Dieting to low bodyfat levels sucks. Actually, dieting sucks across the board but the real problems start when you start to get far below normal. So what’s normal? In modern times, an average male may be carrying 18-25% bodyfat, an average female 21-28%. Many, many (too many) people are much fatter than that.
Healthy bodyfat levels are considered to be 11-18% for men and 18-25% for women. To the body-obsessed, except maybe at the lower levels, that’s still fat. Male bodybuilders (and other athletes) think in terms of sub-10% bodyfat levels, females typically in the low to mid teens. Researchers would probably debate the validity of such beliefs but who cares; if you believe it, it’s true to you. Perhaps more important is that it is your goal.
Most diets or diet books are aimed at the folks who are trying to get somewhere in the realm of average. There are tons to choose from out there. Any discovery, new weight training equipment, or piece of research that might affect these folks can be turned into a quick fix diet book. One of these days, I’m going to write my own, make a zillion dollars and retire.
For obese folks just trying to lose weight, pretty much any non-retarded diet will work. The main issues to deal with there have more to do with anxiety and the issues involved in changing long-term eating and activity patterns. And even though some readers might disagree, getting a male to 12-15% bodyfat or a female into the 18-22% range usually isn’t that difficult. Basic food control, adequate protein and exercise will usually get it done without too much trouble.
By the time folks get to the 12-15% (18-22% for women) range, anxiety, food control and changing habits usually aren’t the problem. For bodybuilders and athletes meticulous food control and training is part of the lifestyle. It’s when folks start trying to achieve the lower extremes of bodyfat percentage that other problems start to occur. Ravenous hunger, severe muscle loss, metabolic slowdown and screwed up hormones are a few of the usual problems. Women and some men have an additional problem mobilizing and getting rid of stubborn fat (hip/thigh area for women, ab/low-back fat for men).
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