yes. it's only a 5% change. now if you were trying to get to say, 5%...then that would be different. you've got plenty of time, but you'll have to have a strict diet, consistent training, etc. i know people that drop 5% within one month--of course they are bodybuilders, but the point is, with diet, you absolutely can do it...it's really a lot of time!

Ooh, I don't know, kittycat. Going from 15% body fat to 10% body fat is a 33% change, isn't it? If you were going from 10% to 15%, that would be a 50% change.

Anyway, I'd be watchful for increased incidence of upper respiratory infections....if this occurs, I'd be hesitant about losing much more. I usually hover around 8.5%. Last year, after reading about so many people preaching about decreasing that excess body fat, I shaved mine down below 7% over the period of about a month and a half. I got a couple of colds, and finally ended up contracting bronchitis and pneumonia. I don't really know if I was setting myself up for illness by decreasing my body fat so far, or so quickly, or even if it mattered at all. BUT, I've made it the entire year since then without any significant blips of colds/other URI's, and I've kept my %BF up above 8.5% the whole time. I simply feel better, have much more energy, and make better power on the bike at this level. I think everyone has their own individual set-points, and each person will probably perform better staying close to their current "best" %...whatever that is. Maybe the setpoints of an individual can be adjusted over time, I don't know. Just watch for adverse reactions coinciding with dropping to lower numbers....it may be telling you something about your immune system's response to the decreased BF%.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Titan - Just curious, what do you use to measure your bf% ? I've been tempted to get one of those Tanita scales but I'm not sure how accurate they are...

-Don

I think I read somewhere that underwater weight is rather accurate... calipers can be off because different people have different places they store fat. not sure about Tanita scales

Your numbers are right - if you lose 10 lbs and maintain your current lean body mass, you'll be about 10 % body fat.

For consistent weight loss, a pound a week is realistic. More can be done, but it can be difficult, especially when you balance it with trying to be in peak shape (and NOT hungry).
But I'd say it's possible for you to lose some poundage.

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Josef
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Eric

I too am 5-10,167lbs but, I am this all season long.
I maintain 7-8 % Bf rather easily,and I find I race better when I don't fluctuate.
I agree w/ Titan about becoming illness prone when you shift too much too soon.
In the off season I do more resistance weight training...mainly for neuro-muscular,and neuro-skeletar strength.
And nothing but Long Slow Distance running and swimming..which is what I feel is the most effective way to lower and maintain ones Bf safely.
Sounds to me like you're just a little soft,and not too far off from being fit.
You'll get there, its not an un-reasonable goal.
By end of Feb..you should get rid of all refined sugars,and refined foods..thats an easy way to Bf reduction.
Good Luck.

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Seeing him in deep torment, I said. " You can have my last GU , but its been down my pants for most of the run". - John Hirsch

Take care of your body, its by far the coolest thing you're going to ever own.- Can't remember who told me this, but I love it.

The Tanita isn't really that accurate. According to it, I am 20% bodyfat (5'9" 170) but according to underwater
I am closer to 15%. It is good I'm sure for measuring trends to see if you are dropping or not, but that is it.

[reply]I think I read somewhere that underwater weight is rather accurate... calipers can be off because different people have different places they store fat. not sure about Tanita scales[/reply]

Underwater (or hydrostatic) weighing can be very accurate. Make sure they measure, not estimate, your residual volume when they do it. Takes out some of the variation.

I played around w/ bioimpedance machines a few years ago, and they were wildly inconsistent b/w machines (same model). Not sure how much they have improved, but a lot depends on hydration status at the time of measurement.

Calipers can be a great tool, especially in relatively lean people, and in the hands of an experienced technician. It takes practice and good habits to get it right. They should do each site in duplicate (at least), w/ a third one if the first two are off more than 1 or 2 mm.

There are other options as well. One is called the BodPod. Never been in one, but it's quick, painless, and you don't have to get wet. It's accurate as well (about as accurate as underwater weighing).

If you are concerned about your bone mineral density, ask for a DXA (Dexa) scan. If they do a whole body one, you get important bone strength data (femur, hips, lumbar spine, etc.), but it's also possible to assess body fat from the same scan.

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Josef
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Being burnt in an oven is the only really accurate way. It's just too extreme for my tastes. Underwater weighing is certainly close enough for government work. I'd suggest going that route, if it's available, then hoping on an impendence-type scale and seeing how close the two measurements are. If you care to be that exacting. Still, that won't really be accurate, because you could have more fluid in your legs on that particular day, and the hydration status of your lower body greatly affects the scale readings.

