how are you measuring body fat?

1/25/2013 9:41:53 AM

Eyeballing it. There really arent any better ways to do it, calipers are pretty off usually. My scale is full retard.

It doesn't really matter what your exact body fat is anyway, I know I'm definitely not 10%, so I need to keep burning it.

15% is usually no huge fat deposits, but not much ab definition. 12% would give me definition in my upper but not lower abs. 10% should bring in lowers and if I'm 8-9% it'll be freaking obvious.
Right now I'd say I'm 14-17% almost for certain, but it'll be easier to pin it down after I lose the next 5-8 lbs. If I had to guess I'd say 16% just to be safe.

Like I said its been mostly visceral fat so far, though my face/chin is starting to lose and my chest, arms, shoulders look significantly leaner.

[Edited on January 25, 2013 at 10:31 AM. Reason : a]

[Edited on January 25, 2013 at 10:33 AM. Reason : a]

1/25/2013 10:31:34 AM

Today is not a crossfit day. Today will be a mainly upper body work out followed by a run day. Our legs are like FUCK YOU YOU FUCKING FUCK!

We also started doing push ups, crunches and pull ups every day separately from our workouts. For me, because I have a PFT coming up soon. For her, because she wants to get better at all of those exercises. We do them together.

1/25/2013 12:17:37 PM

^I was started reading that and thought... why is he talking in 1st person plural... okay now I get it



[Edited on January 25, 2013 at 12:33 PM. Reason : nevermind]

1/25/2013 12:29:59 PM

^^^Actually, calipers are one of the more accurate methods to assess subcutaneous fat if you know how to do it properly.

It's very good to assess changes in body fat.

1/25/2013 1:20:52 PM

Quote :

"how are you measuring body fat?"

duh. by watching the fat just melt off his body.

1/25/2013 1:39:09 PM

i was just curious. i'd like to know for myself. my bioimpedance scale is a shithead. i've got calipers and try to use them, but in turn, i'm a shithead who probably doesn't know how to use calipers correctly, much less on myself. then i try by looking at pictures on sites like http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=31392 to gauge someone with a similar build, but that's impossible too.

more out of curiosity than concern.

so i'm guessing somewhere in the 15-99% range.

1/25/2013 1:49:04 PM

This eyeballing technique is actually very useful.

All of my lifts hit a PR today, because I just eyeballed instead of counting the plates.

'cause you know, fuck science.

1/25/2013 2:13:15 PM

I dunno...if you can find a bioimpedance scale that is precise but not necessarily accurate, then you can at least tell for sure if your body fat is going up or down. After that, I imagine most people could just eyeball whether or not they like what they see/feel.

1/25/2013 2:19:48 PM

I agree that calipers are pretty useful - just make sure you're consistent. Same site, same time of day, same person (if someone else is doing it for you), etc

1/25/2013 3:02:23 PM

Calipers are the way to go for measuring body fat. Bio-Impedance says I'm ~60% bodyfat and fluctuates too much to even use as a baseline for progress.

1/25/2013 3:14:16 PM

Quote :

"^I was started reading that and thought... why is he talking in 1st person plural... okay now I get it "

You didn't know that I have dissociative identity disorder and am actually a cross-dressing karaoke singer at night?

1/25/2013 3:41:01 PM

Quote :

"Calipers are the way to go for measuring body fat. Bio-Impedance says I'm ~60% bodyfat and fluctuates too much to even use as a baseline for progress."

yeah my bioimpedance scale fluctuates ~+/-8% day to day, reading around 29-38%, but by caliper seem to be closer to 18%. unless i'm doing it wrong.

by BMI i'm obese. obese at 5'10" wearing 32" waist jeans and a medium shirt. seems legit.

1/25/2013 4:27:34 PM

IMO, the best measures of progress:
- Strength numbers
- Measurements or clothing fitting
- Weight
- BF% visual or from something accurate like calipers. bioimpendance is too wonky.
(no order)

Fat Loss Protips: Focus on maintaining mid-range strength (3-8reps), lower you carbs dramatically, aim to eat ~10-12calories/lb and 1g/lb of bodyweight, every 5-10lbs new weight lost, allow either a cheat meal, or cheat day if you are already somewhat lean.

1/25/2013 7:09:17 PM

just saw it ... strong lang. but really I give the man props...

1/25/2013 7:28:43 PM

So I had a rough day Friday. These boys get that syrup in 'em they get a little antsy in their pantsy.

Usually when I have a bad day on a diet I get depressed the next day and start thinking like a little bitch, "oh I should just give in and eat nine hostess cream cakes and watch the Notebook on demand."

