Boost Your Energy Today!

You need at least three percent fat on your body just to live, explains Kathleen Laquale, PhD, athletic trainer at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. Drop below 15 percent for a long time, and you risk losing your period, developing osteoporosis and suffering general fatigue. “A body-fat percentage that’s too low can be harmful to your health and well-being,” Laquale says.

Follow these guidelines for healthy body-fat percentage ranges based on your fitness level.

Top athletes  15 to 20%
Fit women  21 to 24%
Healthy/acceptable 25 to 32%
Overweight  33% plus

What’s the best way to measure body fat?

Find the best method for you by looking into the following options:

Caliper testing
Cost: $15 to $400
Accuracy: Plus or minus 3% error; mostly measures fat just under the skin
Accessibility: Found at most fitness clubs
Rating: 3
 
Body-fat scales for home use
Cost: $20 to $300 for a machine that determines body fat from the resistance to an electrical current
Accuracy: Plus or minus 3% error
Accessibility: Available online for purchase
Rating: 2

Hydrostatic testing (underwater)
Cost: $15 to $50 per test
Accuracy: Plus or minus 1.5% error
Accessibility: Usually conducted at research institutions and universities
Rating: 4

Look Beyond the Scale

Get out of the bathroom and track your fit progress with these other more reliable indicators of fat loss and muscle-building success:

1. Your jeans: Are your clothes looser? Are they fitting better and more comfortably?
2. Your sets and reps in the gym: Has your performance improved? Can you train longer, lift heavier or complete your exercises with more ease?
3. Your daily tasks: Are you finding it easier to carry all 10 bags of groceries from the car? Is it easier to shovel the snow in the winter?
4. Your energy levels. Do you find yourself less exhausted and more pumped when you first wake up?
5. Your reflection. How do you appear in the mirror – jiggly all over or firm in parts?

The Scoop on Brown Fat

Two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine about how a special form of thermogenically active fat tissue burns through excess energy, suddenly caught the media’s attention. One headline even read: “Brown Fat: A Fat That Helps You Lose Weight?” Well, not so much. “Brown adipose fat, or BAT, is generally irrelevant,” says Fabio Comana, MS, exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise. “Thousands of years ago, it helped keep us warm through the cold months.” But these days, we don’t need to survive the frigid weather – we have clothes, homes and heaters – so we’ve evolved away from brown fat,” Comana says. “For the most part, it’s hype.”

5 Essentials for Healthy Fat Loss

Keep your body fat in check with these Oxygen-approved strategies:

1. Strength train. Adding weights into your routine not only makes you stronger and leaner, it also increases your metabolism and helps you burn more fat.
2. Eat clean foods, such as whole grains. A 2009 study in the Journal of Nutrition found that people who consume the highest amounts of whole grains have 2.4% less body fat than those who eat the least.
3. Don’t forget the cardio. Try adding one-minute intervals into your program to up your energy and blast fat.
4. Plan five to six meals a day instead of three large ones, and never skip breakfast.
5. Give it some time. Quick results usually don’t last, so go with the slow-and-steady approach to reach your goals, and stay lean.