Why So Many Guys Get Stuck at 18 - 22% Body Fat? (Avoid This Mistake!)

Here’s why so many guys get stuck at 18 - 22% body fat despite trying to get leaner and what you really need to finally get results.
Previous videos on the topic of building muscle:
Why 90% of People In The Gym Won't See Results (Reality Check) • Why 90% of People In T...
Most Honest Advice For Building Muscle (As a Natural) • Most Honest Advice For...
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About the video:
Getting to 10 - 15% body fat is definitely not easy. When it comes to body composition, most men carry some excess belly fat and love handles that they want to get rid of. Even with exercise and trying different diets, a common body fat percentage that guys get stuck at is between 18 - 22% body fat.
In this video, I cover the root cause of why most people don’t get to 15% body fat and what’s really holding them back. If your goal is to maximize fat loss and create a healthy sustainable lifestyle with a lean physique but you’ve been stuck, this is what you need to know to finally create that breakthrough.
About Me:
My name is Mario Tomic. I specialize in helping busy entrepreneurs and professionals get their ideal physique in the most efficient way possible and turn it into a lifestyle long-term.
Since 2011, I've spent over 10 000 hours practicing, studying, and coaching fitness, nutrition, and high performance.
Most people don't know that my native language is Croatian and that I worked in computer science before I started my fitness and personal development coaching company.
#getlean #bodyfat #fitness
Disclaimer: Mario Tomic is not a doctor or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before starting any exercise program. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Mario Tomic will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of the information contained in this video, including but not limited to economic loss, injury, or illness.

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

If you're looking to get to 15% body fat or lower, here’s one of the biggest mistakes guys make that’s preventing them from getting leaner. -Mario PS. Watch this next if you want to get to 10% body fat kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaPdfpWsgZ6NepY

[@distorteduzi]

I have 12%body fat but im skinny af like skin and bones

[@giannitromba]

Vidim hrvatsko ime i prezime, upalim video i čujem savršen engleski 😅... Svaka čast, odličan video!

[@WhyWhatHowWhere]

Life is a struggle. Once you realize and accept this fact, you start enjoying it

[@thegodssin]

It's just that you forget that time to time, and you remember it again it gets better

[@anthonymendoza6210]

A pointless one at that.

[@gigidope]

True dat.

[@iche9373]

You can win if you want

[@kiredimoski6845]

Scott Pack

[@PDM1967]

I track my macros carefully. But I also check what is coming out by carefully weighing my poops. Sometimes I send them to my coach for full accountability.

[@ogxmain]

LMAO

[@fenrirgg]

Yeah, that's it, poop accountability is so underrated!

[@kungfuman82]

That's calories in vs calories out, right?

[@davidkennedy8929]

I assume a lot more comes out than goes in!!😂

[@CraazynBR]

Now seriously, if wanted y'all could weight yourselves(full body) before pooping and after. the difference is poop weight

[@kavitamins]

Consistency is key. We all fall off the bandwagon from time to time. It's okay to keep getting up, just don't stay down. Also, if you keep veering away from the system you follow, maybe you need to see if it's really working for you. Thank you Mario for always inspiring us to be the best version of ourselves.

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

Cheers!

[@Psychonaut165]

Yeah you’re always going to have bumps along the road.. You need to be aware of the fact that sometimes your motivation / discipline/ consistency will inevitably slip at some point. Just continue working on it

[@2KDUDE22]

I ve been at 14% body fat for over a year now, but with my family its hard to be that strict as its awkward at meals for my wife and kids who dont want to eat that way. So inevitably i go off track. But starting to realize 14% is easy enough to maintain and im good with it for now.

[@mhill88ify]

It's OK to stay 'within striking distance" of 10% ... Some people's physiology isn't really supportive of sub-10% all the time. 11-14% is a great place to hang out and keep your natural hormone production.

[@momentumstocks3493]

14% is a good place top be most of the year. Maybe drop to 12% fort he summer..?

[@timeandmoney84]

14% is fine and very healthy. The only people who are consistently sub 12% are athletes or people who work in health and fitness for a living. It's very hard to get that low without PEDs aswell

[@tobiasdonbosco2691]

same with me,my mom always make oily food with a small protein and stuck at 18% bodyfat

[@28lrod]

When are values and actions do not align is massively uncomfortable. Coaches are one of the most powerful tool to create progress. 🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

Thank you Luis!

