Body Fat Percentage

[RetireAge50]

Never measured this before until recently. Started a unhealthy activity last year and gained some weight. Currently at 21% going to try to get to 10% by 6/20/2016. Anybody else have fitness goals?

 

[eytonxav]

I predict your goal will be made by spending more quality time in the kitchen vs the gym. Thats pretty aggressive cutting if you haven't done this before.

 

[RetireAge50]

To do it I will need to lose 1 pound of fat each week and at least maintain muscle. Here is my schedule, so far so good:

 

[aaronc879]

I'm at 16% which is the highest of my adult life. I don't eat very healthy so I have to make sure I move a decent amount so the % doesn't go up too much more. I used to work 12 hour shifts of manual labor so I never gained a pound but now I do very part time contract work so I have to make a conscious decision to make sure I get some exercise.

 

[eytonxav]

To do it I will need to lose 1 pound of fat each week and at least maintain muscle. Here is my schedule, so far so good:

How are you measuring your body fat? Most methods can be off by a lot. See Top 5 Ways to Measure Body Fat Percentage - BuiltLean

 

[Senator]

I used to be ~8%, back when I worked out and for quite a few years while I was in college.. Now I think it's closer to 25%...

 

[RetireAge50]

How are you measuring your body fat? Most methods can be off by a lot. See Top 5 Ways to Measure Body Fat Percentage - BuiltLean

I'm using a Tanita scale for now. I'll need to compare over time and with other methods for accuracy. Also will take measurements and make sure my strength is increasing.

 

[Lucantes]

Um...er.... 6'4" and 262lbs.....gives me 33%!
Gee, Fatty-Boomba-Ladi over here!!
Did I win??!!

 

[gcgang]

I've dropped about 35 lbs last 6 months. Body fat from 34 to 28%. Minimum goal is to get below 25%.

 

[Katsmeow]

Scales can be really off. I had my body fat checked with a Bod Pod twice and the body fat % on the scale was off about 7 to 8% (and not in my favor unfortunately)

 

[donheff]

10% seems like a radical goal to me. I am 6' and weighed 195 four years ago. Then I lost 35 pounds and have remained at about 160 for four years. I regularly work out - both lifting and cycling, and am in my best shape since college. My stomach is flat and most people think I am too skinny. I haven't bothered with accurate body fat measures since they are too much of a PITA. But I just tried the Navy tape measure calculator and came out at 13.5. I recognize that may be off but getting down to 10% would be extremely difficult and doesn't appear (to me) to offer me any benefits. I wonder if by taking this route you might get excellent changes but become discouraged that you undershot your goal by a large margin and then give up and fall right back. Why not focus on a steady weight reduction and looks? It is pretty easy to see if you have too much of a gut.

 

[Ronstar]

My 2016 fitness goals don't involve weight or body fat %. I seldom weigh in and never measure body fat. My scale usually says I weigh 185 and it shows body fat at 20%. I don't know how accurate body fat is measured on a bathroom scale.

My 2016 goal is a combined 2016 miles of running and biking - 1000 miles running, 1016 miles biking. And maintain a healthy diet. Running a marathon in October. I'll probably get down into the mid 170's this year. Maybe I'll check body fat accurately when I get down there.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[audreyh1]

I never bought a scale that did body fat % because I never read that they were reasonably accurate. If I were ever going to do it, I'd go to a facility that could weigh me in water to calculate it.

I figure that if I lose some weight, yet maintain or increase my fitness during the same period, including doing some weights exercises to maintain muscle, that the weight loss is going to be fat. Good enough for me.

 

[neihn]

I am 6' and weighed 195 four years ago. Then I lost 35 pounds

What did you do to loose 35#? I was 5' 9'' 185# a year ago, lost 18# with a combination eat less and more exercise - I want to shed more, but it seems I am stuck with 165-167#.

Any tips, eat even less? :-(

 

[W2R]

I am just a bouncing blob of body fat, continually struggling with overweight. My scales measure body fat but I never look at it, fearing that one day it will say 100%.

But I am working on it. My goal is to become as svelte as the Pillsbury dough boy.

 

[mpeirce]

I never bought a scale that did body fat % because I never read that they were reasonably accurate. If I were ever going to do it, I'd go to a facility that could weigh me in water to calculate it.

I have one of these scales, an older version of this

Withings Wireless Scale

I weigh in every morning when I get up. I'm sure the fat reading is rough, but what I watch is the trend. For me it's motivational to keep from blipping up to far.

 

[eytonxav]

10% seems like a radical goal to me.

Agree, it is pretty extreme and maybe not all that healthy long term. I would think being in the 12 - 15% range is more realistic. If your looking for a six pack, you can accomplish that through fastidious nutrition, unless your one of the rare lucky ones that has great genetics and metabolism. Working out probably represents only 30-40% of the effort for achieving that result, while nutrition is the more important success factor.

 

[UtahSkier]

Fitness goals...same as always; Perform exercises to promote recovery from injury, gain muscle and lose fat!

Current Weight is 160 (up 7 lbs from 12/1/2015) with a bf percent around 16.5 ( as reported by scale). I have been overeating to support muscle growth and to promote recovery.