But not this time fuckers, today I'm just eating perfectly (except for drinking for the UNC game of course).

Yesterday it starts to snow so everyone is like ok let's leave work. I decide I'm going to run to the gym before I head home. I get a phone call hey this guy wants to take us out for lunch wanna go. Nah, I'm gonna go to the gym. Get peer pressured, ok fine just a few beers. I'm allowed one cheat meal a week so I decide this will be it and stick to light beer while I order something that isn't HORRIBLE for me off the menu but it's not great.

Problem is I've sorta met the waitress before so I started talking to her. Long story short we're back at her place shortly after lunch and after enough drinking and mind altering I forgot all about my diet and I eat even more shit that's not on my diet before I bang her.

I don't think I went over my total maintenance calories for the day, but I was WAY off on my protein intake and didn't get any of my supplements in for the day which is really disappointing. Hopefully I didn't lose too much muscle or gain fat but nothing I can do now.

Just gotta have the attitude that it's all in the past. Moving forward here. We've got to remember as humans that dieting is just a means to an end. 80/20 rule and what not. RIP GIRLFRIEND, RIP GIRLFRIEND.

Estimated Macros for the day, these could be a little off since it's tough to estimate restaraunt food.
2498 calories
86 g fat
213g carb
86g protein

[Edited on January 26, 2013 at 2:59 PM. Reason : a]

1/26/2013 2:58:24 PM

^

[Edited on January 26, 2013 at 7:06 PM. Reason : facepalm]

1/26/2013 7:05:10 PM

My scale seems pretty consistent on BF, but it's possible it's reading low as I've packed a little fat on this winter.

1/26/2013 10:19:55 PM

Did an hour on the treadmill, 4mph, 5 degree incline. Nice little 650 calorie workout. Later tonight I will be doing a lot of pushups, pullups, and sit ups.

1/27/2013 12:11:09 PM

ate well yesterday but went out drinking with this girl after the game and made her breakfast this morning which had bacon/sausage involved which isn't on my 1,000 calorie diet, just gonna try to stay below maintenance.

Diet starts back strong tomorrow.

RIP GIRLFRIEND

1/27/2013 4:39:26 PM

cut phase starts today

1/28/2013 9:38:39 AM

Quote :

"Diet starts back strong tomorrow. "

lol you say that almost every day.

1/28/2013 10:00:17 AM

172.1 bros.

Well I still ate below maintenance every day this week except Friday and even that was close so its not like I totally blew it.

Some days girls and drinking get in the way , ultimately we are losing weight to look good and get girls right. And without the drinking girls are too annoying to hang out with.

But to lose the kind of weight in the timeframe I want to do it in, I need to focus. Diet is now going until Feb 20th, I added a week to get there.

Pain pain pain pain pain

1/28/2013 10:23:14 AM

Quote :

"ultimately we are losing weight to look good and get girls right. "

well you might be losing weight to look good and get girls but sadly i am already a girl. i have lost almost 40 pounds so i am just focusing on continuing to maintain while putting on lean muscle so ultimately no, we don't all have the same goals.

1/28/2013 10:40:13 AM

Well if you've already lost weight you should be looking at dudes so you can start gaining again, that's how it works.

1/28/2013 10:50:30 AM

i'm married - and ps, i lost the weight while dating/being engaged/married to my husband. no plans to put any back on.

1/28/2013 10:56:55 AM

Ok well you are a strange bird. Marriage is a penalty for shoplifting in some countries. Not sure why you'd get married if you aren't allowed to get fat and happy.

1/28/2013 10:59:53 AM

because i'm much happier being fit

1/28/2013 11:01:33 AM

I lost 15 lbs this last month knocking back a case of beer a night, lovin this diet.

1/28/2013 11:03:27 AM

My focus this week is really to eliminate saturated fats in my diet and make sure my fats are coming from Omega 3 sources.

When you're overweight, fatty acids are pretty abundant floating around and easy to burn. When your body fat starts creeping under 15% it becomes more and more difficult to mobilize fatty acids and get them out of your cells, particularly saturated fats. By making sure my dietary fat sources are Omega 3's and mono sources I can make this a lot easier on myself without wrecking my hormones and metabolism.

I'm gonna have a few glasses of whiskey during the Canes game tonight so I made sure to keep my fat/carb intake low today with the exception of a few extra fibrous vegetables than normal.