[@spencerschubert5001]

Definitely tracking is the main reason why people have no control over their trajectory. Good news is that you don’t technically have to “count” calories to have great results. It can be equally if not more effective to standardize and count portions, meals, & snacks. I keep 80% of my food from day to day the exact same. And they are the 4 meals/snacks that are delicious and I’d never get sick of. That 5th meal is where the variation/variety is. And even though I’m not 100 percent accountable there, it’s not enough to ever put me off track. My friends and family members who struggle to drop weight all share in common that they could not tell you what they ate last week, because they just eat whatever happens to be available on the day

[@jonandercerrongarcia5613]

Which are those four meals?

[@spencerschubert5001]

@@jonandercerrongarcia5613 -Protein shake with whey powder, banana, Greek yogurt, and coffee (take pre workout) -egg/bacon/cheese bagel sandwich -turkey/cheese sandwich -boiled egg with hot sauce + celery/carrots with peanut butter (small serving of fruit with each of those meals and ice cream when bulking)

[@jonandercerrongarcia5613]

@@spencerschubert5001 excelent choices👌

[@Ikaros23]

A person that don`t want to admit what they eat or to track the food over some time, simply is sticking they`re head in the sand to not know the truth. It`s the same with money or work. Most people don`t want to track how they spend they`re money or their time because then they will become accountable for their own choises. It`s a reason most people are fat and broke, it`s because of the mix of learnd helplessness, ignorance, and the inabillity to delay gratification over time.

[@GtaRipper]

Yes, this is exactly what keeps netting me results. I counted calories for weeks and noted that I was always around the same calories at the end of the day because 4 of my 5 meals of the day are always the same, give or take 100-200 calories. It has made dieting pretty easy except for the mental part of not hitting my goals as fast as I hoped. I also know now by how much to increase to maintain and or bulk.

[@OoTee]

This channel is criminally underrated! Great, high quality and compact videos filled with important information coming out consistently. Thank you so much, Mario! Keep up the amazing work!

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

Much appreciated!

[@MrjavoiThe]

Truth and facts don't attract most people, most people look for the insane steroids physique that promote miracle diets and results.

[@felipecorrea5606]

i agree.The diet process isn't neck below, but neck up. The mindset is extremely important

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

Well said

[@topmusic724]

One of few No BS channels , keep it up

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

I appreciate that!

[@asliceofkai5006]

I'm teetering at 17-18%. New goals, let's go!!

[@Jes1919]

I am about 16-17%. I feel horrible really lean

[@bubaba8938]

Test levels go down when over restricting fats and carbs.That's a great fat%..Going lower has little benefits.Maybe like 15 is perfect for a summer physique

[@andimatt7232]

Completely quit alcohol! I lost so much weight just because of that, not switching any other things ... This may just happened to me personally but I've talked to so many guys who experienced the same thing. Cold turkey for good!

[@ZephyrRestorations]

That also helped me. After several drinks, I didn't care about my diet or calories. Sobriety helped me stay focused on my goal.

[@alphaomega1351]

But... but... but... alcohol is an essential nutrient. 😶

[@arturotroncoso3484]

Your body treats alchohol and sugar basically the same so when you drink alchohol it's like drinking soda.

[@amandapanda7416]

Alcohol is fun though

[@kenmartin5009]

@@amandapanda7416 drugs are bad, mmkay

[@itisejay]

100% agree. I was exactly like this. I'd be good for about 1-2 months of working out and tracking my calories. I'd see significant progress and then suddenly just "fall off the wagon" and when anyone asks why I stopped my answer is "it doesn't work". When in reality I just lost interest or became too lazy. I'm now taking it slowly, getting atleast 2-3 workouts a week and trying to track majority of my calories. I find it much easier losing about 1 - 1.5 lbs a week rather than doing too much too soon and then burning out. Thanks for your advice - Subbed.

[@pablov1323]

The " counting calories does not matter" mantra is sometimes the perfect excuse for simply not to care objectively about what you put in your mouth...

[@ElHolyBoy]

That's exactly what I want that range right there. There is more to life than body fat composition. Additionally there are studies indicating that slightly overweight people live longer. I'm not going to spend my entire life neurotically trying to get down to 8% body fat. There are other important aspects of living.

