getting to single digit body fat

[kflps]

hi everyone i'm 27 and i have lost about 35 lbs after a dirty bulk and now i'm around 12% body fat and i want to get down to 8% and during this 8 month weight loss i was losing about 4 lbs a month but now i think the weight loss has slowed down so my question is how much does weight loss slow down when you are already lean with visible six pack at 12% bf?i have been eating around 1500 calories a day and i do a 10 min hiit session or 1 hour of walking or even both every day but still the weight loss has slowed down.i have heard that weight loss rate can slow down even at 0.25 lbs a month but i think this happens only if you try to get down to extreme levels of 4-5% body fat for a competition.i'm an ectomorph btw but more on the skinny-fat side,so not pure ripped ectomorph.

[AdamWW]

hi everyone i'm 27 and i have lost about 35 lbs after a dirty bulk and now i'm around 12% body fat and i want to get down to 8% and during this 8 month weight loss i was losing about 4 lbs a month but now i think the weight loss has slowed down so my question is how much does weight loss slow down when you are already lean with visible six pack at 12% bf?i have been eating around 1500 calories a day and i do a 10 min hiit session or 1 hour of walking or even both every day but still the weight loss has slowed down.i have heard that weight loss rate can slow down even at 0.25 lbs a month but i think this happens only if you try to get down to extreme levels of 4-5% body fat for a competition.i'm an ectomorph btw but more on the skinny-fat side,so not pure ripped ectomorph.

Why would you want to get to 8%?

Can you post a picture of your current 12% level? Most people underestimate their real amount or what 8% really looks like... it's probably WAY leaner than you think.

And at 1500 calories, yeah, you're probably feeling like garbage and barely moving, thus you burn less energy. Why are you dieting on such a low amount?

[kflps]

Why would you want to get to 8%?

Can you post a picture of your current 12% level? Most people underestimate their real amount or what 8% really looks like... it's probably WAY leaner than you think.

And at 1500 calories, yeah, you're probably feeling like garbage and barely moving, thus you burn less energy. Why are you dieting on such a low amount?

i want to get down to 8% because my face looks a bit bloated even at 12% bf probably because of poor bone structure.i also want to see how ripped my body can be at single digit body fat.

sorry i can't post a picture at the moment but i'm certain i'm no more that 14%,yes i know most people are fatter than they think,i remember i have reached only once in my life 8% bf (which took several months) and i started to see some veins in my lower abs and calves that i had never seen before and friends and family were concerned because i almost looked anorexic because i also didn't work out so i had no muscle back then,i was 119 pounds at 5' 10 height.. and i also have seen many body fat percentage example pics/videos so i drew the conclusion that i was around 9-8 % bf.now i think i gained around 5-7 lbs of muscle after the bulk so by my calculations i will be around 125 pounds when i get to 8% bf.

i have also tried to up my calories a bit but it doesn't work either,the weight loss is still slowing down.

[AdamWW]

i want to get down to 8% because my face looks a bit bloated even at 12% bf probably because of poor bone structure.i also want to see how ripped my body can be at single digit body fat.

sorry i can't post a picture at the moment but i'm certain i'm no more that 14%,yes i know most people are fatter than they think,i remember i have reached only once in my life 8% bf (which took several months) and i started to see some veins in my lower abs and calves that i had never seen before and friends and family were concerned because i almost looked anorexic because i also didn't work out so i had no muscle back then,i was 119 pounds at 5' 10 height.. and i also have seen many body fat percentage example pics/videos so i drew the conclusion that i was around 9-8 % bf.now i think i gained around 5-7 lbs of muscle after the bulk so by my calculations i will be around 125 pounds when i get to 8% bf.

i have also tried to up my calories a bit but it doesn't work either,the weight loss is still slowing down.

Ok, stop right there.

You have some SERIOUS body image issues if you're dieting to 119lb...

This is anorexic territory... you need to stop this unrealistic process.

Im not kidding... please either rethink your goals or seek some therapy for this. Regardless of your weight at the moment you have a history of serious restriction, and even now you're barely eating anything. This is a problem.

You're talking about dieting to clinically underweight levels to reach an appearance goal that offers NO benefits to health or your life.... it will only hurt you.

[kflps]

Ok, stop right there.

You have some SERIOUS body image issues if you're dieting to 119lb...

This is anorexic territory... you need to stop this unrealistic process.

Im not kidding... please either rethink your goals or seek some therapy for this. Regardless of your weight at the moment you have a history of serious restriction, and even now you're barely eating anything. This is a problem.

