My Goals and What These Numbers All Mean

My goal is to get to single digit body fat, which is the body composition of competitive cyclists.  I have a very good body fat scale that gives precise and accurate readings.  So how do I know what to do?

First, you have to know where you are to know where to go.  Currently, my body fat is 12.8% and I weigh 151lbs.  This means I have a lean body composition of 87.2%, or 131.67lbs lean mass.  Ideally, I want to get to a 90.1% lean body composition.  So how much weight do I need to lose to do that?

131.68/90.1% = 146.15.

So in order to get to 9.9% body fat without adding muscle (which is next to impossible for an endurance athlete) I need to burn fat off until I hit 146.15 points.  For simplicity's sake, we will say 146.  So my goal weight is 146.  My diet quality score guides me in the type of foods I need to eat to promote a healthy body composition, but I need to know the quantity.

Go to this site.  On that site you can calculate your basil metabolic rate, which is how many calories you would burn if you lied in bed all day.  For a 6'3" 29 year old man who weighs 146lbs, my BMR is 1730.  However, I don't lie around in bed all day.  So for a sedentary lifestyle (I will adjust my calories burned in training manually) you multiply your BMR by 1.2 which gives me a daily total of 2077.  So assuming I don't exercise at all, if I limit myself to 2,077 calories per day, I will eventually lose weight until I'm 146lbs.  However, I do exercise and burn more, so on days I train I have to adjust the calories I consume to take into account the extra that I burn.  

On average, I like to run about 150 calorie per day deficit.  Since one pound equals 3,500 calories, I will lose a pound every 24 days.  However, I don't want to just lose amorphous "pounds."  I want to lose fat, and retain muscle.  That means I need to exercise.  Doing my cycling training and weight lifting is enough to ensure that my body prioritizes burning fat rather than essential muscle.  

Because my body burns fat rather than muscle to lose weight, the power I put out of my legs when I turn the pedals remains the same as when I weighed 170 pounds, but my weight is much reduced.  Why does this matter?  Power/Weight is the more important measurement of cycling speed.  A person putting out 170watts of power who weighs 145 pounds will bike faster than someone of the same power who weighs more.  Simply put, the less weight your legs have to push to make go, the faster you go.

This system can work for anyone, you don't have to be a cyclist, runner or swimmer.  So long as you eat high quality, clean food and control the amount of calories you consume, you can mold your body however you want through specific exercise.

Questions?