[@momentumstocks3493]

i think he advocates 12% which is spot on for health. ok 15% is ok if you are fine with it. I am guessing anymore is not healthy for you. BMI really is a good indicator. Many hate it but it's true. Even too much muscle is not good for you

[@cstoneno3766]

I'm an obsessive calorie/macro tracker and it can be a big pain (especially if you're not just eating the same thing every day, which I mostly do on weekdays but less on weekends). But I know from my own history that as soon as I stop tracking, my portion control goes bad and I start gaining weight. Also if you've never tracked calories and macros before and you just assume you're eating a "lot" of protein, you'll probably be shocked by what you see if you just track your intake for a couple weeks. It's a good way to weed out some bad habits. Also one weird side benefit of all the tracking is that I'll crave a snack and then decide to skip it just because I don't want to enter it into my phone 🤣

[@valeaves]

This is so me 😂

[@austecon6818]

There's no other way to do it. Why waste your time with a diet at all if you are not going to track and measure calorie intake. Useless. Even the butter in the pan and oil over veges... if you don't count that stuff that is 200 calories taken off of your deficit right there! EVERY SINGLE DAY! Let alone just roughly guessing how much that chicken breast with the skin on might be... People are bound to underestimate their calories by at least 500-700 calories per day if they don't count accurate. Especially when you start getting hungry in week 3+. And then they'll be all over social media saying "Oh but I was calorie restricting BUT I AM SPECIAL... My body is different and it is harder for me! Oh poor me!"

[@malikshabazz9588]

Just started tracking 4 days ago, my experience exactly. Just had a kfc lunch and now for the rest of the day I can only eat an apple and protein shake (bcz my protein is not as high as I thought like you said!)

[@hoidoei941]

I don’t have a problem with this.. I wrote my calories down at first, but nine times out of ten that was intuitively quite right.. In addition, you just have to train and rest enough, Counting calories only is exaggerated in my opinion, also your hormones determine what happens to your body, and you stimulate them with balanced diet and training, not the number of calories only (not saying you shouldn’t follow basic principles, but for me it doesn’t come this close..)

[@novadhd]

I hate tracking calories/macros. But I think it might be inevitable.

[@Jay-sd9ye]

My struggle is low calories with low fat macros. I'm eating less food 1600 calories, but limiting my fat intake, I never paid attention to the fat until I'm trying for 15%body fat. It does matter even if your in a deficit. Keep track people.

[@tylervincent2559]

I think your videos are the only ones that I actually like when you tell me too, haha. I think it's just the great timing and the ways that you add it in there.

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

Glad you like them!

[@bigpicturegains]

What I’ve been doing is keeping my protein intake consistently high, and cutting out food items little by little over weeks and months. Doing so slowly allows the body to adjust better to a new food level and not shock the body, potentially having some unwanted side effects. Fats are the first to go, but still keeping some fatty foods to ensure I don’t starve myself of them. Then you can cut carbs bit by bit and watch yourself lean out. A key rule is to never get to a point where I feel I can’t get my workout in. It’s a must to train while cutting to ensure you aren’t losing muscle. If you get to a point of zero energy, and you’ll know when it hits, feed yourself well for a couple weeks without worry to get the energy back up, then you can go back to your cut. ✌️

[@lanceanderson7879]

@@someguyiguess2291 hahaha

[@yaboy5228]

@@someguyiguess2291 True, yet his comment has infinitely more value than yours.

[@Moesie]

Thats me, getting from 100kg to 83 after time got easy to get a flat stomic. But showing abs at 12% thats whats hard

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

Great work losing 17 kg!

[@aemjay7225]

How tall are you? We have the same figures ! Went from 100kg to 83kg too! I'm 178cm and now trying to add some muscle mass to get rid of the tummy & love handles.

[@fake-PSL]

Most people show abs at 15%

[@subskrybcjibezzadnegofilmu]

For me it's "easy" to get ABS, but its hard to keep it long time. Thats why always during winter i don't have it and i back to in Fab/Mar again.

[@momentumstocks3493]

Flat stomach is good enough IMHO. Especially over 40.

[@user-ty6lj2dv7x]

At 52 and 15% body fat I agree it’s a mindset. The best approach imo, is to change the ‘I *CAN’T* eat that’ to ‘I *DON’T* eat that’. It then becomes a lifestyle, rather than a diet.

[@CRM1997]

I’m all honestly, staying between 18-20% body fat is an ideal range for people who still want to enjoy life. Beyond that you really need to be strict as you mentioned.

[@mrjamba4368]

I agree somewhat, but you can still enjoy your life at 12-15%. Some people can enjoy life even lower, around 10%. It depends on the personality.

[@CRM1997]

@@mrjamba4368 valid point. I was referring to the average gym bro who just doesn’t want to look like a melted soft serve.

[@mrjamba4368]

@@CRM1997 Haha, fair enough.

[@oakinwol]

Interestingly, I think there not much of a basal metabolism rate difference between 15% and 18%. If one is maintaining 18% they could probably maintain 15% without much more effort. It's getting to 15% that is the work. 18% fat is def the result of having overeaten in the past. I'm thinking that in an Era of zero food scarcity it makes no sense to carry that much fat on the body and around organs. We weren't meant to carry fat, but to store it and then lose it during lean months when there was less food. We have to engineer lean months for ourselves

[@oosik411]

Biggest problem for me at 15% hunger cues are high and energy levels are low, quality of life isn’t there like 18-20%. Maybe I need to adapt lower levels longer.

