Body Fat Percentage Demystified: My Journey from 15 to 7% Body Fat (with photo proof) - Iron and Grit Fitness (2024)

This article chronicles my decent from (way) over 15% body fat to 7% body fat. I will show my physique progression with corresponding body fat percentages. I’ve included physique photos and body fat measurement results too so you can see the body changes that occur when you reduce body fat %.

You will also learn the different methods of body fat percentage measuring, as well as how I reduced my body fat percentage by over 10% in 12 weeks (fat burning diet tips, workout tricks, etc.) Please enjoy and let me know if you have any questions in the comments.

How I Lost 10% Body Fat in 12 Weeks

I recently lost a lot of fat while preparing for my first bodybuilding competition. I had to get extra lean to compete on stage against steroid users. What I lacked in muscular size I made up for in muscular definition.

I was (WAY) over 15% body fat when I started my competition prep and slimmed down to about 7% body fat by showtime. (Note: The method used to measure body fat percentage in this case was a 7-site skin fold measurement using calipers. I am aware of other methods which as more accurate in terms of ‘true’ body fat percentage, such as a DEXA Scan.)

My cut took about 10 weeks. During that time I lost over 30 pounds, most of which was fat.

Below are my progress pictures as my body fat reduced.Also, I show the method of body fat % reading used to measure my body fat along with the results. There’s also a video from my first body fat reading with a personal trainer using calipers so you can see how it’s done.

Table of Contents

• Types of Body Fat
• Methods to Measure Body Fat Percentage
• My Body Fat Percentage Measurements with Physique Photos
• How to Lower Body Fat Percentage
• How I Lost Over 5% Body Fat in Less than 10 Weeks

But first let’s talk a little bit about body fat, what it really is and how to measure it.

Body Fat Percentage Demystified

Types of Body Fat

There are two types of fat: Subcutaneous fat and visceral fat.

Subcutaneous fat is the fat between your muscles and skin. Visceral fat is the fat surrounding internal organs like your heart, liver and lungs.

You need a certain amount of both types of fat for metabolic and hormone regulation. Have too much fat and you’re in trouble. Have too little fat, and you’re in trouble too. More about this later.

If you’re a man and go below 4% body fat for an extended period of time you will be utterly miserable. Go much lower than that and you may actually die. Not kidding. People die from having too little fat. Your body just shuts down at a certain point.

Subcutaneous Fat

Subcutaneous fat is the unsightly pudge that sticks around your stomach, waist, hips and thighs. However, it can accumulate anywhere around the body.

Spare tires, muffin tops, bat wings, saddle bags, love handles and beer bellies and are all a by-product of subcutaneous fat.

Visceral Fat

Visceral fat can be dangerous. It interferes with organ function and is more likely to kill you if there’s too much of it. Visceral fat is a byproduct of making poor lifestyle decisions that cause weight gain.

Too much visceral fat causes wear and tear on your internal organs. There’s only so much space in your body, and too much visceral fat will crush your organs like a boa constrictor, making normal function impossible.

It’s safe to say that is your subcutaneous fat levels are low, then your visceral fat levels will be low.

How To Calculate Your Body Fat Percentage

There are several ways to measure body fat. Some methods are better than others, and we’ll talk about those in this section.

People argue about the accuracy of body fat percentage readings all the time. Even with advances in medical technology it’s still tough to know someones exact body fat percentage.

My take?

Just use the same method of body fat measurement each time. That way you have a consistent reading.

What matters most is that you know if you’re losing body fat or gaining it. You just need to know how your body composition changes as a result of your training and diet. The only way to know is to use the same method to capture body fat percentage for consistency sake.

Body Fat Percentage Measuring Methods

There are a few ways to measure body fat. Not all methods are created equal as some are more accurate, detailed and thus more useful than others. I’ve had my body fat percentage measured four ways, which I explain below.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI is a crude body fat percentage measurement that only considers two variables, your height and your weight. You could be 10% body fat and full of muscle but still be considered ‘obese’ by BMI standards. Likewise you could be skinny-fat with a high body fat percentage but read as ‘normal’.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is essentially useless for people who are trained. It’s a rough cut measure for the average citizen but is extremely misleading in many cases.

Margin of error: High.

Skinfold Test

Skinfold test uses calipers to measure body fat percentage. You measure body fat at seven spots on your body and it uses a formula to calculate an overall body fat percentage. Any personal trainer worth their salt can perform a skin fold test correctly. Margin of error: Medium-High.

Bioimpedience Analysis (BIA)

This requires a device you stand on or grab that sends electricity through your body to read your body fat percentage. It also tells you your water weight, lean body mass, and skeletal matter.

Most health clubs have a BIA machine. I got mine done at the local YMCA.

I eventually bought a scale to measure body composition. It’s cheap and gives you a ton of data including your metabolic rate, water weight, body fat percentage and, best of all it tracks everything for you automatically.

All you do is stand on it for 5 seconds and it measures everything and sends the data to your phone.

