Body Fat Percentage

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GabrielG

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Sep 2, 2014
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Hello,
My question is on reducing body fat percentage. I have been physically training using the Stew Smith Army Ranger/SF workout program for quit some time. My intention is to go into the Air Force and more specifically the TACP career field. My body fat percentage started around 21% and is now at 16.9%. I have been testing it using a BodPod at the nearest University. Unfortunately, my body fat % is not going down as quickly as it was before. Just to enlist into the Air Force it needs to be at 15%. I was hoping somebody with experience in dropping weight (body fat percentage) could give me any tips for working out or food eating advice. I am in the 60's to 70's for pushups, 19 pullups, 55 sit ups fingers interlocked behind my head, and fastest 1.5 mile in 9:32 and I have done some 12 mile rucks. As far as eating, it is healthy food. But, I was told I am actually not getting enough calories to sustain my body when I workout. Supposedly I need around 3000 to 4000 when working out. I have looked on this website for any body fat % related posts and did not find any. Every site online contradicts each other, some say run, run slow, sprint, don't run because it makes you fat and so on and so forth. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I came hear because I figured I might as well ask the guy's that are in incredible shape and have went through physical training before. Thanks.
 
Friend,

Have you spoken with a nutritionist or a trainer? Specifically about your caloric intake, 3k to 4k calories is a lot of calories to consume for the normal guy "getting his workout in" everyday. Especially if you are trying to drop weight.

GabrielG said:
Just to enlist into the Air Force it needs to be at 15%
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Curious, where did you get your information that you need to have a minimum 15% body fat just to enlist in the Air Force? I've seen 18% for the Marine Corps online, but 15%?
 
I have not spoken to a nutritionist or a trainer but the person that told me I need to be at 3k to 4k was the lady running the Bod Pod. She is the head of the Universities physical department or something like that (although she is not in great shape herself which makes me question what she says). What she says does make some kind of sense, that I need to replenish the calories that I have expended from my workout so my bodies motabilism is constantly going and feeds off the fat. Before I learned this I was not taking in enough calories, only around 1000 which my resting metabolic rate should be around 2000. As far as the 15%, I was told this by my recruiter several times and they will not give me a waiver although I am surpassing the minimums on the PAST test by quite a bit. Thanks
 
How clean are you really eating? How much sugar are you consuming? How much alcohol? Typically people aren't nearly as strict in the diet department as they claim. If you're eating the right foods, you don't need to worry about counting calories. If you really are eating clean and still not losing weight, talk to a nutritionist.
 
Breakfast/ 4-5 eggs, couple pieces of bacon or breakfast meat, 1 cup coffee. Snack/ Protein Bar, raw veggies. Lunch/ Protein shake, if I do not have a protein shake I will have a can of chicken with no mayo just seasoning or have slices of turkey with cheese, raw veggies, cottage cheese with fruit. Snack/ Maybe cottage cheese or veggies or protein bar. Dinner/ Random, never anything like a BigMac. Rarely consume sugar unless its from fruit. Never drink alcohol. The only reason why I am counting my calories is to make sure I am eating enough because before I was eating to little. Thanks for replying. Any knowledge gained is greatly helpful. Trying to get to 15% before my next Bod Pod test in a couple of weeks.
 
15% for the AF...good god. I'm at like 18% right now, maintaining 15% that's intense for most dude that aren't naturally skinny. Screw the AF, join the Army.
 
ThunderHorse said:
15% for the AF...good god. I'm at like 18% right now, maintaining 15% that's intense for most dude that aren't naturally skinny. Screw the AF, join the Army.
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Lol. Usually my Troop stays under about 10%- I am old and get a pass, but I keep mine at about 9.5% when I'm in average shape.

I wouldn't actually recommend keeping body fat low as an indicator of fitness, cause it isn't. I would judge on performance if anything. Some of my best performance was garnered at 12-15% bodyfat.

ETA- made no sense before.
 
Last edited:
amlove21 said:
I wouldn't actually recommend keeping body fat low as an indicator of fitness, cause it isn't. I would judge on performance if anything. Some of my best performance was garnered at 12-15% bodyfat.
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Not only that, but if you're going into an intense school or training pipeline at real low bodyfat, your chances of falling out go up significantly because the body turns to burning muscle. Going in with a couple extra pounds on ain't a bad idea, you'll lose it quickly enough. I was eating 4 MREs a day plus Clif Bars/Snickers/bananas/etc. (roughly 6k cals a day) for the 1 week at A&S and still lost noticeable weight.
 
If your focus is strictly on body fat percentage, I would check out If It Fits Your Macros. I followed it very, very strictly over the summer and lost 30 pounds without losing strength or much muscle, if any(never did a body fat test). I'd be better at following it still if my school had nutritional facts on its food. Counting macro nutrients is easier than calories although it is the same train of thought. Protein-4 cal, Carbs- 4 cal, Fat- 9 cal. The site typically recommends ~BW for protein in grams, ~.5BW for fat, and the rest in carbs depending on your goals, but they have calculators that are customizable to change percentages of each macro that you want to consume. Like I said, it worked great for me but YMMV. If I'm out of my lane, just let me know and I'll shut up.
 
CDG said:
Not only that, but if you're going into an intense school or training pipeline at real low bodyfat, your chances of falling out go up significantly because the body turns to burning muscle. Going in with a couple extra pounds on ain't a bad idea, you'll lose it quickly enough. I was eating 4 MREs a day plus Clif Bars/Snickers/bananas/etc. (roughly 6k cals a day) for the 1 week at A&S and still lost noticeable weight.
Click to expand...

What was the name of the chow hall right beside the schoolhouse? Something like coral reef? They had good grub there...and most of the time semi-healthy stuff.
 
NOBODY can give you a concrete answer as to how many calories you should start taking in. Every number is a guess and it will require some tinkering.

Protein is usually around 1 gram per pound of LBM but when cutting 1.2-1.5. Atleast half of that in fat. If you are feeling beat up from your workouts and not recovering then up the fat to .75, hold for a few weeks and see how you feel. Keep your carbs around your training bouts, mostly in the post workout window.
 
Red-Dot said:
What was the name of the chow hall right beside the schoolhouse? Something like coral reef? They had good grub there...and most of the time semi-healthy stuff.
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The Reef. Only, IIRC, buffet chow hall in the USAF.
 
CDG said:
The Reef. Only, IIRC, buffet chow hall in the USAF.
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If you want to blow a Marines mind, take him to a AF chow hall.

:wall::thumbsup:

OP; you should do some research on intermittent fasting. I do that with a combination of 80% paleo (stone me! I'll never fully convert!) with a degree of success

I ate like that and was 12-13% bf and 248lbs going through MCIWS swimming a shit ton everyday. I also eat like that and have gotten down to 220lbs same bf% by just manipulating my total calorie/protein intake by 10-20% every week and upping my cardio frequency.

If you can drop 4.1% bf, I'm sure you can nail the other 1.9% no problem.
 

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