I used to be a bodybuilder and did a couple of amateur shows as a teenager. I’ve been fat… and I’ve been cut… I can say with 100% accuracy that some “problem areas” do not even start to go away until we dip below 12% fat.
The average man carries between 18–23% body fat and that range is technically considered “healthy” even though clinical and medical obesity begins at 25% body fat for men.
So yes, there is a total chance that a man can have a 1-2 inch fat pad at 15% body fat. 15% body fat is like a “lifeguard” body. Dipping below 12% is when the abs really start to pop… and our problem areas start to vanish.
Not just calories in calories out… but it’s also “mass in mass out”. Starches have more solid mass than fats or proteins (unless you’re talking about protein powder or powdered cream or MCTs). A steak is mostly water… flour has hardly any water to it. You will urinate the excess water your body does not need.
We don’t just convert calories for fuel or heat… but we convert solid mass into carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide turns solid at -78.5C… your exhalations have mass to them.
In order to lose weight, we need to take in less mass than we expend through exhalation, burn for fuel and burn for heat. Calories are not the true target even though we should aim for consuming around our BMR.
The concept of mass in and mass out is why people lose weight with the keto and carnivore diets. By consuming less starchy foods (the carbs in vegetables do not count)… potatoes, rice, bread and pasta… we reduce the total solid mass we take in. Like mentioned before… meat is mostly water.
Cutting calories for endomorphs does not work… mesomorphs can cut calories and lose weight but not endomorphs. Endomorphs have sophisticated and highly active fat storage mechanisms and their metabolisms will simply lower to meet their calorie cut… resulting in very little weight being lost and a possible loss of lean tissue.
Endomorphs have to reduce the solid mass that they take in… and obviously less starch consumption lowers insulin levels which in turn allows body fat to be burned or consumed. Carbohydrates raise insulin levels and insulin is a fat storing hormone.
Eat animal protein, eat animal fats, olive oil and avocado oil is okay… some coconut oil is okay. Absolutely no seed oils and keep starches under 100 grams a day. The lower the better. Cycle the carbs a bit where at least one day a week you have zero starches and one day a week you have 120 grams of starches. I do the higher starch day the day before my most difficult weight workout if the week (my weakest muscles or the muscles I want to enhance the most) which gives me a little glycogen boost.
Sardine fasts are a great way to reduce insulin resistance by lowering insulin levels and getting the body to produce ketones. Obviously you can have veggies with sardines and can include some other animal protein but 2-3 cans or more of sardines a day will make us feel full and satiated while lowering our glucose, insulin and getting our bodies better at producing ketones. The real hack is eating a can of sardines as an appetizer which will allow us to eat less of our meal and feel satiety while doing so.