So I just got a body fat test of the hydrostatic variety. Result: 3.5% at 138.5lbs. I’ve been cutting weight since Sep, when I was 146. I was hoping to lose another 3 pounds, my question is, what happens if you keep a calorie deficit when you don’t really have any more fat to lose? presumably your body starts cannablizing muscle? I carry a little bit of extra muscle in my upper body for some reason so I wouldn’t mind losing some of that.
oh, and before you tell me this is a horrible idea and I don’t know what I’m doing keep in mind that I am pretty conscious of what I eat and I’m not just starving myself but eating controlled portions of good food and timing meals/workouts accordingly.
You do not have anymore fat to lose without becoming extremely unhealthy and a performance decline. If you continue to cut calories and train, you will break down your muscle tissue. Not a good thing. Be happy with 3.5% fat!!!
I was hoping to lose another 3 pounds, my question is, what happens if you keep a calorie deficit when you don’t really have any more fat to lose? presumably your body starts cannablizing muscle?
Muscle, organ tissue (in anorexia patients you see organs like heart muscle, liver, etc deteriorate)
You need fat around your organs to protect them. Some of it truly is vital.
I would ask “why you want to lose another 3 lbs” and where that goal of 143 lbs came from.
well, presumably there is some level of fat that is impossible to lose, so I’m not really hell-bent on losing more fat per se. I’d like to lose a couple more pounds, just wondering what happens at this level when you keep running a small calorie deficit, i.e. which tissue goes first.
as to where the goal of 135lbs came from, I figure it’s the lightest I can sustain healthfully, given where I’ve been previously. I wrestled 130 in highschool and haven’t grown at all since. Of course, that was an unhealthy state, so I figured 135 would be the lightest I could get and still be fast. It may not turn out that way.
Over the last couple of years I concentrated on increasing power and didn’t worry at all about weight. In fact, I stopped weighing myself. Somehow I got up to 146 by the end of this year - I am at a level of competition where that difference matters. I need to be as light as I can while still maintaining power.
…what happens probably isn’t good. I would imagine the list would include. Hunger, sickness, and loss of strength and/or the ability to recover from workouts. I could be wrong though… I’m 11% so perhaps I’m just jealous (depends if you’re faster than me).
A certain amount of fat is essential to bodily functions. Fat regulates body temperature, cushions and insulates organs and tissues and is the main form of the body’s energy storage. 2-4% is the essential fat required for bodily functions in males. Elite athletes are at 6-10%. Ask a body builder how weak he is before a competition when he drops down to around 5% and you will see why you are more than likely not at 3.5%.