Margin of error: Medium-Low

DEXA Scan

Short for Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry scan, this method is quite accurate. DEXA uses X-Rays to take a full body composition reading. It measures body fat mass, lean mass, bone mass, and bunch of other interesting data.

You can read about my DEXA Scan here.

Margin of error: Very Low

What Method is Best for Reading Body Fat Percentage?

DEXA scan is the most accurate. It gives you a ‘true’ measure of body fat. It’s also the most expensive and impractical. They are over $100 a pop and must be done at a medical facility.

Skinfold testing is fairly decent at measuring body fat and lean mass, but you need another person to get the best measurement.

Bioimpedience is a solid option because you get pretty good readings of body fat, lean mass, water weight, and skeletal mass.

BMI is a joke and not a practical option for helping accurately measure body recomposition.

Bottom line: Get the body fat scale. It’s a cheap investment, easy to use and it gives you the most practical data. It’s the best option for most people in my opinion.

Failing that, just pick one of the methods and stick to it regularly. That way you get a consistent method of measurement and meaningful results.

My Body Fat Percentage Readings

For the purposes of this article, I received three body fat measurements over the course of seven weeks.

Each measurement was taken three weeks apart. All were performed with the skin fold method.

I had a licensed (and experienced) personal trainer measure my body fat percentage. It started with a weight in to get my overall weight.

He then used body fat calipers to measure 7 sites on my body to get the reading. Below you can see my physique progression from over 15% body fat to under 8%.

Body Fat Percentage Before and After

Here you’ll see four pictures taken throughout my 10 week fat loss transformation. (A photo taken at Week 0, Week 5, Week 7 and Week 10).

Each photo was taken the same day I got my body fat percentage measured.

• Date: 1/10/2018
• Starting Body Weight: 225 pounds
• Starting Body Fat Percentage: roughly 15-18% with calipers (Maybe more. I look like Shamu.)

And my corresponding skin fold tests:

How to Lower Body Fat Percentage

You really want to know? Here’s how you do it.

Eat less and exercise more.

Groundbreaking, earth-shattering advice, I know. You’re probably in shock after reading that. While what I said is true, my may already know that losing weight is much easier said than done.

I made my transformation in drastic fashion because I put myself in a position where I couldn’t retreat. I had to follow through or else live with the shame of looking like an idiot on stage.

Having skin in the game helps hold you accountable. it puts pressure on you. Find some way, some mechanism to force you to follow through with your fat loss. When your money and reputation are on the line, it’s much easier to stick to the plan.

I don’t recommend this approach because it was hectic trying to figure things out on the fly while the clock wound down.

The Easy Way to Lower Your Body Fat Percentage

The simplest and fastest way is to eliminate sugar from your diet. Or, just stop eating carbs all together. You’ll notice an improvement very fast.

Try the Steak and Eggs Diet for a few weeks. It’s delicious and works like magic.

The next best thing to do is get a body fat measuring scale and use it everyday.

One of the data points it gives you is Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) – In other words, how many calories you burn a day just by being alive. Use BMR to calculate the calories you need to lose fat.

How I went from over 15% Body Fat to under 10% Body Fat in 10 weeks

10 weeks out from my competition I had a pretty epic dad-bod.

It was the direct result of consuming all the pizza, beer, and holiday meals and sweets I could get my hands on for months. After a while my torso began to resemble an oil barrel.

Although I wasn’t as visually appealing compared to when I had a six-pack, I was more imposing in the weight room – I was bigger and stronger than I’ve ever been before.

In fact, I had recently Bench Pressed 275 pounds (my Personal Record and goal at that time) and could squat 300+ pounds for reps.

Being strong is cool and all but being ripped is much more gratifying.

Summer was fast approaching and I wanted to be in top shape for beach season.

Besides, wanted a new challenge, and what better way to get in shape for the beach than to sign up for a bodybuilding competition?

So, I signed up for my first bodybuilding show and got my ass in gear. There was no time to mess around. I got my diet in check and buckled down quick.

Note: I used the skin fold analysis method for measuring my body fat percentage during this time. I had my BF measured three times over the course of 10 weeks. All of which I detail below.

My Rapid Weight Loss Plan

Since this was my first ever bodybuilding competition I really had no idea what I was doing. All I knew is that I had to cut and cut fast.

I was way behind from the beginning. Most competitors prep for 16+ weeks. I only had 10 weeks until my show. So I had to move fast.

The first thing I did was eliminate all non-essentials from my diet. I cut out sugar and stopped drinking beer. I didn’t count calories but I made sure to get plenty of protein and eat clean.

Zero Carbs = Fast Fat loss

Eliminating sugar and alcohol helped me lose fat quickly.

I was eating 2-3 donuts every night and downing 3-4 beers a few nights a week before I stopped consuming carbs cold-turkey. And within a few days I noticed the fat begin to fade way.

I also trained with weights in the gym every day. There was one time when I trained 21 consecutive days without missing a workout.