Yesterday was day 11 of the 2015/2016 ski season and was an awesome powder day. I skied 25,000 vertical feet over 6 hours. I am skiing 2-3 days a week depending upon conditions and how much my gimp knee complains (patellafemoral issues and knee osteoarthritis).

Non ski days have me in the gym doing the weight training and physical therapy workouts... about 1.5 hours. Since I am now retired and cannot read all day, I have just started swim workouts in the afternoon (non-ski days).


Tips for weight loss requested by neihn... Count and manage your carb consumption and perform daily HIIT (High intensity interval training). Search around for a program you like and stick with it. Use fitnesspal.

 

[Options]

Not so much fitness goals (I'm already quite "fit") as much as health goals. Two years ago I read The Real Age Makeover (about an internal makeover) and was most struck by their assertion that the three most common causes of aging are cardiovascular, immune system, and stress. I followed many of their suggestions on diet, having physical tests done, etc., in order to attain optimum health. Result, my bad cholesterol has been reduced by 10% and good cholesterol increased by almost a third in two years. The doctor also told me just this morning that my glucose levels--poor levels indicating diabetes and a host of other health issues--were excellent and rare for someone my age. I've been delighted all day!

As I've posted elsewhere, I view health as an investment (1) because health impacts mobility, freedom, and quality of life and (2) because poor health has negative financial implications. Yes, healthcare costs increase with age, but those costs and negative outcomes can be minimized by investing our time, attention, and energy into our health in the same manner we do our financial investments. At least that's how I view it.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

I am getting towards the end journey of a physical transformation that began when I walked off the job site for the last time. I was around 24% BF towards the end of 2014 (using the skin calliper method). Now I am around 12%...the goal is to get to single digits by the Summer...of course I have been careful to try and not "waste away"...eating lots of rich sources of protein and weight lifting has meant that I am both LEANER and STRONGER than at any point in my life...not bad for a 40 something.

Being fit in FIRE has been high on the priority list, needless to say...

 

[Lucantes]

I am just a bouncing blob of body fat, continually struggling with overweight. My scales measure body fat but I never look at it, fearing that one day it will say 100%.

But I am working on it. My goal is to become as svelte as the Pillsbury dough boy.

I've been telling my wife that "I am just big boned" but she isn't buying it!

I also try the "I was fat and overweight when you married me, what's changed?" but that doesn't deliver my desired results either!

I recently went and looked at an old photo of myself from when I was in the USAF and going to the gym for a couple of hours every morning before work....was still 6'4" but only weighed about 230lbs. and it was not distributed the same way it is now.

 

[aim-high]

I'm using a Tanita scale for now. I'll need to compare over time and with other methods for accuracy. Also will take measurements and make sure my strength is increasing.

The accuracy of the scale isn't as important as the delta from start to finish using the same scale.

When I did something similar, I measured my weight / body fat / water content / muscle mass daily at roughly the same time every night. I used the daily numbers to calculate a 7 day moving average. The 7 day moving average is what I monitored. That removes all the noise associated with any digestion issues and the occasional large meal.

One thing I've learned as I'm aging . . . nutrition is more important than exercise. You cannot out exercise a poor diet.

 

[Amethyst]

May I ask why OP wants to get his BF down so low (10%)? If 2017 is "retire by 50," then OP is in his late 40's. Going by the men's chart in this article, he would need to get his BF below 20% but 10% seems rather low...

Body Fat Percentage Chart Depending On Your Age and Sex

As I've aged, my body fat %age has risen (to 23%, still considered lean for a woman in her 50's) while my weight and my exercise have been consistent.

At the same time, though, my bones are becoming more prominent. My acromions, especially. And I seem to bruise more easily, too. So I am not entirely sure that I would want less BF. Everybody needs some cushion for their organs and flesh.

Just a thought. I'm sure OP put a lot of thought into his fitness goals and I am not criticizing, just curious.

Amethyst

Never measured this before until recently. Started a unhealthy activity last year and gained some weight. Currently at 21% going to try to get to 10% by 6/20/2016. Anybody else have fitness goals?

 

[MRG]

What did you do to loose 35#? I was 5' 9'' 185# a year ago, lost 18# with a combination eat less and more exercise - I want to shed more, but it seems I am stuck with 165-167#.

Any tips, eat even less? :-(

I've been using MyFitnessPal to count calories. We both went from obese to healthy BMI over the last 8 months. I did hit a spot at 5 pounds from my final goal that took a while.

Since I had a pretty good idea of calories and macros I found increasing fat and lowering carbs allowed me to reduce my calories and stay feeling full. I'm targeting a 20% protein 40% fats and 40% carbs of my 1900 calories daily. Few weeks later the last 5 were gone. Best wishes.

 

[RetireAge50]

I appreciate all the comments and feedback. I hope this thread will be inspirational-it is for me.

The 10% was just the result of a math formula. If I get to about 150 or so I will be about in the middle of the normal BMI range and body fat will be 10%.

My typical weight during my lifetime has been about 165. I thought I would try to push myself to get a little bit stronger and leaner. Get rid of the baby fat and go from there.

My nutrition has not been terrible but definitely is improving now. My jump up to 180 was the result of starting to drink alcohol during 2015 which adds a lot of empty calories. This will definitely need to be closely monitored or eliminated.

I'll post my progress here going forward. I hope everyone does the same. Here is to a healthy early retirement!