T-Nation-
Just wanted to knock around some ideas regarding how low of a body fat percentage one can obtain and not seriously put their health at risk. I’m currently a little under 8% at 180 lbs; I maintain this year round. I am about to embark on the velocity diet for the first time, partly in conjunction with a contest at my gym (who can lose the greatest percentage of their body fat), and partly because I’ve never been much lower than I am now. My goal is to be around 3-4% for a brief amount of time come April (the end of the contest)…can anyone comment on what it’s like to be that low? Did you feel awful at the time, or worry for your health? Any feedback would be much appreciated…
Not sure how your 8% bf measurement was calculated, but I would guess you’ll be one ANGRY/grumpy guy by the end of the V-diet. Not sure I’d recommend doing it, but good lucka and keep us posted.
[quote]JVmed wrote:
T-Nation-
Just wanted to knock around some ideas regarding how low of a body fat percentage one can obtain and not seriously put their health at risk. I’m currently a little under 8% at 180 lbs; I maintain this year round. I am about to embark on the velocity diet for the first time, partly in conjunction with a contest at my gym (who can lose the greatest percentage of their body fat), and partly because I’ve never been much lower than I am now. My goal is to be around 3-4% for a brief amount of time come April (the end of the contest)…can anyone comment on what it’s like to be that low? Did you feel awful at the time, or worry for your health? Any feedback would be much appreciated…[/quote]
I have never been that low and never aspire to be that low. However I will say you might have a hard time winning your contest with planning on losing 4-5% if someone over weight with a lot of will power is participating.
I have done the V Diet in the past and am actually currently doing it. It was and is very successful for me.
Hope you do well.
Christopher
Body fat % was calculated by the 7 site skinfold caliper method. I understand that the accuracy is only +/- 3% for someone who knows what they’re doing, but hopefully having the same trained professional taking the measurements each time will at least be somewhat accurate in my change in body composition.
Also, to clarify: the contest is based on the percentage of your starting body fat that you lose, i.e. someone dropping from 10% to 5% would do just as well as one going from 20% to 10%. That being said, I do feel that going from my 8% to 4% will be considerably more difficult than going from an overweight competitor’s 20% to 8%, thus beating me…thoughts?
[quote]JVmed wrote:
Also, to clarify: the contest is based on the percentage of your starting body fat that you lose, i.e. someone dropping from 10% to 5% would do just as well as one going from 20% to 10%. That being said, I do feel that going from my 8% to 4% will be considerably more difficult than going from an overweight competitor’s 20% to 8%, thus beating me…thoughts?[/quote]
Yes, someone who has a higher original BF percent will most likely beat you.
If you’re still fixated on this, I’d suggest the ‘get shredded’ diet rather than the V-diet.
[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
JVmed wrote:
Also, to clarify: the contest is based on the percentage of your starting body fat that you lose, i.e. someone dropping from 10% to 5% would do just as well as one going from 20% to 10%. That being said, I do feel that going from my 8% to 4% will be considerably more difficult than going from an overweight competitor’s 20% to 8%, thus beating me…thoughts?
Yes, someone who has a higher original BF percent will most likely beat you.
If you’re still fixated on this, I’d suggest the ‘get shredded’ diet rather than the V-diet.[/quote]
I second this. GSD over V-Diet for your purposes.
-chris