It's not always easy to determine a percentage of body fat. As a general rule, losing weight means you're mostly losing body fat, especially when you remain active. To lose weight and reduce your body fat percentage, it often takes standard weight loss techniques, including changes in diet and physical activity. To gain 10 lbs. of muscle, on the other hand, you need to force the muscle to work under resistance, and lifting weights is one of your best options.
Step 1
Reduce your caloric intake. It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb. of fat, so cutting calories from your diet can help you reach this deficit. Limiting the portion sizes of the foods you already eat is just one option.
Step 2
Eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. You can often eat more of these foods, but still take in fewer calories than if you were to eat refined grains, refined sugars and other processed foods.
Step 3
Cut back on fats, especially when it comes to saturated and trans fats. Not only are these fats known to contribute to cardiovascular diseases, but they also lead to obesity. By restricting your intake, you often eliminate unneeded calories from your diet, helping you reach a deficit and reduce body fat.
Step 4
Limit your intake of sugar. This really applies to those sugars not naturally found in foods, so eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and whole grains and cut foods containing added sugar, corn syrup and similar sweeteners. Refined sugars don't usually offer much nutritional value, yet they increase your caloric intake. Plus, they're typically less filling and stimulate the appetite more than natural sugars.
Step 5
Drink plenty of water. First off, water can fill you up, helping minimize your caloric intake at meals. It also contains zero calories, unlike juice, soda, sports drinks and energy drinks.
Step 6
Get more aerobic activity, such as jogging, biking, swimming or even walking. Exercise increases calorie expenditure, further helping you reach the deficit to reduce your body fat percentage. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderately intense activity most days of the week. Most people, however, need more to burn fat, so work toward 60 minutes most days of the week, recommends the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Step 7
Involve yourself in a competitive sport. For many people, it's often difficult to get 60 minutes of straight exercise a day. To help reach this amount of time, join a sporting league. But choose something you enjoy, like tennis, racquetball, soccer, basketball, football, field hockey or baseball. As long as you're moving, you're burning calories, which can help you reach the deficit to reduce your body fat percentage.
Step 8
Incorporate strength training into your workout routine. Lift weights, work with resistance bands or simply use your own body weight to increase the workload placed on your muscles. Two to three days a week is a good goal for strength-training activities.
Tips and Warnings
- Let's say you weigh 185 lbs., with a lean body mass of 155 lbs. You're looking at a total body fat percentage of 16 percent. If you lost just 7 lbs., your body fat percentage would drop to 13 percent, hitting your goal. However, maintaining the same weight while adding 10 lbs. of muscle, your body fat drops down to 11 percent, so you've lost 5 percent body fat. Basically, you're exchanging fat for muscle.
References
- National Institutes of Health: "Tips for Losing Weight"
- BodyBuilding.com: Lose Body Fat Now: The Most Effective Methods Explained
- MayoClinic.com: Body Fat -- What Happens to Lost Fat?
- MayoClinic.com: Dietary Fats -- Know Which Types to Choose
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Physical Activity and Weight Control
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