How many calories for me to lose 3-5% BF

[ZYouL8R]

This morning at work we had one of those generic health screenings where they measure BP, weight, BF%, etc. I weighed in at 165 (which might be a few lbs low) and 12% BF.

I got accepted to AF OTS and will probably have my big flight physical in 1-2 months. I'd like to get down to atleast 9% BF by that time. I'm estimating my daily caloric intake is 2500-2800. I've taken 3 months off from the gym and will be lifting and doing some cardio atleast 4 times a week now.

So does anyone have any suggestions on how many daily calories will get me to 9% BF in 1-2 months? What's a healthy % to lose per month?

[The Raven]

Get about 1900-2000 (I've gone as low as 1700 at 200lbs+ of bodyweight) clean calories per day in 5-8 small meals, and get 30 minutes of cardio 4-5 times per week, preferably first thing in the morning. You can safely lose up to 2lbs per week, and given that 1.65 lbs equals a percent of your bodyweitght, you can get down to 8% fairly easily. Just remember that your initial losses are going to consist of alot of water weight, so don't expect to be done in 3 short weeks.

[ZYouL8R]

This is a stupid question, but I'm guessing I should lay off the creatine until I get to my desired BF%? Is it hard to lose fat while on creatine or are they totally unrelated since creatine mostly adds water weight.

[The Raven]

They are unrelated in concerns to fat loss, and it has actually been recommended to take creatine while dieting to help maintain strength as you cut your calories. The down side being the water retention associated with creatine, so you won’t look quite as lean as you would without the water. In my opinion, water weight isn’t really a concern unless you’re prepping for a show, or have a specific event that you want to be dried out for. I doubt that you are dropping weight for aesthetic reasons since you mentioned a physical, and being that creatine enhances athletic performance, I’d say stay on it. Even full of water you’ll look plenty defined with only 8% bodyfat.

[ZYouL8R]

Thanks for the help.

[01WhiteCobra]

You only have 5lbs to lose.

165 x .12 = 19.8lbs fat

... lose 5-6lbs of fat

14.8/160 = 9.25% BF

So in a month you only have to lose about a pound a week. You'd really only have to shave 500 calories per day. Not difficult at all.

The key would be to lose only fat, so you don't want to push yourself very hard in either direction (cutting calories or expending energy).

Remember we are only talking 500 calories. So if you increase your activity, make sure you compenstate with more food. You don't want to start wasting away muscle. A 500 calorie deficeit isn't much at all.

[BoostedGT]

You should lay off the Creatine NOW! Creatine can cause you to fail some tests administered at your flight physical.

[ZYouL8R]

You should lay off the Creatine NOW! Creatine can cause you to fail some tests administered at your flight physical.

Too late for that. But I asked about it before my MEPS physical and they said said it wouldn't affect anything.

[BoostedGT]

Too late for that. But I asked about it before my MEPS physical and they said said it wouldn't affect anything.

Hmm there is a big AF list of diet additives that are prohibited and I know for a fact Creatine is one of them. Well hopefully everything turns out ok for ya.

P.S. Meps and flight physical are two seperate animals :)

[ZYouL8R]

Hmm there is a big AF list of diet additives that are prohibited and I know for a fact Creatine is one of them. Well hopefully everything turns out ok for ya.

P.S. Meps and flight physical are two seperate animals :)

I saw that same list and creatine is definitely not on there.

[ZYouL8R]

I can't find the list but I do know that Creatine is sold on base at the BX, so it's obviously not a banned military substance.

[BoostedGT]

I saw that same list and creatine is definitely not on there.

Hmm, maybe I am mistaken then. I know there were a few popular diet substances on there that were prohibited. Again I saw this list at least a year ago so my memory might be jacked up too. Haha.