[@geraldfriend256]

That's the reality.Those last few pounds are just hell.The juice ain't worth the squeeze unless you're an athlete or influencer.

[@oakinwol]

Are you eating fat and protein? I feel like the biggest issue is carbs, and just getting enough steps. If you're just maintaining then it should be easier unless you shot your metabolism to get down there. If so then you'll have to reverse diet up a bit and get down there by fasting rather than by caloric restriction. Apparently regular caloric restriction plus exercise is the real metabolism killer. Short fasts don't do that tho, like 24-48. Especially if you hit the fast already in keto

[@ocelot15]

Very inspiring video. Gotta watch it again after Christmas ;)

[@bx3556]

I'm trying to think back to the times where my diets were most successful, and it was when I felt the most suffering.

[@benjaminsitaud9743]

Great content Mario. Really.

[@chibixleon]

Watching your videos is like going through some sort of fitness therapy. So many nuggets of wisdom and you call out in a nice way, a lot of short comings and challenges people face relating to getting healthier. The ending especially really struck a chord with me.. Thanks so much for all your work. Liked and subscribed.

[@daytns]

I can’t wait to get to a lower body fat and see my abs! I’m at around 20% or so and I’m losing around 2 lbs per week. Can’t wait to reach the goal!

[@ozgurertenoglu]

What's your status

[@daytns]

@@ozgurertenoglu started at 205, currently at 182, goal weight is around 170

[@ozgurertenoglu]

@@daytns 👏🏻

[@aarav6228]

Bro what’s the status

[@myhonorwasloyalty]

@@daytns you got it?

[@mikepugliese1670]

Never in my life have I been called out like this

[@user-cz7oe2ez4y]

I'm at about 18-22% body fat and are 6 weeks into my cut after another 4 weeks l will lose about 4kg, I'm hoping I'll lose my man-boobs, love handles and all the belly fat. You don't need to wish me luck because I know I'll get there, its just a matter of time.

[@TheUndertaker2408]

Good luck bri

[@i9avici7a5]

Wow - this video was perfect timing. Great content and explanations. I think I need to journal what I’m eating everyday and yes to lose weight, it can just be blind, it needs to have a plan!

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MagnusStormfist]

I made this era, after a bulk i would lose weight easily during the first few weeks because I did not want to eat then I got into a habit where I loosely tracked things and that made weight loss a lot harder. Just track and write it down, that is the most full proof way of knowing what goes into your mouth.

[@kabirsinghkalsi]

Definitely one of the best fitness KZbinr of all time ❤

[@craigyeoman5554]

Honestly this is the best video ever I’m going to write it all down on paper and look at it every morning

[@vincentquaglini2332]

I feel so sorry for you guys still on calorie restriction. Started fasting, getting shredded still having an amazing social life with alcohol. If you want a last cut, go for a 48 and a 72 in your week and you shred and get away with murder the other days.

[@Katsuargi]

Been maintaining a 400-600 calorie deficit for 4 months now, and daily exercise for 6. Tape measure tests had me at 13.5% for about a month, which had me confused because I looked a bit thicker in the mid and wasn't showing any abs which I thought I should be. Finally got a pair of calipers to double check, and I was actually at about 16.5 (give or take user error.) Turns out I store a lot more fat in my hips and thighs than the tape measure calcs take into account for men (which I should have guessed just by looking at myself), so the 3 point caliper test caught that for me. Keeping daily track of my intake and rate of loss over a long timer period has helped me pin down my actual metabolism, which helps quite a bit in planning my daily intake. Even with moderate exercise daily I'm at about 1800 metabolism, which seems fairly low for a 6'3 guy I'd think, but it is what it is. Depending on where my body is actually genetically programed to pull fat from, I should finally start showing my abdominals in about 5-6 weeks.

[@_the_rizzler]

18-22% lol, I'm just tryna get below 200lbs rn. I'm actually doing decent. I've lost about 5lbs in 3 weeks and I'm sleeping better

[@vectorm3832]

I can plan out everyth8mg I need but I can’t handle the hunger I feel after eating these “healthy foods” They just don’t keep me full.

[@nexuslockhart]

I think the real reason is that low body fat is not a healthy state. The human body needs fat, so the body tries to maintain a certain amount of fat in the body.

[@momentumstocks3493]

Man only at less than 8% which virtually no one is at.

