[TCAT]

Originally Posted by CFD

That's an extremely low body fat % and requires much dedication an strict meal planning. I'd assume it's not something you maintain for an extended period of time. I find that getting into the single digit bodt fat % range has been becoming more difficult for me than in years past but then again the next time I wake up I'll be 57, if I wake up LOL. Meal timming is also critical in building muscle/recovery especially pre and post workout nutrition, something often overlooked by many. I think that people are stuck with the mentality that after working out eating adds the calories that you worked so hard to burn and is counterproductive but that is not the case, you work hard to burn fat but you must eat to feed your muscles and maintain energy levels needed to support the workouts. This is why proper macronutrient percentages are so important. When talking fat loss it basically boils down to cals in versus cals out BUT not all calories are created equal, you could be eating 1600 cals a day but if those 1600 cals come from Twinkies, well need I say more. I am quite aware that you know this, I'm saying it for the bemefit of others. Good luck with reaching that 5% mark, you definately have your work cut out for yourself.

Thanks CFD, I appreciate the support. It's DEFINITELY a lot of hard work, and not nearly as much room in my diet for "fun" food. However, it's worth it in the end. Once I get to that point, I can maintain a 5-6% bodyfat relatively well without loosing too much muscle mass, as long as I continue to resistance train with properly intesity and frequency, as well as nutritionally dense food. You're right, the same level of calories in a diet from unhealthy foods versus healthy foods may be the same number, but the huge difference that people do not realize is nutrionally density in terms of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Nutritonally dense foods are your keys to a proper functioning body, and it's extremely curcial to eat right when they love exercising. This will aid in their venture to whatever goal they choose.

You are definitely spot on with your comment on nutrition. MANY people overlook the fact of the timing of their food intake before, during, and after a workout. This is KEY to an efficient and productive workout, as well as getting the MOST you can out of the workout in terms of recovery. Nutritionally dense food is the key to achieving whatever someone goal may be, whether that be more muscle mass, less bodyfat, more strength, more endurnace, etc. A lot of times, people tend to put in the work in the gym, but do not take the time to put into their nutrition. They always miss the mark when trying to achieve their goals, and they get extremely frustrated because they aren't sure what's wrong. Exercise is NOT an efficient way to loose weight (when I mean weight, we are always talking about fat mass to clarify). It can definitely aid in weight loss, and help maintain weight as well. Exercise is for all the health benefits and to allow the body to function at optimal status. However, some people, men or woman don't weight very much, and they are limited how low they can limit calories. Many registered dietitians do NOT want anyone eating less than 1200 calories per day to ensure they get proper nutirent balance, so the body is able to carry on with its normally bodily processes and sustain life in a healthy manner. So, for a person that doesn't require a lot of calories to sustain life, exercise is needed to create a deficit of calories to allow the body to also use more stored fuel as energy. They don't have any room to play on calories, and should not drop below that limit. Now, a heavier individual (by this, I mean anyone that obviously has enough bodyweight that needs a larger energy cosumption than 1200 calories per day) has more calories to work with in their diet, and can provide a deficit of calories just by simply eating a bit less calories, and therefore loosing weight. This person also has the luxury of using cardiovascular work to expend energy to achieve this "calorie deficit". So, there are two primary ways to achieve this energy (aka calorie deficit, calorie reduction from the diet, and exercise. Ideally, we want to use both exercise AND a reduction of calories to achieve a calorie deficit (we only need enough deficit to achieve the desired weight loss per week), but as we explained some people don't have the luxury of dropping calories any further since their bodyweight is so light in the first place. This is relatively rare though, but can happen. There are some people that are very "skinny" but have some of the most unhealthy bodyfat numbers I've ever seen. The average person does have enough bodyweight usually to be able to reduce calories AND use exercise to loose weight/bodyfat. Some individuals that are extremely overweight or obese can loose weight quicker than someone who is not obese or extremely overweight. For the average person, 1-2 pounds of weight loss is MAXIMUM per week. I don't recommend more than .5-1 pound per week of weight loss. At 1 pound per week, I'm not horribly hungry, and I can still hold on to great strength and muscle mass. Too much weight loss too quickly, really takes a toll on the hormonal system, muscular system, vervous system, etc. Muscle mass loss is more evident with quick weight loss, and that's definitelyyyyyyy not the goal. We want to hold on to as much lean body mass as possible to stay strong, keep the muscles burning energy, stabilize joints, and we also want to keep the immune system healthy and bone structure strong. So, to put this all into perspective, 1 pound of fat mass contains roughly 3500 calories. So, let's say we have a man or woman that requires 2000 calories per day (this is just a random number that we are assuming we calculated from his/her age, gender, activity, etc. However, every person may need much more or much less depending upon their weight, activity levels, and hormonal factors that come into play, gender, age, etc.), and he/she wants to loose exactly 1 pound of weight in 1 week. Well, since 3500 calories are roughly in 1 pound of fat, we need them to have a deficit of calories (aka energy) of 3500 calories by the end of 1 week, which as everyone knows is 7 days. We take 3500 calories and divide it by 7, which equals 500 calories. So, this person needs to eat 500 calories less in their diet, than they currently need to maintain weight, which for this person is 2000 calories. So, what would this person need to eat, 2000 calories minus 500 calories equals 1500 calories. If this person ate 1500 calories per day (which is 500 less than what he/sheneed to loose weight) for 7 days, he/she would theroetically loose 1 pound of weight. So, this person can achieve this deficit through just exercise, or eating less, or a mixture of both (which is recommended).

Make sense? I always recommend to my clients to ALWAYS make an appointment with a Registered Dietitian (RD). These ARE the professionals who can and will make complete alterations to your diet. They have very strict standards to become an RD and requires professionally schooling (degrees), along with a licensed exam, and many hours of internships/residencies. If you have any questions about your diet, and you think it needs fine-tuning, especially if your body is for some reason not functioning correctly, go see an RD. Even make an appointment with them if you have general questions about nutrition. They will provide the most amazing educational experience in regards to food, you will be astonished, and you may even learn things you may not have wanted to know. Hahahaha. I knew when I took some classes with an RD in college, it blew my mind.

This was a veryyyy breif crash test so to speak in nutrition/weight loss. I can on for days about proper nutrient timing pre-workout, during wrokout, and post workout. DAYS!!! I love that stuff.