Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Tyler DiGiovanni, BSBM
FACT CHECKED
The biggest goal people have in terms of fitness is reducing body fat percentage. A lower body fat percentage can result in an array of benefits in your life, including health, fitness, or appearance. Reducing your body fat percentage can also indicate good physical condition and overall well-being, making it a primary end goal.
The problem is learning how to reduce body fat percentage healthily and sustainably. It's a relatively simple process, but it requires you to master multiple areas of your life, including your diet, exercise habits, and lifestyle. In this article, we will explore actionable strategies that can help you reduce body fat percentage effectively and sustainably.
Prepare to lose some pounds with our exclusive 12-week fat loss training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and torch that stubborn fat, all while retaining, or even gaining muscle...
What Is Body Fat Percentage?
The ideal body fat percentage varies by age, sex, and individual goals. For example:
- Men: A healthy body fat percentage typically ranges from 6% to 24%, depending on age and fitness level.
- Women: A healthy range for women is generally between 14% and 31%, again varying based on age and fitness levels.
These numbers might be lower for athletes or those aiming for specific body composition goals. However, it's important to remember that having too little body fat can also be harmful, especially for women, as fat plays a role in hormone regulation and overall health.
Body Fat Percentage Vs. BMI
Sometimes, people compare body fat percentage to another method of measuring body composition, body mass index, or BMI.
BMI has been used for years to estimate body composition, but it really is a bad tool. The problem is that it only considers weight in relation to height. That's it.
This means that a 200-lb, 6-ft man with 10% body fat and a 200-lb, 6-ft man with 40% body fat will both have the same BMI.
While BMI can give a general indication of whether a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese, it doesn't provide insights into how much of that weight is fat or muscle, which is very important. BMI was actually created to help practitioners get a general idea of the body composition of populations, not individuals.
Unfortunately, it's still used today.
On the other hand, body fat percentage is simply the proportion of fat in your body. It doesn't matter how tall you are or how much you weigh because it provides the percentage. This meme is much more universal and better portrays a person's body composition.
Now, there are still some issues, but in general, it's a much better tool than BMI.
How To Lower Body Fat Percentage?
So, how do you drop body fat percentage? As body fat percentage represents the percent of your total body weight made up of fat, you need to optimize these numbers;
- Your body mass (body weight)
- Your fat mass
Technically, your body weight is composed of multiple substances that can affect your total weight, including;
- Fat mass
- Muscle mass
- Bones
- Blood and organs
However, you really only have direct control over the amount of two of these: muscle mass and fat mass.
Therefore, you must manipulate these to lower your body fat percentage. There are several ways to do this.
- Increase muscle mass and lose fat mass—This is the optimal method, as your muscle mass increases your body weight, but the fat will lower, causing a bigger drop in body fat percentage.
- Increase muscle mass and maintain fat mass– Even though you don't lose fat, your weight will increase because of the muscle mass decreasing the proportion of fat.
- Maintain muscle mass and decrease fat mass—This will decrease body weight, but it's all fat.
All that to say, you basically need to manipulate the amount of fat and muscle in your body to lower your body fat percentage. To do this, there are three areas of your life to focus on;
- Nutrition and dieting
- Exercise
- Various Lifestyle Factors
Under normal conditions, it's usually easier for people to focus on either building muscle or losing fat. The extent to which one you concentrate on will depend on your current body composition.
For example, if you have >30% body fat percent, you should probably concentrate on cutting calories and decreasing fat mass. However, if you have 15% body fat percent but low body weight, you should probably concentrate on building muscle.
Either way, both processes have several factors, so we'll get into them now.
The Role of Diet in Reducing Body Fat
You can't out-train a bad diet!
Diet is perhaps the most important factor in reducing body fat percentage. No matter how much you exercise, you won't see much progress unless you pair it with a proper, well-balanced diet.
Way too often, people turn to exercise to burn fat. While exercise definitely plays a major role in burning calories and improving body fat percentage, you never use it to control your calories.
Rather, you control calories with your diet.
Here's a quick rundown of how to fix your diet to help you lose body fat.
Create a Caloric Deficit
The most fundamental rule for fat loss is to consume fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight, creating a caloric deficit. This forces your body to use stored fat as an energy source. There are two main ways to achieve a caloric deficit:
- Reducing calorie intake: Eat fewer calories than you burn.
