cmonk

I am a guy who likes a lot of organization when it comes to things like weight loss and I have decided to do a few things to help me "see" my goal more clearly.

My stats --

21 Years old, M
177 pounds
5' 10" -- 70"


HERE is a document that I made to help understand realistic goals regarding bodyfat. I used a scale last two weeks ago at my gym and it said that I was
180 lbs, 12.5% bodyfat.

Using the excel sheet, I found that I have 22.5# of fat. If I subtract that from 180, I'd get 157.5 - what I would weight with zero fat. Then, using a multiplier of 1.*, I found what my weight would be at different percentages. The guys at the gym talk about having 4-6%. If I shot for 5% body fat, my weight would be 165, correct?

I understand that this does not include muscle being built when I am lifitng, but gives me a good goal.


My question -- is this a reasonable assumption that if I dropped ~10lbs, I'd be nearing a healthy and ideal bodyfat percentage? My BMI would be 23.7, which falls in the healthy range between 18.5 and 25.

Is this a sound assumption? Or is it more like loosing 15 lbs? 20?

Thanks for your help.


--Casey

edzo

my snooty opinion ?

U should spend far less time calculating the figures and facts and bs'ing....

and just eat less and ride more. case closed.

I lost 40lbs in 4 months by ....riding a boatload and that is about it.

jfortier

What do you consider a boat load and at what speed or HR zone?

I decided to ride lots so for the last month, with some exceptions, every morning before work I ride 13 miles at an 18.5 avg pace, this was in addition to my 35-65 mile ride on the weekends at 14 to 16 pace. I expected to take off some pounds, but NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH. I then got a HR monitor and found I was in zone 4 for the entire ride. From what I read that's pushing too hard for weight loss.

So what did you do?

Spreggy

I think that business of pushing too hard for weight loss isn't exactly true. The formula is simple: calories in vs calories out. If you are riding that much, then maybe counting calories to get a handle on what you're taking in should do it.

I too lost a good chunk of weight recently, and I did it by knocking down my portion size just a bit, laying off all trash (chips, fried and greasy foods, soft drinks), and eating breakfast after pedaling to my office. Exercising before eating in the morning is supposed to force your body to go straight to fat stores for energy.

edzo

well then, u were eating too much....it is SIMPLE to see the math. no weight loss ? then u r doing it wrong.

eat less, drink more water, eat more flintstones chewables

case closed.
-------
I was riding 2 hours a day every day right at the top of BLT. all aerobic stuff.
[the equivalent of 20,000 miles a year..or 50 miles a day at 25mph]

and I didn't eat crap.
I ate banana/protein shakes
and hemp bread and peanut butter sandwiches. and i didn't over eat.

drank a lot of water

and i didn't over eat.
and i didn't over eat.
and i didn't over eat.
and i didn't over eat.
and i didn't over eat.



I quit telling people how i did it and hearing people whine they can't lose weight

I am friggin sick of reading or hearing that. it is pretty sad bullsh*t excuses


there is ONE answer and it is final
>>>>>>>>>>EAT LESS RIDE MORE<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

quit shoveling so much food in your face you will lose weight

Spreggy

The man speaks truth! This isn't complicated. More exercise or less food, pick one or both. And no garbage down your neck.

Online calorie counters are nice eye-openers, try one just for a week and your eating habits will turn around quick.

telebianchi

Being a former math major and someone who's used Excel for everything from budgets, retirement planning, mileage/time/mpg for a cross-country drive, to laying out plants in my garden (in addition to exercise training goals and records), I understand your need to see numbers.

So one thing I think is missing from your assumptions is that it is unlikely that your muscle mass will remain constant. If all you do is cardio work on a bike there is a chance that you will lose muscle mass (not what you want). On the health-positive side, if you are also doing some resistance work with weights or other methods, then you might end up putting on some weight due to muscle gain.