I get on a Tanita scale once in the AM, and again in the PM, plot the two points on simple graph paper, and follow the trend. I went the underwater weighing first. For me, it comes out very close to the same as my Tanita scale reading. I checked it again last year against underwater weighing...still right on the money. However, I have a buddy whose Tanita Scale reading is MUCH lower than his underwater weighing reading...he obviously carries more of his fat on his body in places other than his legs.

The impedence scale method can be valuable for trending, howvever, it's NOT necessarily accurate.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

That;s what i figured, but people must have a way to measure other than the water tank. it's hardly convenient to get into a water tank every week... I'm 6-2, currently 176-178 lbs (170-173 during summer) and clocked a 16% on a tanita at Christmas... i thought it sounded high, but wasn't sure.

I got my last test at my old fitness club.
They used a unit that sent a mild current thru your body(can't feel a thing).
I remember that I had to come in first thing in the morning.No fluids to be taken at all,between falling asleep and waking up.
Then as you lay on the floor, they tape a sensor on the top of your foot and one on your finger.

After a few minutes it spits out a reading on paper that measures your Bf as well as hydration level and some other readings.
I'll call them to get the name of it this afternoon.

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_______________________________________________________

Seeing him in deep torment, I said. " You can have my last GU , but its been down my pants for most of the run". - John Hirsch

Take care of your body, its by far the coolest thing you're going to ever own.- Can't remember who told me this, but I love it.

I have a Tanita scale.
I also had DXA analysis done this summer.
For me, the Tanita correlates well with the DXA analysis - but only if I select female Athlete mode for my height.
In the normal mode, the scale showed me to be at 29% body fat, whereas in athlete mode, it was closer to 18%.
I'm not sure what kind of assumptions are made to produce these very different values, so I am a little wary of blindly believing the numbers that are displayed.
My weight fluctuates +/- 3 lbs within any given week. On my heavier days, the scale shows lower body fat percentage, so hydration levels definitely play into the results.
The DXA analysis is very interesting and valuable, especially since you can find out about your bone health.

tanita scales are not really that accurate for athletes. underwater I hear is the best, but difficult to come by. fold test is good, but only if done by an experienced person each time.if an experienced person can do it for you then this is a great way to measure BF..

There is a company here that brings body fat test (hydrostatic) in a big truck, depending on where you are you may be able to use them, it works well and is cheap. http://bodyfattest.com/

I have a Tanita and I don't think it is even close.

no doubt that low bodyfat can compromise health...and I agree with what you're saying about setpoints. for me, it's hard to get below 20% for some reason (ok, maybe that reason is that I'm not good at dieting hard), but even at that point I look alot less. alot of women I know sit easily at 15% without training that hard. it's individual (and a little maddening, but I digress...)

if you had the right diet, which should be loaded with whole nutrients and foods, I imagine that it wouldn't take you long at all. Whole foods make all of the difference...sweet potato, brown rice, oatmeal, lean proteins, and omega fats...you're gonna have to eat to drop though. Since you're relatively low already, I'd wager to say that 6 times a day would get you there quickly. 3 meals and 3 significant snack meals. to loose you've got to eat.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/bodyfatcalc.html



The tables that just use weight and waist measurement are probably more accurate than the Tanita. Certainly won't give you any of the wacky readings you can get from any of the measurement methods. You can also use them to "project" what ifs.



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Some of the bodyfat meters on the market now give a "% hydration" along with % bodyfat and weight. Mine does. My % bodyfat reading fluctuates wildly if I'm dehydrated. I did an experiment once where I started by taking a few readings immediately after a workout, when I was a bit dehydrated. I continued to take multiple readings every 30 minutes for the next five hours or so. As my % hydration went up, the variability of the % bodyfat reading went way down.

I now take my measurments before going to bed, when I'm fully hydrated. I also dampen the bottom of my feet as suggested in the users manual. The readings are very consistent. I don't worry about how "accurate" the numbers are, as long as a genuine loss in % bodyfat is reflected in a drop in the number reported by the machine (which, as far as I can tell, is exactly the case).

In short: I'm perfectly satisfied with my body fat scale, when I use it as designed. I still think the mirror provides the best feedback about my body composition, but I'm a numbers geek and I like to have a quantifiable record of my progress :-).

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-Mark Rebuck, http://www.markrebuck.com/