My training consisted of lifting weights seven days a week. Doing high volume sets with a few heavy sets for good measure.

The Cut Started Out Well

I lost about 15 pounds just three weeks into my cut. My abs started to become visible as I lost mostly belly fat.A lot of fat around my thighs disappeared too. My pants began to fit better like the day I bought them.

I knew that eventually the weights loss would slow down and I would need a more scientific approach.

I reduced my calorie intake to a strict 2,500 per day and calculated my macros so I would have variables to play with. I was meticulous about tracking everything I consumed using the ‘MyFitnessPal’ app and measured all my food with a scale.

I continued weight lifting seven days a week during this time.

It was around this time when I got my first body fat percentage measurement:

• Date: 2/8/2018
• Body Weight: 210 pounds
• Body Fat Percentage: 12%

Not bad. Making progress. But still have a ways to go.

4 Weeks Out from Showtime

My diet is consistent and I’m still working out every day. I’m lifting lots of volume. Cardio is virtually non-existent.

I haven’t ran a mile or done anything more than a warm up on the exercise bike since starting my cut. Just hard weight training everyday, that was 100% of my workout routine.

I ate 2,500 calories a day for the past three weeks. However, time was running out and I wasn’t nearly as lean as I had to be.

I reduced calories to 1500-1800 a few days a week. You can tell from the look on my face that calorie restriction was taking its toll.

My usual cheerful and chipper attitude was slightly dampened and I was more irritable and impatient.

But hey, that comes with the territory. This is a mental game more than a physical one. Gotta push through it and find ways to handle it.

Anyway, it was at this time I got my body fat measured again. Results below:

• Date: 2/22/2018
• Body Weight: 202 pounds
• Body Fat Percentage: 10%

5 Days Out from Showtime

The calorie restriction is working. I can see more muscle definition by the day.

I had a few cheat meals to keep my sanity, but overall the calories have stayed below 2,000 a day. Some days going as low as 1,300. I got my body fat measured once more:

• Date: 3/22/2018
• Body Weight: 192
• Body Fat Percentage: 7.7%

1 Day Out

I weighed in at 187 pounds the day before my show. My body fat percentage was unknown but somewhere around 7%, since I was lighter than the week before.

The Day of the Bodybuilding Show

I place in Classic Physique and Men’s Bodybuilding and an NPC show. I would have placed in Men’s Physique if I had practiced my routine!

Later that year I did another competition. This bodybuilding show was much larger and more competitive. My first show was a great learning experience, but I realized I needed help to bring my best.

I got even leaner with the help of GoobU who help me a lot with posing and put the finishing touches on my physique in just 4 weeks.

It was during this time I got down to a legitimate 7% body fat and was the leanest I’ve been.

My weight got down to 179 pounds at one point just before my second show, but my official weight-in at showtime was 185 pounds:

To get this get to this level of leanness, I ate six meals a day and trained six days a week for four weeks straight.

Final Thoughts on Body Fat Percentage

Obviously, you need to have low body fat if you want an impressive physique. Low body fat is the only way to have muscle definition.

There’s a lot of debate about body fat percentage and the best ways to measure it.

Honestly, just try a method consistently and see how your numbers change over time. You want RELATIVE measurements to compare where you were to where you are now.

Who cares if you’re ‘actually’ 12% body fat or 8% body fat? You could be 8% body fat on a skin fold test and at the same time be 12% body fat on a bioimpedence test.

When you’re that low, you have a visible six-pack so for 99.9% of us, BF% at that point really doesn’t matter a whole lot.

Body Fat percentage is a metric you can use to improve. At the end of the day I don’t care what my body fat percentage is as long as I look the way I want to look.

What matters is how you look and that you’re making progress. The point of measuring body fat is to collect DATA which you factor into make decisions on your training and nutrition.

My advice:

Don’t get too caught up in body fat percentage. Use it as a reference point to make adjustments to your training and nutrition plan. But at the end of the day it’s all about how you feel about what you see in the mirror.

Is 10% Body Fat Realistic?

True 10% body fat is possible to maintain year around naturally but will require a solid plan and daily attention.

It’s very possible for someone to stay there, but there are drawbacks. While below 10% body fat I had strong cravings. There were several times where I caved into the urge to eat and binged on junk food.

If you can fight through these urges you’ll eventually adjust and be fine. There are also a ton of healthy alternatives to satisfying a sweet tooth without devastating your progress.

Another draw back is that my strength decreased and my stamina plummeted. I could do a few heavy sets per workout but that was it. I resorted to mostly high-volume workouts.

This was mostly because I cut so fast. If I cut again I would take more time and slowly reduce the calories in a small increments so my body would have time to adjust.

On the flip side, I was ripped and looked great. It felt amazing to have a six-pack without flexing. My arms, chest, and even my legs were extra sculpted.

I think every man should be ripped at least once in his life.

Once you get to a certain leanness you set a new standard for yourself that is easier to maintain. You know what it took to get there. You are now leaner and wiser, so put your newly gained knowledge to use and keep trim.