So your base non-fat-weight, 157.5 as you have calculated, may end up going up or down thereby throwing off your percentages. So let your number-crunching self try and figure that paramater out

......

but to also follow up and agree with edzo, don't worry too much about it. If you exercise consistently and eat correctly, you will meet your goals. All the numbers are a great way to compare and judge progress but don't worry about the numbers themselves. For example, always use the same scale at the same time of day. Even if it is off by some factor it will still reliably tell you if you are gaining or losing weight.

cmonk

edzo --

I'm just looking at the figures. I'm down more than 20 pounds from June. I know how to drop it, I'm just looking for a reasonable goal to achieve. It's one of those things I want to do right - to the right weight.

As far as calories go, I BMI 1850, another 500/day for running, biking 10 miles a day (zone 2) (~300-350), have a relatively active lifestyle, and I eat well. I'm on track to kick some ass, but it's the GOAL that I am interested in. edzo, your post did not help understand the goal or to see if what I wrote up was reasonable.

So, I'll ask again -- in loosing another 10 pounds, would I achieve a body fat of ~5%, if I didn't gain or loose any more muscle?


Thanks for the replies.

cmonk

teleb --

good point. I have to assume that the weight training I am doing will increase my muscle mass, but if only by a few pounds. I'll take that into consideration, but am still interested in the goal -- all things constant.

sgrundy

Just lose the weight and stop worrying about arbitrary benchmarks. EMP scales (I'm assuming that's what you used) vary wildly in accuracy, so that's not really a question that anyone here can answer. In fact, unless you spend money on an underwater weighing, you'll never really know what your bf% actually is.

Carbonfiberboy 

Goal? Is goal a number? An appearance? An ability? A contest? What is the goal? That's the question that you may not be asking, and that is confusing others.

If you want to really ride, you need to shoot for a BMI of 22-23. That may involve losing muscle as well as fat. If you want to look good - well that's a style thing. A b.f. of 5% may be tolerable at the height of the season, but may not be so much fun the rest of the year. Healthwise, 10-12% may be optimum. You need fat. It's good for you.

flip18436572

Just to pipe in briefly. I BF of 5% is what body builders are at when they are 1 week or less from a performance/meet/competition. They do NOT stay at 5% for a long period of time. 10- 15% is a good body fat. Less than 10% is great, but you will have to eat very good things and watch your calorie intake a lot.

Enthalpic

You will like this

FatguyRacer

Really? Hmmmmm.

superdex

12.5% body fat is super-fit athlete territory. You do NOT need to lose any more fat. What's your motivation?

Jynx

Get a body fat test done instead of trying to calculate your body fat. First step should be getting an accurate number to work off of. After you find out what you are then figure out what you want to do. You have to decide what is most important. Looks? Performance? ect..

As far as "The guys at the gym talk about having 4-6%. If I shot for 5% body..." Forget it. I don't want to sound like a downer but you 99.999% wont ever get to 5% body fat. That is bodybuilding/fitness competition levels. You will know when someone is under 10% body fat. Also dont forget most people with body fat that low do it for shows and only do it for a short time. There would most likely be a huge drop in performance to have body fat that low.

Here is a picture of someone with low body fat %. That is 10%.




Here are people at 8%




These next pictures are from 5 - 7% (last one is around 5%)







And this last one is <5%



Stick to riding and letting your body decide where to put muscle and where to remove muscle for performance. If you feel you want muscle somewhere else for looks go to the gym and work that.

NomadVW 

The answer to the OP's question is, no - losing 10 lbs will not put you at 5% if you are at 12.5% now.

I'm 6'2" @ 165 lbs and on the three pinch caliper method, I get consistent results around 6-7% BF. I ride a lot, burn a ton, and have to eat a ton to do the riding.

If you like to track numbers, it WILL help you to lose weight, because it WILL help you to remain conscious about what you're consuming vs what you're expending. But that's the point everyone is making - it's simply a calories in - calories out.

cmonk

My motivation?

Girlfriend got me a ticket to the Bahamas for Christmas/New Years. I'll be beaching it and want to look cut. The ultimate short-term goal is to drop the weight, which I am doing. Steadily, about 1-1.5 lbs/week. A little slower now since I've been resistance training.