bodyfat (and losing it...)

silverside

how long does it take to lose bodyfat?

i'm male skinnyish build and at 16/17% bodyfat currently, i want to lose all the excess fat (like when i was training seriously) and lose a kilo or so.

now i'm doing a bit of exercise every day (running / or cycling to/from work / or a long bike ride at the weekends), but still eating lots... I basically eat what I like but avoid anything really bad like McDonalds or Mars Bars

what's realistic in terms of body fat loss? I was thinking losing 1% bodyfat a month would be a good target? i'm not obsessive over it though

Flex

What do you weigh right now (and what height are you)? Do you do weight training and how long do your runs and cycles to and from work take and how many times a week do you do them? You could lose up to 2 pounds of fat a week with good diet and training. Good luck!:)

silverside

i'm 1m78 and 67 kgs, cycle to/from work every day (15 mins each way), run 30 mins 3 times a week, and do the odd long cycle (3 hours) or longer run or circuits. I don't do weights - i did once for a year and gained almost no weight. I'm just not built for weight training I guess.

i don't need to lose much weight, just a pound or two - when i was training more you could count my ribs, want to get back that way

0utshined

silverside wrote:

I don't do weights - i did once for a year and gained almost no weight. I'm just not built for weight training I guess.

I know it's not what you're asking about but I find this hard to believe. I'd venture to guess that your lack of gains had more to do with the exercises you were doing, your form, the weights you were using, your nutrition or how much rest you were getting than you "not being built for weight training".

Key to losing weight/fat: Calories Out>Calories In

What sort of weight lifting were you doing btw? Very odd that you didn't put on any weight.

Flex

silverside wrote:

i'm 1m78 and 67 kgs, cycle to/from work every day (15 mins each way), run 30 mins 3 times a week, and do the odd long cycle (3 hours) or longer run or circuits. I don't do weights - i did once for a year and gained almost no weight. I'm just not built for weight training I guess.

i don't need to lose much weight, just a pound or two - when i was training more you could count my ribs, want to get back that way

Well, if youre not looking to drop a significant then Id just say to clean up your diet a bit. Reduce saturated fat intake or something. At 148 pounds and 16% bf you have about 24 pounds of fat, so dropping a couple of pounds shouldnt be too difficult I think.

I find it extremely difficult to add muscle mass when Im weight training aswel, but I have to agree with the others on the 'no gains'. Even when I started weight liftin I had a completley awful workout routine (overtraining big time!)and my diet was below average, but I still gained over a stone in the 1st year. Would you be interested in trying weight training again and seeing what it was that wasnt working the 1st time round?