The end of January is approaching, which means you have 3.5-4 more months to put in work so you don't look like a slob this summer. RIP GIRLFRIEND

Today I did 30-35 minute weightlifting high reps, low rest, high sets trying to deplete carbs again from my weekend screwup. And 40 minutes walking on 15 mg Yohimbine HCL.

Macros (prior to drinking tonight which will just be empty calories and 0 carb)

902 cal
13.4g fat
32.9g carb
157.5g protein

1/28/2013 6:46:25 PM

Quote :

"Not sure why you'd get married if you aren't allowed to get fat and happy."

Taking marriage completely out of the equation, fatness and happiness are mutually exclusive for me. I see rich old men all the time that are obese and on the fast track to cardiac arrest. What's the point of having money/success/whatever if you're a disgusting, overweight slob? I don't care what your obligations are, you can be ripped with a decent amount of muscle if you're willing to diet and work out a few hours a week. I just can't understand settling for a mediocre (or worse) physique.

1/28/2013 8:21:03 PM

I guess it depends on our definitions.

I consider anything over 15% bodyfat for males to be "fat". In fact for single males I'd consider over 12% or so "fat", but I'd imagine that's an extreme viewpoint to some people.


If you're married with long work hours and kids, it's not necessarily that practical or easy to keep yourself at 12% bodyfat or less.

I certainly wouldn't want to be "obese" though to the point where I have major health complications. That's just a matter of being lazy and gluttonous.

(Not trying to sound holier than thou, I once weighed 186 without a lot of muscle. I was both lazy and gluttonous at the time.)


[Edited on January 28, 2013 at 11:49 PM. Reason : a]

1/28/2013 11:48:24 PM

being fat is being fat regardless of whether you are married, single, have kids, work long hours, whatever.

1/29/2013 8:50:27 AM

Quote :

"I consider anything over 15% bodyfat for males to be "fat". In fact for single males I'd consider over 12% or so "fat", but I'd imagine that's an extreme viewpoint to some people."

1/29/2013 8:56:21 AM

Quote :

"being fat is being fat regardless of whether you are married, single, have kids, work long hours, whatever."

agreed. Married 3 years and I never plan to use that as an excuse to be fat. But that's just me personally. I feel good about staying healthy and in shape so "fat and happy" just don't work together for me.

[Edited on January 29, 2013 at 8:58 AM. Reason : ]

1/29/2013 8:57:58 AM

Want to lose weight in a hurry? Get the flu.

1/29/2013 9:20:38 AM

Quote :

" I once weighed 186"

Call me when you hit 250.

1/29/2013 9:51:03 AM

Just did a weigh in and measurement session today. Here are my results thus far since Jan. 1, 2013:

Lost 7.5 lbs
Lost 2.25 inches off chest
Lost 2 inches off waist
Lost 1 inch off neck
Biceps and Thighs have stayed about the same size. Fluctuated +/- 0.5 inches regularly during my weekly measurements.

I'm pretty happy with the results so far. I'm down to 169 today. I'd like to continue leaning out and hopefully I will start to have my muscle definition start to show through my skin. Only time will tell.

My current measurements are:

Waist - 35"
Chest - 40"
Neck - 16.5"
Biceps - 12"
Thighs - 21"

1/29/2013 11:48:20 AM

Priority changes when we get older. I doubt when we are in our 40s and 50s we’d all be chasing some perfect number or ideal physique.

1/29/2013 12:03:48 PM

The great winter bulk is going swimmingly. Up to 162, which isn't huge but what can I do. I'd like to break 170 by the end of next year.

All of my lifts have gone way north of intermediate on the Starting Strength standards chart however...

Hit a PR deadlift earlier today and the blood pressure has been screaming in my ears for like an hour. Might back off for a few days.

1/29/2013 12:36:20 PM

had to get out of the break room before I started a heated debated over vegetarianism with a 90lb 4'11 chinese lady at work.

if we look at dry weight in terms of protein content ( since meat contains 70% water, she says), you get more protein from plant-base sources than meat. She is telling me this while she is eating a bowl of brown rice and steamed veggies only seasoned with salt. What a bland life.

1/29/2013 1:51:50 PM

Quote :

"if we look at dry weight in terms of protein content ( since meat contains 70% water, she says), you get more protein from plant-base sources than meat."

Uh, okay. What if we don't look at dry weight since it's irrelevant?

1/29/2013 1:54:04 PM

I know...

I just walked out after that. No point in arguing with her. I just said, " where do you get your misinformation?" and I left.

I told her, I think women should get at least 90g protein a day (more if you're active), to support bones and muscles. She said "no, no for women you need less."