- Increasing calorie expenditure: Exercise more to burn extra calories.
A caloric deficit of about 500 calories per day is generally recommended for safe, sustainable fat loss, which leads to around a pound of fat loss per week.
However, extreme caloric restriction can lead to muscle loss, metabolic slowdown, and nutrient deficiencies, so it's important to approach this cautiously.
Focus on Whole, Nutrient-Dense Foods
Highly processed foods—especially those rich in added sugars, unhealthy fats, and refined carbs—are the biggest obstacle for most people. In fact, most people's diets are so void of whole foods that the population is simultaneously obese and malnourished!¹
However, it's an easy fix: Just eliminate them from your diet! This alone is what most people need to do to improve their diet and health.
That's why we promote the 80/20 diet. The 80/20 diet simply states that you should get 80% of your diet from whole foods and allow 20% to come from processed foods if needed.
Opting for whole, nutrient-dense foods will help you feel fuller for longer and provide essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Key foods to focus on include:
- Lean protein: Chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, tofu, legumes, and low-fat dairy are excellent protein sources. Protein helps to preserve lean muscle mass, promotes satiety, and increases TEF (calories burned to digest and process food).²
- Vegetables and fruits are low in calories and rich in nutrients and fiber. Aim for a wide variety to get a full spectrum of vitamins and antioxidants.
- Whole grains: Brown rice, quinoa, oats, and whole-wheat products are high in fiber and help maintain stable blood sugar levels.
- Healthy fats: Include sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, such as avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish like salmon.
Control Portion Sizes and Eat Mindfully
Overeating healthy foods can still lead to an excess calorie intake (but it's much harder!)
This is why controlling your portion sizes is crucial when reducing body fat. We know this is a big issue in the West as many families will make a huge meal and eat at will. Even going out to restaurants (even healthy ones) gives you massive portions.
In reality, you need to make or buy what you need to eat rather than make a huge portion and eat until you want.
You also need to be mindful when eating. Eating slowly, avoiding distractions, and stopping when you're satisfied rather than full can help you avoid overeating.
You might also find tracking your meals useful, whether it's with a food diary or an app that calculates calorie intake and macronutrient breakdowns. This can help you stay accountable for your caloric deficit without feeling overly restricted.
Limit Added Sugars, Fried Foods, Junk Food, Ultra-Processed
We mentioned this above, but it is the easiest way to instantly improve your diet and body fat percentage.
There are 4 foods that people could remove from their diet or minimize and see massive results;
- Soda
- Cookies, cake, candy
- Fried foods
- Fast-Food
Doing this will yield amazing results. That's all there is to say about this step.
Stay Hydrated
Drink more water!
Drinking enough water is often overlooked in fat loss plans, and it's a shame that it's an easy fix that yields results. Some of these benefits include;
- Regulate digestion
- Supports metabolism
- Improves energy levels
- Mitigates fatigue
- Improves muscle function
More importantly, staying hydrated keeps you full! Next time you feel hungry, drink a big glass of water and see how you feel!
At the same time, your body can mistake thirst for hunger. Mild thirst sends similar signals to hunger to your brain–your brain doesn't know the difference. This means that you might just be thirsty when you're hungry, so stay hydrated!
The Role of Exercise in Reducing Body Fat Percentage
While diet plays the primary role in calorie control, you can exercise to hit fat loss from another angle!
For one, exercise still burns calories to help create that caloric deficit. However, there are several other ways it will help improve your body fat percentage. Here's what to do.
Strength Training for Muscle Preservation Or Growth
Many people will point to cardio to help with fat loss and overlook weight lifting. This is a huge mistake.
Weight lifting is essential for maintaining and building lean muscle mass, as it's the only form of exercise that accomplishes this! Cardio is good for calories, but it's not going to build muscle, especially the way lifting weights will.
Remember that optimizing your body fat percentage depends on losing fat and building muscle–only weight lifting helps you with the latter.
Aim for at least two strength training sessions per week, but ideally, you can get in three or four. Focus on your big, compound movements such as:
These exercises are ideal for building muscle and mitigating muscle loss.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT is a form of cardio that alternates between short bursts of intense exercise with periods of rest or low-intensity activity. This training style has become popular due to its time efficiency and proposed benefits.
