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Bio - Eric Mihelbergel is an intermediate level windsurfer and kiteboarder living in the Great Lakes Region of New York State who enjoys writing about windsports and fitness.
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Trimming That Last Bit of Stubborn Fat
By Eric Mihelbergel (Written 2017)
So you've already read "How I Lost 30 Pounds In 30 Weeks Without Losing Muscle Mass", and now you want to really tighten up your abs. Maybe you are at 15% body fat (for a male) and have stalled in trimming fat further. Are you stuck? Did you hit a plateau? Well, it happened to me a couple years back. What do you do to get down to 10 or 12% (for a male)? There is one simple principle that made all the difference for me. Remember, I am NOT a doctor or trainer, and I have no medical experience, so this is for entertainment purposes only. Check with your physician before implementing any of this information.
What is the principle? Well, here it is in brief, and then we will discuss it further. "Drop calories quickly, but raise them slowly."
So let's use an example and get into the details of this principle. For purposes of this example, let's assume that a person has a 2,300 calorie maintenance level. That means that if they eat 2,300 calories every day they will stay about the same. But if they want to trim some difficult body fat they need to pay a little more attention to their caloric intake. Here is what I do. Drop those 2,300 calories to 1,800. Stay at 1,800 calories for a few days. You will lose some body fat. BUT......don't stay at 1,800 too long. Why? Two reasons: 1.) the body will adapt to the lower calories, and 2.) you could lose muscle mass. The body will realize that you are not getting enough calories to maintain your body weight, and it will eventually go into starvation mode because the body doesn't want to lose too much more body fat since you are already somewhat lean. Starvation mode means that it will HOLD ON to the fat and not let go of it if you are in a large calorie deficit for too many days. If you stay at 1,800 too long your maintenance calories will drop, and eventually your maintenance calories will be down to 1,800. So stay at 1,800 for maybe 3-5 days, and then start to SLOWLY increase your calories back up to 2,300. I repeat, SLOWLY! Go up to 1,900 calories on day 1, then 2,000 on day 2, then 2,100 on day 3, then 2,200 on day 4, then 2,300 on day 5. By going up slowly it gives your body time to adjust so that you don't add back the fat that you just lost. Remember that when you were at 1,800 calories for several days your metabolism started to drop into starvation mode and thus your maintenance calories dropped as well. So if you add calories back on too quickly you risk adding the fat back on since you may be eating above your 'new' maintenance calorie level. If you go SLOWLY, however, your metabolism and maintenance calories will go back up slowly, and you won't add back the fat. When you get back up to 2,300 calories stay at 2,300 calories for maybe 2-3 days to get your metabolism up to full speed again and to reestablish your maintenance calories at 2,300 again. Then DROP your calories down to 1,800 all at once again. Repeat. Again, be careful not to stay in a large calorie deficit for too long. Not only will your maintenance calorie level drop, but you also risk losing muscle mass if you are in a large calorie deficit for too long. You want to keep the muscle because the more muscle that you have the more calories your body burns. Plus you look awesome with more muscle.
This approach requires that you pay closer attention to detail. If you are above 15% body fat (for men) then you probably don't need to pay such close attention. However, if you are already somewhat lean but are having trouble losing that last bit of fat, then you might want to try this method. You will need to experiment with the number of days in calorie deficit, the amount of calorie increase each day on the way back up, the number of days reestablishing your maintenance calories, etc. Optimal conditions are gonna be different for everyone, so play around with it a little. What works for me may not be optimal for you. Be persistent, and good luck!
What is the principle? Well, here it is in brief, and then we will discuss it further. "Drop calories quickly, but raise them slowly."
So let's use an example and get into the details of this principle. For purposes of this example, let's assume that a person has a 2,300 calorie maintenance level. That means that if they eat 2,300 calories every day they will stay about the same. But if they want to trim some difficult body fat they need to pay a little more attention to their caloric intake. Here is what I do. Drop those 2,300 calories to 1,800. Stay at 1,800 calories for a few days. You will lose some body fat. BUT......don't stay at 1,800 too long. Why? Two reasons: 1.) the body will adapt to the lower calories, and 2.) you could lose muscle mass. The body will realize that you are not getting enough calories to maintain your body weight, and it will eventually go into starvation mode because the body doesn't want to lose too much more body fat since you are already somewhat lean. Starvation mode means that it will HOLD ON to the fat and not let go of it if you are in a large calorie deficit for too many days. If you stay at 1,800 too long your maintenance calories will drop, and eventually your maintenance calories will be down to 1,800. So stay at 1,800 for maybe 3-5 days, and then start to SLOWLY increase your calories back up to 2,300. I repeat, SLOWLY! Go up to 1,900 calories on day 1, then 2,000 on day 2, then 2,100 on day 3, then 2,200 on day 4, then 2,300 on day 5. By going up slowly it gives your body time to adjust so that you don't add back the fat that you just lost. Remember that when you were at 1,800 calories for several days your metabolism started to drop into starvation mode and thus your maintenance calories dropped as well. So if you add calories back on too quickly you risk adding the fat back on since you may be eating above your 'new' maintenance calorie level. If you go SLOWLY, however, your metabolism and maintenance calories will go back up slowly, and you won't add back the fat. When you get back up to 2,300 calories stay at 2,300 calories for maybe 2-3 days to get your metabolism up to full speed again and to reestablish your maintenance calories at 2,300 again. Then DROP your calories down to 1,800 all at once again. Repeat. Again, be careful not to stay in a large calorie deficit for too long. Not only will your maintenance calorie level drop, but you also risk losing muscle mass if you are in a large calorie deficit for too long. You want to keep the muscle because the more muscle that you have the more calories your body burns. Plus you look awesome with more muscle.
This approach requires that you pay closer attention to detail. If you are above 15% body fat (for men) then you probably don't need to pay such close attention. However, if you are already somewhat lean but are having trouble losing that last bit of fat, then you might want to try this method. You will need to experiment with the number of days in calorie deficit, the amount of calorie increase each day on the way back up, the number of days reestablishing your maintenance calories, etc. Optimal conditions are gonna be different for everyone, so play around with it a little. What works for me may not be optimal for you. Be persistent, and good luck!
