How Low Can You Go?

Its an interesting point brought up by a comment on my last post on how to look like a Hollywood actor. What I'll be addressing here is the potential health risks of low body fat.

For me, health comes before appearance, and so this is an important point. First off I'd like to get some things about body fat % cleared up.

Body fat percentage is not how much fat you have around your waist. It is not your BMI (body mass index). Body fat % is literally what percentage of your body is made up of fat.  Just to give you an idea of what kind of numbers you'll be looking at, its generally considered that 7-10% is very low, 13-17% is average, and anything over 25% is very high.for the women its a little higher (not because they're fatter): Very low is around 13-17%, average is around 20-27%, and over around 30% is considered very high.

What, then, is too low? In my opinion, Guys will not be able to live in health bellow 4%, and ladies shouldn't go below 12%. However, to maintain health, it should probably be a little higher (lets say 5.5%-10% or 14-17%). In terms of which end you want to be of that tally depends on your goals, but I reckon you'll struggle to keep around the bottom end all year without sacrificing too much. 

What happens if we go below that? Why do we need fat anyway, surely its a bad thing?

Fat has been shown in modern media as a very bad thing, but in fact, you need it to survive. Fat in excess is what is really bad. Pointless fat with no nutrients like McDonald's fries (if you can prove me wrong on that one, I'll take it back), are the problem. The body uses fat to store fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients, so if your body fat is too low, it doesn't matter how many multivitamins you take, its gonna just flush through you. People also seem to think that fat is only just beneath the surface of the skin (like stomach fat) when actually a lot of it is around your muscles and joints, providing cushioning, without which... well, its not pretty. So, if you go too low, your health will deteriorate rapidly, your sporting performance will plummet (some people think super low body fat reduces things such as reaction time and balance as well as bringing premature joint damage).

So, surely its not unhealthy to get that low body fat %?

The main problem with getting super lean low body fat is the way you do it.  When a Hollywood actor goes through a complete body transformation, they are massively over-training. They will have some of the best personal trainers in the world who will keep them in health and avoid injury for the time required, but there is no way of denying it, rapid fat loss is not healthy. Programmes such as The Biggest Looser encourage people to loose up to 1lb of fat a day, and this is pretty dangerous (though probably better than just staying in their fatty frames forever). If you are trying to heavily loose body fat fast, the maximum you should be looking at is around 2/3lbs a week, as a max. As  much as you feel comfortable with. That can still lead to a complete body transformation in a very short time. Personally I don't recommend dieting like that for more than a month (still 8-12lbs!), i recommend burning it slowly and steadily, then if you have a holiday in a month or so, intensify. 

Also, remember that when you are starting an intense exercise regime to try and burn some of that fat, you will probably be adding muscle, which weighs 3x more than fat, so don't be disheartened when your weight doesn't change dramatically.

At some point I'll probably be writing an entire book about how to get as lean as you can while maintaining health, and get unbelievably physically fit in the process. I do this because having read a lot of books on fat loss and fitness, they all seem miss out maintaining health.

Final note: DO NOT CRASH DIET!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is unbelievably unhealthy, and more to the point it doesn't work (trust me, I know people who have and they've actually gained MORE weight!)

As usual, any questions or comments are welcome, and the ask a question feature is still available.