Whether you're looking to reach 7 percent body fat for a flat stomach, better overall nutrition, or a stronger heart, we've got you covered. But if you have an even bigger goal in mind, like a really chopped midsection (we're talking Brad Pitt) Fight Clubor Matt “Magic Mike” Bomer), you need a slightly more—okay, a lot more—hardcore approach.
“Seven percent is the thinnest you ever want to be,” says John Alvino, a fitness coach in Morristown, N.J., who works with bodybuilders and professional athletes.
So if you want to have exemplary abs, you need to be willing to think of food as nothing more than fuel and regulate it with precision.
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How to Achieve 7 Percent Body Fat
If you want to reach 7 percent body fat, follow these four easy steps.
1. Determine Your Macros
No one gets a 7 percent body by chance, unless they are a genetic wonder kid or an athlete. To do this, you need to keep a close eye on the foods you eat and make sure you're getting the right amounts of each macronutrient (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats).
To start, multiply your current body weight by 12 to determine the number of calories you should eat. So if you weigh 180 pounds, start eating 2,160 calories per day.
However, if you are overweight (such as having your belly above your waist), calculate your calories based on the body weight you want to be. So, if you weigh 220 pounds but want to weigh 180 pounds, you would consume 2,160 calories (not 2,640).
Start consuming one gram of protein per kilogram of your body weight each day. So a 180 pound person would eat 180 grams (and a 220 pound person would eat 180 grams). wants will also be 180).
Get 30 percent of your calories from fat; so Mr. 180 will consume 648 calories. To make it easier to count them, convert them to grams. Since one gram of fat contains nine calories, dividing 648 by nine gives you 72 grams of fat. The rest of your calories come from carbohydrates.
To calculate these, first subtract your fat calories from the total, then your protein calories. Protein and carbohydrates both contain four calories per gram.
So for 180 people, that's 720 protein calories (180 x 4 = 720). The equation for finding the amount of carbohydrates will look like this: 2,160 calories – 648 calories from fat – 720 calories from protein = 792 calories or 198 grams of carbohydrates.
2. Eat the Healthiest Foods
Your protein should come mainly from animals and be extra lean. Your choices should be skinless chicken breast, fish and lean beef. Your carbohydrates should consist mostly of starches like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and rice.
You can also eat whole fruits, but only one to two pieces a day. It's not that fruits aren't healthy, but as Alvino says, “…you want just enough fruit to flood your liver with glycogen to get your body fat down to single digits. Any extra fructose can slow fat burning or encourage fat storage.
Non-starchy vegetables (mostly greens) do not need to count as carbohydrates.
Finally, your fat intake will mainly come as a byproduct of the protein-containing foods you eat, but fats like avocado and coconut can be consumed if you feel you still have room for more before your macros are full.
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3. Live as if your abs depend on it
In addition to having good genetics, athletes are often very fit because they base their lifestyle around training and nutrition to optimize their performance. To reach 7 percent body fat, you should be prepared to do the same.
Sleep at least seven hours a night and drink water throughout the day; You should drink at least one gallon of water a day.
a study Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism It found that drinking just about 30 ounces of water increased energy expenditure by 24 percent over the next hour.
Try to keep stress to a minimum by taking time to relax. Meditate or do yoga. Of course, lifting weights is also a must. There are many training segments and methods you can follow, but a full-body workout three days a week will get the job done.
Focus on compound exercises that work multiple muscles at once, such as presses, squats, deadlifts, rows and chin ups.
4. Cycle Your Carbs
When you start to see clarity around your midsection but your progress slows, your metabolism needs an extra push to keep fat loss going. Alvino recommends alternating your macros with a cycle of low- and high-carb days.
Eat 10 calories per kilogram of body weight for three days. Let those calories come from one gram of protein per pound, 0.5 grams of carbohydrates per pound, and the rest from fat.
On the fourth day, increase calories to 15 per pound and carbohydrates to two grams per pound. (The rest of the calories should come from fat.)
“This causes an increase in metabolic rate due to the work the digestive system has to do,” says Alvino.
The increase in carbohydrates helps fill out muscles, so you look bigger and leaner. Repeat the cycle until you reach your goal.
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