While some claims of HIIT have been exaggerated within fitness circles, it is very effective for those short on time. You can easily incorporate some HIIT after a weight training session or one in the morning when you wake up.
HIIT workouts can be done with various exercises, such as sprinting, cycling, or bodyweight movements.
Steady-State Cardio
Steady-state cardio often gets overlooked, but it is a great way to burn calories and reduce body fat. This type of exercise is less intense than HIIT but can still help create a caloric deficit.
At the same time, steady-state cardio provides various health benefits that are good regardless of your body fat percentage!
Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio per week.
Increase Physical Activity
You don't always need to train hard to burn calories. In fact, increasing your daily physical activity may be the most effective tool you have in burning calories.
Increasing your daily steps is an activity you can perform every day with little to no impact on your body.³ 10,000 daily steps is the number usually given, so that's a good goal, but aim for at least 7,500.
Lifestyle Factors That Impact Body Fat Percentage
Diet and exercise are the core components of fat loss, but several lifestyle factors also affect how your body burns fat and maintains a healthy composition.
Sleep and Rest
If you've ever thought about how to burn body fat the easiest, it's with sleep! Sleep is often one of the most overlooked aspects of fat loss.
Chronic sleep deprivation can negatively affect hormones that regulate hunger and metabolism, such as leptin and ghrelin. This can lead to increased hunger, cravings for high-calorie foods, and a reduced ability to burn fat.
In addition, it leads to lower energy and activity levels. This compounds hormone alterations, resulting in negative effects on your body composition. In fact, losing just 1-2 hours of sleep a night could cause your body to hold onto fat and burn muscle mass when in a caloric deficit!⁴
To lower your body fat percentage, aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night. If you struggle with sleep, consider implementing a bedtime routine, limiting caffeine intake in the afternoon, and minimizing screen time before bed.
Stress Management
While it can be difficult to do in the modern world, try your best to mitigate daily stress.
High-stress causes the release of cortisol, your stress hormone. When elevated, cortisol promotes fat storage, particularly in the abdominal area.
Many people also suffer from emotional eating, and high stress can be a trigger. Incorporating stress management techniques, such as mindfulness meditation, yoga, or even deep breathing exercises, can help reduce cortisol levels and prevent stress-related weight gain.
Adherence: Consistency is Key
Perhaps the most important factor in reducing body fat percentage is consistency. Whatever nutrition and training program you develop, you must be able to adhere to it for the long term.
This is why everyone's plan may look a little bit different. Many of the differences in diets will eventually even out in the long run, so it's crucial that you follow one that fits your needs.
This might mean that you start to improve your body fat percentage by implementing small, incremental changes to your diet, exercise routine, and lifestyle. Overtime, you can then alter these as well.
Final Thoughts
Reducing body fat percentage requires patience, discipline, and a multifaceted approach. Focusing on a nutrient-dense diet, creating a caloric deficit, incorporating strength training and cardiovascular exercise, and prioritizing sleep and stress management will help you safely and sustainably reduce body fat.
By staying consistent, monitoring your progress, and making adjustments, you can achieve a healthier body fat percentage that supports your physical and mental well-being. Remember, reducing body fat is not about quick fixes or drastic changes but about building healthy, long-lasting habits.
Prepare to lose some pounds with our exclusive 12-week fat loss training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and torch that stubborn fat, all while retaining, or even gaining muscle...
References
- Freeman, Andrew M., and Monica Aggarwal. “Malnutrition in the Obese.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 76, no. 7, Aug. 2020, pp. 841–843, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2020.06.059.
- Crovetti, R, et al. “The Influence of Thermic Effect of Food on Satiety.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 52, no. 7, July 1998, pp. 482–488, https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1600578.
- DeLany, James P., et al. “Effect of Physical Activity on Weight Loss, Energy Expenditure, and Energy Intake during Diet Induced Weight Loss.” Obesity, vol. 22, no. 2, 23 Aug. 2013, pp. 363–370, https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20525.
- Wang, Xuewen, et al. “Influence of Sleep Restriction on Weight Loss Outcomes Associated with Caloric Restriction.” Sleep, vol. 41, no. 5, 9 Feb. 2018, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsy027.
Garett Reid
Author