Use this comprehensive guide to mastering your journey to achieving 10% body fat for sculpted abs and V-lines.
UNVEILING THE PROCESS TO BREAK THROUGH 10% BODY FAT
Reaching a point of frustration with body fat percentages hovering around 15%, 20%, or even 30% during a cutting phase is common. Often, a noticeable plateau emerges, typically occurring around 10% to 14% of body fat.
This perceived "plateau" reflects the body's fat set point, a consistent fat level to which your body naturally gravitates when factors like training style, nutrition, sleep, and overall lifestyle are optimized. Picture yourself at 20% body fat—implementing fasting, focused training, meticulous nutritional adjustments, and eliminating psychological eating habits starts yielding visible results. However, progress inevitably stalls when your body reaches this set point.
Athletes represent a prime example—they work out rigorously and seemingly eat without restrictions, yet they also hit this body fat set point. Unlike body and fitness models meticulously tracking macros and calories, athletes effortlessly settle at a specific body fat level due to their precise nutrition and intense training habits.
THE CHALLENGE OF CUTTING BELOW THE BODY FAT SET POINT
Venturing beneath this set point, which could be below around 10% - 14% body fat, presents a new set of challenges, especially increased hunger and a sense of difficulty. A common mistake individuals make at this stage is immediately resorting to drastic measures—further cutting calories, restricting intake, and increasing cardio—when faced with challenges.
This extreme approach often leads to reduced testosterone levels due to excessive energy deficit at lower body fat percentages, hindering training performance and inducing binge eating cycles.
In the F$ck Me Now Physique Program, we specialize in guiding individuals to cut below 14%, 12%, and even reach 10% body fat.
Maintaining a leaner state becomes plausible through months of consistent effort, teaching your body to adapt. I have personally sustained low body fat percentages for long periods without feeling deprived while maintaining high free testosterone and healthy total testosterone levels.
The notion that you can't be lean with high testosterone and sex drive is false. Just look at any prime athlete. Michael Jordan is a prime example of this — he was packed with high levels of free T whilst easily maintaining 10% body fat. The key difference is that athletes slowly coast themselves down to this level and maintain it by having calculated periods of over and under-consumption.
Premier League football teams are known for constantly monitoring players' BF and none of them are suffering from all the negative symptoms associated with traditional bodybuilding cutting methods. The key is to take fat loss with a really slow and calculated approach whilst also having periods where you eat at maintenance or in a caloric surplus. It's only the bodybuilding community that has an issue with low body fat and feeling deprived because they're constantly fighting against their body's desires to get ready for a specific upcoming date. If your goal is to go below your body's natural set point then you need to listen to it.
AVOIDING EXTREMES IN "SLOW" PERIODS
Maintaining a well-balanced calorie intake is essential. For individuals within the 10% to 15% body fat range looking to cut, a rough estimate is consuming around 13 calories per pound of goal body weight.
This rough estimate of 13 calories per pound of goal body weight serves as a starting point for cutting. For instance, aiming to cut to 200 pounds would suggest a daily intake of approximately 2600 calories, while targeting 160 pounds would equate to roughly 2000 calories.
Fat loss, especially when below your set point, tends to be non-linear. Weight fluctuations might manifest as plateaus that persist for weeks followed by subsequent drops. Maintaining patience and consistency during these fluctuations is pivotal towards reaching your desired body fat goal.
CRUCIAL ACTIONS FOR OPTIMAL RESULTS
- Daily Activity: Aim for 10,000 steps a day, with an option to escalate to 12,000 to 14,000 steps, but avoid surpassing 15,000 steps to maintain a balanced approach.
- Nutritional Approach: Simplify your meal tracking by preparing meals at home consistently. Keeping your meals similar daily helps avoid errors in your dietary regimen.
- Strategic Training: Engage in three weekly workouts to sustain muscle mass. Maintaining muscle during a cutting phase is achievable without overwhelming volume in workouts.
- Listening to Your Body: Pay attention to hunger cues. If hunger strikes intensely, adjust your intake accordingly. Instead of opting for crash dieting and weekly refeeds with excess carbs to stimulate leptin, focus on a minor daily caloric deficit and don't feel nervous about bumping up to maintenance calories for a couple of weeks.
The insights shared in this guide encompass strategies to surpass a fat loss plateau and achieve body fat percentages of 12%, 10%, or even 8%. The transformations showcased on this site are a result of the F$ck Me Now Physique Program, which has helped to transform the lives of thousands of men across the world.
The F$ck Me Now Physique Program provides a tailored pathway to achieve a sculpted, beach-ready body efficiently. Transform your body and hit your goals with our proven methods.
