have you been WP!?!?

I was in the pound

In all seriousness, thanks for the kind words from those who remember me from years past!

[AdamWW]

I was in the pound

In all seriousness, thanks for the kind words from those who remember me from years past!

You're one of the OG real-talk science dudes on here... good to see you out of the cage

[AU66]

I'm sorry but I don't quite follow you. What is my unrealistic goal? Getting to 7-8% body fat isn't nearly as hard as getting down to 3-5%. And 7-8% is very possible with correct diet and workout regimen. My goal is simply to shred what fat I do have at LEAST down to 9% before I begin my much needed bulking phase. It would just be silly to bulk up to where I'm over 15% body fat and then try to cut.

I think you'd die at 3% body fat... You'd definitely be anorexic

[Akotic]

Well 3% isn't my goal. 10% is

[Bearlolz]

u wont look like ronaldo when he took his shirt off

[Mrpb]

I reached 6% for a contest and it was terrible...

Please show us pictures and/or the picture of the DEXA scan that shows you were 6%.

If you feel more comfortable sending it in a PM do that.

For the record: I don't believe anyone who claims they were 6% unless they can supply the above.

[gbullock32]

Lowest I ever went was around 8%... not healthy, not at all; did not go well for me mentally or physically.

10-14% is a nice spot, more to the 14% area for performance and ease of maintaining.

[WonderPug]

One quick point: the actual percentage body fat one reaches is perhaps the wrong benchmark. Rather, it might be better to set more meaningful goals, such have a waste size of x, an arm size of y, a chest size of z.

In other words, seek to build the body you desire rather than chasing numbers.

[health4life24]

Preamble
Frankly, the amount of effort and the physiological impact of reducing body fat from an exceptionally respectable 12% to a (nearly) competition level of 7% isn't practical for most folks.

But, with that disclaimer, the outcome of your diet depends on energy balance, and, of course, micro and macronutrient sufficient. If you're at a rational energy deficit, you'll continue to lose body weight and, importantly, as long as nutrient intake is sufficient and resistance training to properly calibrated, a majority of the weight lost is likely to be body fat (at least until you're at the single digit levels, when the ratio tends to become less favorable).


Answer
In terms of the specific diet you post, there's nothing uniquely good or bad that I noticed, but that does not speak to its calibration to your energy intake requirements. One suggestion, though, is for the sake of compliance, variance of foods from day to day is often helpful, though some folks seem to strive on a more ridged plan.


Question for the OP
Can you give us an idea of what your dietary intake has looked like over the past few weeks in terms on energy intake and macronutrient composition of that energy, as well as any observed changes in weight and composition of that weight? With this additional information, some people here are likely to be able to comment more substantively.



P.S. Nitrogen retention (nitrogen balance) is simply the difference between nitrogen input (dietary) and output (metabolic and physiological uses). With your protein intake, nitrogen balance shouldn't be a concern.

[Benjinkan]

Apart from my goals, you make it sound like it's easier for someone with a lot of muscle mass to get down to 7% body fat opposed to someone who doesn't have a lot of muscle mass. Fat loss is fat loss in my head. Yeah, the guy with 215lb's of lean mass would look a lot better then the guy with only 160lb's of lean mass. But the task of achieving 7% body fat should be the same difficulty for each person. And no matter which way you look at it, the task of achieving such a lean physique is correct diet and workout regimen, perhaps a much more complex one then mine, but even still.

It is, because math - BF% is just that, it's not an absolute. The more lean mass you carry, the more poundage of fat you can carry and still be a lower BF%.

Lets say 2 guys are both carrying 25lbs of fat, but 1 has 245lbs lean mass, the other 160.

The guy with more LBM would be at ~9% BF, but the smaller guy (with the same amount of absolute fat) would be sitting at ~13.5% BF.

Thats not even taking in to account the a guy with 245lbs LBM would be burning through a load more calories even at rest than the smaller guy in the first place.

[Jesse_l_g]

I was in the pound

In all seriousness, thanks for the kind words from those who remember me from years past!

Happy to see you back Pug!

[WonderPug]

Happy to see you back Pug!

Thanks, Jesse, and I'm happy to see that you, health4life24 and some other old time regulars are still fighting the good fight!

[Akotic]

It is, because math - BF% is just that, it's not an absolute. The more lean mass you carry, the more poundage of fat you can carry and still be a lower BF%.

Lets say 2 guys are both carrying 25lbs of fat, but 1 has 245lbs lean mass, the other 160.

The guy with more LBM would be at ~9% BF, but the smaller guy (with the same amount of absolute fat) would be sitting at ~13.5% BF.

Thats not even taking in to account the a guy with 245lbs LBM would be burning through a load more calories even at rest than the smaller guy in the first place.

Thanks for that info. I always enjoy learning new things!

And wonderpug, I noticed that you have quite the wealth of knowledge for these kinds of things. Where did you learn everything from? Any books that you'd recommend?

[Beerculez]

You are not 12% bodyfat. Probably not under 15 even. You should diet maybe 10lbs and then go on a long slow bulk.

You don't have the lean mass to be 7% bodyfat and not full blown anorexic.