Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a 44 yo female. Anyone here at that BF level? Is this completely unrealistic? Any advice?

This link below talks about inability to menstruate. Why do I need to menstruate? Also my hormones are already out of whack due to perimenopause. In fact, I started cutting cals and increasing exercise since NYE and already feel better vis a vis perimenopausal mood swings (nothing extreme, 1500 cals, slowly increasing cardio).


https://www.builtlean.com/body-fat-percentage-men-women/

That is really hard to achieve OP especially at your age. Being able to get that low is for the under 30 crowd, and those who are genetically built to naturally be this way. Also why do you need to menstruate? Because it offers protection for your bones. And at 44 you need all the protection you can get, don't be dumb and short-sighted. I work out every day, 3 days a week with heavy weights. I eat very low carb, and consume a good amount of protein. My calories are around 1400 per day. And even with this there is no way my body fat is 15-17%. I'm likely closer to 22-24%. And that is fine!

You cant know your bodyfat unless you get it measured. Unless you do only very light exercise, that workout/calorie ratio probably has you much lower than you think.

Yeah, I did this when I was 39-40. I did it by accident-- my weight wasnt too low-- I was around 135 at 5'8.

I felt great. My running felt great. No issues with how I felt. People made comments to me that I looked unwell and some people thought I had cancer, but I blew it off.

For a health screening with a dr, I had a body composition test and I was 16.7%. The dr advised I gain a few pounds of fat. I asked why and he said that if I got sick, I would have nothing to burn through. The fat is like an insurance policy.

Quite honestly, everything did feel best at that very low bodyfat point, running wise. For weight lifting, nothing changed. But, a few pounds more wasnt a big deal. I ate a bit more at dinner each night til I hit my weight goal, took about a month.

Try Abel James “fat burning man” podcast. Very inspiring, realistic, and truthful about diet and exercise with great guests.. I love almost all of the episodes. He does hawk his supplements but you can ff past that.

Didn’t Washington Post just have a story about that weightlifter who is basically brain dead? Sounds like OP has gotten into some unsavory group.

Anonymous wrote:I’m a 44 yo female. Anyone here at that BF level? Is this completely unrealistic? Any advice?

This link below talks about inability to menstruate. Why do I need to menstruate? Also my hormones are already out of whack due to perimenopause. In fact, I started cutting cals and increasing exercise since NYE and already feel better vis a vis perimenopausal mood swings (nothing extreme, 1500 cals, slowly increasing cardio).


https://www.builtlean.com/body-fat-percentage-men-women/

That is really hard to achieve OP especially at your age. Being able to get that low is for the under 30 crowd, and those who are genetically built to naturally be this way. Also why do you need to menstruate? Because it offers protection for your bones. And at 44 you need all the protection you can get, don't be dumb and short-sighted. I work out every day, 3 days a week with heavy weights. I eat very low carb, and consume a good amount of protein. My calories are around 1400 per day. And even with this there is no way my body fat is 15-17%. I'm likely closer to 22-24%. And that is fine!

Focus on lifting weights. Have a body scan done to see where you are now - simply looking at your height and weight to get to a BMI won't really tell you what you need to know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you want to be that lean? It is very hard to sustain. The only time I made it to 17% I was actually really miserable. I did not lose my period but I was constantly hungry and still thought I was fat even though size 2 clothes were hanging on me. I did not lose my period but if you want to keep your hair and bone density, I would not take losing it lightly. Also keep in mind that your face might end up looking like a zombie at body fat level that low. There is definitely that ass vs. face trade-off as we age.

Isn't that what fillers are for?

If you are into that look, then yes, sure.

Anonymous wrote:Why do you want to be that lean? It is very hard to sustain. The only time I made it to 17% I was actually really miserable. I did not lose my period but I was constantly hungry and still thought I was fat even though size 2 clothes were hanging on me. I did not lose my period but if you want to keep your hair and bone density, I would not take losing it lightly. Also keep in mind that your face might end up looking like a zombie at body fat level that low. There is definitely that ass vs. face trade-off as we age.

Isn't that what fillers are for?

Anonymous wrote:You still haven't said why you want to get that low. Not knowing you, we can't say for sure that getting that low would be unhealthy, but for a woman of your age, it's generally significantly below recommended levels. Again, everyone's different, but you definitely sound to me like you could have a body-image or eating disorder.

This.

Why, OP?

Anonymous wrote:Why do you want to be that lean? It is very hard to sustain. The only time I made it to 17% I was actually really miserable. I did not lose my period but I was constantly hungry and still thought I was fat even though size 2 clothes were hanging on me. I did not lose my period but if you want to keep your hair and bone density, I would not take losing it lightly. Also keep in mind that your face might end up looking like a zombie at body fat level that low. There is definitely that ass vs. face trade-off as we age.

Same. I was in my 20's and doing marathons and got to 16% body fat. But I was very unhealthy. It would be terrible for your body in your 40's and you would also look terrible.

It is up to you. Only you can decide if it is worth it. Start by reducing calories to see what it takes to get there. Do you have to give up all meals out? wine? sweets?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Btw OP, if your goal is based on the pictures from the link you posted, I do not think the 15-17 picture reflects well what it would look like. 15-17 would look closer to what is depicted as 10-12. If your target is to look as the 15-17 in that pictures that could be achievable and not unhealthy.

Sorry, not following this.

I mean that what is shown as 15-17 in those pictures is more than that. I look like that at 20. True 15% is very very lean and would look closer to what is shown as 10-12 in those pictures.

Cool, then 20% is the goal then. Just going by those pics. Less focused on the number and even less on clothing size.

You still haven't said why you want to get that low. Not knowing you, we can't say for sure that getting that low would be unhealthy, but for a woman of your age, it's generally significantly below recommended levels. Again, everyone's different, but you definitely sound to me like you could have a body-image or eating disorder.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way too low percentage fat for a woman, maybe for a man who is a distance runner. Would wonder about body dysmorphia if you truly want to aim for that low body fat percentage

You all seem pretty ignorant about that. Michael Jordan was 4%, which is an elite athlete, so a decent male runner could be 6-9% easily.

Jordan was not at 4%. That is stage lean for a bodybuilder and you would see every line on his body. But yes male athletes can be easily below 10%. For your average woman in her 40s 15-17% is very low.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you want to be that lean? It is very hard to sustain. The only time I made it to 17% I was actually really miserable. I did not lose my period but I was constantly hungry and still thought I was fat even though size 2 clothes were hanging on me. I did not lose my period but if you want to keep your hair and bone density, I would not take losing it lightly. Also keep in mind that your face might end up looking like a zombie at body fat level that low. There is definitely that ass vs. face trade-off as we age.

why is that? I'm not at all concerned about the size of clothing, esp. because it is so variable by brand.

Just because at that leanness I was not able to objectively see how skinny I really was. You could see my abs but I was focused on the little fat I still had on my butt. I also eventually ended up bingeing as I just could not sustain the calories necessary to stay that lean. It was just not a sustainable place for me. I do fine at 20-22 which is also very lean and much easier to maintain.