You're talking about dieting to clinically underweight levels to reach an appearance goal that offers NO benefits to health or your life.... it will only hurt you.

sorry,my fault for not being very clear.when i got down to 119 lbs i didn't do it to look shredded,i was just following a diet protocol with only low calorie health foods to help heal an autoimune disease i have and i was also walking most of the day because of some other activities so i lost too much weight.

also i'm generally underweight for my height even at a healthy body fat percentage probably because i have smaller and lighter than average bones.

but i'm not going to lie i also do suffer from OCD/body image issues which i'm trying to recover from,so thanks for your concern.i also now think that the autoimmune issue is mostly caused by ocd/anxiety and not nutrition.

[AdamWW]

sorry,my fault for not being very clear.when i got down to 119 lbs i didn't do it to look shredded,i was just following a diet protocol with only low calorie health foods to help heal an autoimune disease i have and i was also walking most of the day because of some other activities so i lost too much weight.

also i'm generally underweight for my height even at a healthy body fat percentage probably because i have smaller and lighter than average bones.

but i'm not going to lie i also do suffer from OCD/body image issues which i'm trying to recover from,so thanks for your concern.i also now think that the autoimmune issue is mostly caused by ocd/anxiety and not nutrition.

auto-immune issues can be triggered/caused by a multitude of factors, but being UNDERweight isn't going to help it, so I'm surprised you'd try to be super lean at all...

The issue I see here is that you're simply trying to get to and maintain a bodyweight and level of leanness that clearly isn't beneficial in any way to your health or lifestyle.

And, the mere fact that you're considering trying to get to 8% BF while holding so little muscle mass is very concerning. Again, this will only HURT your health.

[Ghawk21]

OP you talked to your doctor about your plan? I would start with that. Also no one feels good at 8%, people aim for single digits for competitions and photoshoots, no one maintains that for long periods. Seconding all of Adams concerns, pics would help but it doesn't sound like you have any business cutting more weight.

[kflps]

i don't see the reason why 8% bf would be difficult to maintain.when i get to 8% i will need to be eating 2000+ calories to maintain that weight which is enough to satiate me.(my TDEE is around 2300-2400 calories).

[CommitmentRulz]

i don't see the reason why 8% bf would be difficult to maintain.when i get to 8% i will need to be eating 2000+ calories to maintain that weight which is enough to satiate me.(my TDEE is around 2300-2400 calories).

You are seriously underweight. Seriously underweight. We are not going to help or encourage you lose even more...

[AdamWW]

i don't see the reason why 8% bf would be difficult to maintain.when i get to 8% i will need to be eating 2000+ calories to maintain that weight which is enough to satiate me.(my TDEE is around 2300-2400 calories).

Because your hormones, hunger levels, bone health, plenty of other things will go to shyt.

Do you not care about health?

Seriously dude you said you weren’t anorexic but I’m starting to really think you’re just lying.

[snailsrus]

OP you talked to your doctor about your plan? I would start with that.

Ya op go talk to your doctor and tell them not only do you want to be a lower body fat but your goal is to be a weight that is so low you can have heart complications.

Ask them for their advice on how to get to your goal

[kflps]

You are seriously underweight. Seriously underweight. We are not going to help or encourage you lose even more...

even at a healthy 13-14% bf i'm like 135 pounds,i'm very underweight because my bones arent't heavy and big enough,not because of extreme low body fat

[kflps]

Ya op go talk to your doctor and tell them not only do you want to be a lower body fat but your goal is to be a weight that is so low you can have heart complications.

Ask them for their advice on how to get to your goal

obese people and people with genetic heart conditions have heart complications,i've never heard of anyone have a heart problem because of low body weight.if that was the case many light weight athletes who are in the 120-125 range at 8-10 % bf would be dropping dead ..

[kflps]

Because your hormones, hunger levels, bone health, plenty of other things will go to shyt.

Do you not care about health?

Seriously dude you said you weren’t anorexic but I’m starting to really think you’re just lying.

i'm not anorexic,i look a bit skinny with a little muscle mass and i look somewhat like your profile pic with a pump but not as ripped.take a look at many athletes who are in the 120 pound range who have a decent amount of muscle,they are very lean and healthy.when i was at 8-9% bf for several months,nothing happened to me,i don't know why you guys are so cautious about getting to 8% bf,i never said anything about getting below 8% ,my goal is to stay between 8 and 10%

[snailsrus]

obese people and people with genetic heart conditions have heart complications,i've never heard of anyone have a heart problem because of low body weight.if that was the case many light weight athletes who are in the 120-125 range at 8-10 % bf would be dropping dead ..

anorexia has the highest rate of mortality out of any mental disorder. The most common type of medical complication that causes death in someone who is anorexic (medically underweight bmi lower than 18) is cardiac complications. This makes up for 1/3 of deaths associated with anorexia.