1/29/2013 1:56:42 PM

I eat vegetarian at home but I eat some meat when I am out at restaurants or if they cater lunch at work and don't have a vegetarian option. I haven't missed meat at all doing it that way in over 2 years of doing it. The key is you can't just throw veggies in a bowl of rice every day because that is bland. My wife makes awesome vegetarian and vegan food such that I never "miss" having meat in my meals at home. Plus we can eat really cheaply, even with lots of organic produce and whole ingredients but no meat.

^I think it definitely depends on the woman and their level of activity. That seems a little higher. Not saying that's bad because you obviously know a lot about it but I don't think a woman NEEDS that much just to maintain. My wife always shoots for around 75g and actually does a good bit of weights. We don't do crossfit or anything more intense but she mixes in P90X with actual squats and lunges and pullups etc. and I don't really feel she is at a protein deficit. A woman who is 90lbs and not doing heavy training doesn't need 90g imo.

[Edited on January 29, 2013 at 2:11 PM. Reason : ]

1/29/2013 1:59:25 PM

Depends on what you're trying to do. Protein becomes more important for sparing muscle mass if you're aiming to achieve a low body fat %, but if you're at a normal weight, you can get away with a lot less, even if you are lifting heavy.

1/29/2013 2:13:24 PM

http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-you-need-science-weighs

Even this recommended guidelines has its limitations, the article says.

For a 120lb woman (.36g x 120) = 43.2
This is for normal, low activity. For intermediate, some websites will say 90g, and 135g if you're at bodybuilding level.

I eat more to stay fuller longer.

Quote :

"A research study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association produced a report by the Board of the Institute of Medicine to determine optimal intake of the macronutrients protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Regarding protein intake, they determined the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for those 18 years of age and older was 0.8 g of protein per kilogram body weight per day. In plain English, this means .36 grams per pound of body weight. The RDA for protein was based on the results of all available studies that estimated the minimum protein intake required to avoid progressive loss of lean body mass as reflected by nitrogen balance. The Food and Nutrition Board admitted that relying solely on results from nitrogen balance studies to determine the RDA did have limitations, because this method does not measure any relevant physiological end point. Additionally, the existing data were gathered almost exclusively in college-aged men and a greater nitrogen intake was likely required to maintain nitrogen balance in elderly persons. Regardless of whether .36 grams/pound/day is an appropriate value for the RDA for elderly persons as well as for individuals 18- to 50-years-old, the point is the RDA is functionally defined as the amount of protein needed to avoid a deficiency that would lead to a progressive loss of lean body mass (as reflected by negative nitrogen balance)."

1/29/2013 2:14:23 PM

^^definitely agree. There are too many factors to just have a straight number for every person, goal, and activity level. The more weight you are trying to lose, you definitely need higher % of protein in your total intake so you're maintaining the muscle. But if you are trying to maintain and not looking to lose a lot or really bulk up, I really think people can get by with a lot less than many people will tell you.


^ used the Kashi calculator they link to and both my wife and I are about 10g lower than they recommend based on the inputs I provided. So their site recommends just a little more than my old rules of thumb. I'm pretty satisfied with my current intake though as I've been at the same level for several years. If I was trying to gain significant mass I definitely would up my intake of course.

[Edited on January 29, 2013 at 2:26 PM. Reason : ]

1/29/2013 2:16:29 PM

Update - been hitting the weights a lot lately, starting to see some significant improvements:

1/29/2013 4:31:11 PM

d'awwwww

1/29/2013 9:58:20 PM

My most perfect adherence day yet I think. Take notes if you're trying to replicate my amazing body transformation.

Weight lifted: 30 minutes lower body + abdominals

Cardio: 4.5 miles. Mostly walking with a little running/jogging sprinkled in to deplete carbs while on 15mg yohimbine HCL

Supplements taken: 10mg fish oil, 200mg caffeine (forgot to take a pill before gym, ugh), 5,000 IU Vitamin D, 600mg Calcium, multivitamin, 500 mg vitamin c, 800 mg green tea extract, 10 mg creatine, sprinkle of cinnamon in protein shake

1002 calories
18.5g fat (10g fish oil)
35.5g carb (a little high but added fiber and wanted beef jerky bad)
170.6g protein


So I'm running nearly a 2,000 calorie deficit while lifting, carb depleting, performing cardio, and eating clean as hell.

Now I'm going to down like 2 liters of water so I can piss excellence.

Should break 170 on Thursday which would get me down 12 lbs with hopefully another quick 10 to go before I start eating at maintenance in three weeks.

1/29/2013 10:16:55 PM