3 Tips for Achieving Lower Body Fat Levels

When it comes to the gym, many of us aim to get as “ripped” or as lean as possible. Though it’s not a bad goal to have, there’s certainly a right and wrong way to do it. Let’s start with what you shouldn’t do: don’t starve yourself. Any starvation techniques you’ll use aren’t sustainable and won’t generate the results you want. Generally speaking, our goals should be to maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible while trimming off any unnecessary fat.

So, in order to do so, you can use the following tips to achieve lower body fat levels while sparing as much muscle mass as possible.

Tip #1: Get Your Diet in Check

When it comes to lower levels of body fat, you’ll need to take your dieting to the next level. That means there may be seem counting of calories involved, and there may need to be some organization when it comes to your macronutrients. Ultimately, you’ll need to find out how many calories you need to eat in a day to maintain your current weight, and then you’ll need to subtract that number by a substantial amount (300-500 calories is a great starting point).

Tip #2: Focus on Maintaining Strength through Exercise

Losing weight is part of the process when it comes to lowering your body fat percentage. As a result, you’ll be losing muscle mass as well. Don’t be alarmed, this is normal and it’s simply part of the process. The best thing you can do is feed yourself properly, and work to maintain as much muscle as possible. One key indicator of maintaining your muscle is by referring to your strength. There is a correlation between your muscle mass and strength, and as such, you should be working to maintain your strength in your everyday workouts.

Tip #3: Learn How to Balance Your Social Life

You’ll come to know that working toward lower levels of body fat, such as 7-10%, becomes increasingly more challenging the closer you get to your goal. You’ll have to be a little bit more strict with your diet and exercise, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a nice and healthy social life at the same time. Learn how to balance your hard work with leisure time, and don’t turn down invitations to be with friends just because you’re trying to stick with your routine. Just like all other aspects in life, achieving a healthy balance will lead you toward a more sustainable result.

All things considered, achieving lower levels of body fat is no easy feat. It takes a fair amount of time and dedication, but don’t let that scare you from moving forward with your goals. My best piece of advice would be to focus on training smarter, not harder. You’ll need to educate yourself on the most efficient ways to get to your goal, but once you have that down, there should be nothing in the way between you and success. Best of luck in your fitness endeavors!