How can you lose body fat percentages?

Question

Alright, well I got this test done in school, and it told me I had 30.8 percent body fat!!!!!!! Oh my god! I've heard the "average" is around 20 percent! I am not like physically fat though, I'm 5'6.5 and 128 pounds!! I would definitely rather have muscle than gross fat! Can anyone give me some advise on healthy ways to lose body fat? It doesn't have to be fast, I want to do it in a healthy way. Thanks!

Answer 1

Can I ask how they did this test? Was it one of those handheld devices, because they aren't very accurate. If your body fat percentage is really that high at only 128lb, then I think it's a case of replacing fat with muscle.

To lower your body fat percentage, you need to gain muscle so strength training exercises such as squats, lunges, press-ups, crunches, etc and working out with some dumbell weights will be a good start. Also eating lots of lean protein such as chicken, fish, turkey, etc.

Body Fat Percentages (teen females):

Essential Fat: 10%-15%

Athletes: 16%-19%

Fit/Lean: 20%-24%

Average: 25%-28%

Overfat: 29%-32%

Obese: 33%+

Answer 2

Hey

Well you should be doing weights and cardio.  More muscle will help burn more fat.  There are some good articles on the subject on  http://fitness4u.sitesled.com

Answer 3

The best way is always consistent exercise and diet. Do some sort of activity at least 30~60 minutes everyday or average out to that amount. For example, you could be active 2 hours every other day to average an hour per day. As for diet, simply stay away from junk food and other fatties and eat your veggies!