bodyforlife

Some people get a little carried away when setting their goals. When considering what amount of body fat you’d like to get down to, please be realistic and consider your health. While too much body fat is unhealthy, so too is too little. Not having enough body fat can cause serious health problems for both men and women.

Men should never go below 3% body fat. An extremely healthy and fit percentage for men is 15%. Setting a goal of less than 15% body fat requires serious consideration.

Women should never try to drop below 12% body fat. 22% body fat for women is very healthy. Going below 12% can lead to discontinuation of monthly cycles and a whole slew of negative side effects (including losing one’s breasts). While female fitness and bodybuilding competitors may go below 22% (most compete at 6-10% bodyfat), they never maintain that low a percentage for the long term. I spoke to a female bodybuilder about this once and she explained to me that once she went below 20% bodyfat, she began having difficulty remembering and concentrating and she rarely, it at all, felt in a good mood.

When considering your body fat goal, be sure to consider what percentage will be in the interest of your best health.  After all, your health should be what this is all about.