[kflps]

anorexia has the highest rate of mortality out of any mental disorder. The most common type of medical complication that causes death in someone who is anorexic (medically underweight bmi lower than 18) is cardiac complications. This makes up for 1/3 of deaths associated with anorexia.

ok but i'm talking about just low body weight,not anorexic and i'm not anorexic.there are many people who are in the 120-130 pound range.

[SuffolkPunch]

Post some pictures. I'm betting everyone says gain muscle/weight...

Sometimes you just have to accept that we all have distorted views of ourselves - some a lot more distorted than others.

Also, low BF% is not sustainable. You won't feel well and your relationship with eating will be made worse. There is a good reason why bodybuilders do not maintain stage weight. It's unhealthy and not fun.

[snailsrus]

ok but i'm talking about just low body weight,not anorexic and i'm not anorexic.there are many people who are in the 120-130 pound range.

120 lbs at 5’10 is medically under weight. Anorexia is being just underweight aka below a bmi of 18 for various reasons say even cancer. anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder and mental illness. Your goal weight is too low. Simply put and can be dangerous and cause cardiac complications

[kflps]

Post some pictures. I'm betting everyone says gain muscle/weight...

Sometimes you just have to accept that we all have distorted views of ourselves - some a lot more distorted than others.

Also, low BF% is not sustainable. You won't feel well and your relationship with eating will be made worse. There is a good reason why bodybuilders do not maintain stage weight. It's unhealthy and not fun.

stage body fat is 4-5%,not 8-9%

[SuffolkPunch]

stage body fat is 4-5%,not 8-9%

Leptin production can stop at this body weight - that's the issue.

Post a pic.

[kflps]

Leptin production can stop at this body weight - that's the issue.

Post a pic.

i may post a photo another time but just wanted to add that the ideal weight calculators (and also probably people here) will say that i should be 150-160 pounds for my height,but if i was that much,i would be over 20% body fat which isn't the most healthy and at that weight i have less endurance than now and i get tired easier.

why not stay at 8-10% and build muscle overtime slowly by doing recomp?

[SuffolkPunch]

i may post a photo another time but just wanted to add that the ideal weight calculators (and also probably people here) will say that i should be 150-160 pounds for my height,but if i was that much,i would be over 20% body fat which isn't the most healthy and at that weight i have less endurance than now and i get tired easier.

why not stay at 8-10% and build muscle overtime slowly by doing recomp?

If you gained 20lbs of muscle you would look good at 150-160. A little bit of muscle goes a long way and has much more visual impact than low BF% for this scenario.

[kflps]

If you gained 20lbs of muscle you would look good at 150-160. A little bit of muscle goes a long way and has much more visual impact than low BF% for this scenario.

20 pounds of muscle would take almost a decade of lifting for ectomorph genes (but i'm willing to do it).i gained around 5 lbs of muscle during my 8 month bulk,so it's not possible for me to look anorexic even at 8% bf,i will just look small but not anorexic.and i don't care about looking big or even looking like i lift,i just want to be healthy and functional.8-9 % body fat maybe a little lower than normal but it's still healthier than 20+% just to look 'big'.

[SuffolkPunch]

No it wouldn't, anyone who is severely under muscled can gain muscle really fast initially. And it's impossible to say anything about your genes until you've actually tried and done everything correctly. There are very few people with outlier genes (by definition) but everyone thinks they have them when the problem is almost always incorrect nutrition and training.

[kflps]

No it wouldn't, anyone who is severely under muscled can gain muscle really fast initially. And it's impossible to say anything about your genes until you've actually tried and done everything correctly. There are very few people with outlier genes (by definition) but everyone thinks they have them when the problem is almost always incorrect nutrition and training.

well let's hope you're right..

[kflps]

so does anyone know how much does weight loss slow down if you are already lean at 12% bf and want to get down to 9-8?this thread went off topic.

[Ghawk21]

so does anyone know how much does weight loss slow down if you are already lean at 12% bf and want to get down to 9-8?this thread went off topic.

Until you post pics no one is going to help you lose more weight. You have multiple people telling you its a bad idea. At the very least go talk to your doctor, maybe you'll listen to them.

[AdamWW]

Until you post pics no one is going to help you lose more weight. You have multiple people telling you its a bad idea. At the very least go talk to your doctor, maybe you'll listen to them.

I wouldn’t help him lose weight even if pics were posted.

He’s trying to harm his body and refuses to listen.

Frankly this thread should be closed to at least try and protect his well being.

[AdamWW]

so does anyone know how much does weight loss slow down if you are already lean at 12% bf and want to get down to 9-8?this thread went off topic.

Stop asking us to give you dangerous advice.