[@ProjectLDV]

No western people are raised on high calorie garbage and live lives that have no physical activity at all. It’s a culture issue not a biological one.

[@jaredpatterson1701]

You're alright with me man😂 "a couple tablespoons of oil" I died 😂💀 that's exactly what gets it!

[@Tk-nx5pg]

Interested if you can share your thought on the practical lowest fat percentage without tracking calories. Understand that experience plays a big role here. In the long run, tracking food intake is extremely hard, at least for me

[@cezarandrici5565]

Remember that if you don't track your calories, you can even gain weight!

[@oakinwol]

As long as you're weighing yourself, if you add fasting to your diet then you can get away with not tracking much. Depending on where you want to be set at is where you would add fasting and also a handful of no carb meals a week. That would help

[@DragosStanciu123]

Thanks for your content, really encouraging. I know it's unsolicited advice but, on the leg press, be careful with going less than 90 degrees at the knees as twisting your pelvis can put a lot of force on your lower back with a potential result in injury. Saw it in one of Coach Greg's videos. Have a nice day!

[@johnadams1976]

Great timing. I'm in the gym

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

Let's get it!

[@rupendersharma8631]

Great it's 12 AM here

[@bayard1332]

This is exactly my situation... stuck @ 18%... my cheats are to eat my maintenance calories for the day, not to have carbs..., I reckon some tuning of the diet is in order... but how to get it right at this time is a bit of a mystery to me... thanks for the motivational talk.

[@kittenluvzu]

if you seriously eat 0 carbs you'd better do yourself a favor and do a bone scan ASAP.

[@ForceHunter1]

I notice this too. One and half a year ago I was at 36%. Now, despite lockdowns in that period I am at 20%. My goal is to get to 12% and after go between 12-18% as I think 15% will look best. I did notice less motivation over time as I already made good results so you get sloppy. Now focus is back on! On to 15% first.

[@cysecgnz]

I’m stuck at ~34%

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

This will definitely help. Let's get it!

[@Andrushe4kanka]

I stuck in this range just because I don’t want to loose weight before I gain enough muscle

[@uncreativename9936]

I've found one way to compensate for slip ups is intermittent fasting. For example if I wind up eating tex-mex due to social obligations, I'll usually skip breakfeast the next day and eat a lighter lunch than I normally would. Also it should be said snacking should be completely eliminated, even if it's healthy. It disrupts the cycle of your body using food versus stored energy.

[@kungfuman82]

Yup. Weekly caloric balance means more than the daily caloric balance, within reason.

[@miriamsvenke1841]

Thank you for this video! And I love all the comments I literally learn so much from reading through this comment section! I’m at 18% now and I thought as long as I was in a calorie deficit I would lean out, but I’m definitely going to pay more attention to my macros and lower my fat intake as well as my carbs. Maybe that will help me reach 15%.

[@MichaelMa]

It's true. Been stuck at 18-19% for more than 6 months but I work out 10 hours a week. But on the weekend, it's daddy and daughter day which usually involves cheat meals.

[@eliasekstrom6660]

you should get rid of that girl if you want to attain your goal

[@cypher_dh]

@@eliasekstrom6660 most brainless comment on the internet 🏆

[@eliasekstrom6660]

@@cypher_dh Thank you. I was totaly serious so do not take it as a joke. Btw i will report your comment for racialism

[@cypher_dh]

@@eliasekstrom6660 Ok softie.

[@ZephyrRestorations]

Cheat meals and cheat days didn't work for me. It was enough calories to cancel the deficit I worked all week on. If you want 10% - 12%, it's 24 x 7.

[@SaidWLYT]

Hard agree on the inconsistency snowball effect. I have a coach now and we are getting good weight and body fat results. I am also extremely consistant and disciplined. I just need patience with the results and make a permanent lifestyle choices and not slip up.

[@zeusdarkgod7727]

I have been eating the exact same meal every day for two years now, 1875 cal, two cups of black coffee in the morning and 1 bottle of green tea b4 lunch then switch to water eat my OMAD at 8pm bed by 10. I have let my workout slip in the past, once for an entire year but my diet is my habit that I've never dropped the ball on.

[@mikafoxx2717]

That's impressive. What's the meal?

[@sonnylam7904]

Many guys start at 15-20% before they start training seriously and many just want to get big so they eat at a surplus but not knowing they are atleast 15% which at that point you just get more fat deposits in your body compared to being at 10-12% starting point. There is also a mental taboo that guys feel that when they lose weight they lose everything including their mass and muscles so they're constantly bulking when the key is a caloric deficit to shed the fat and THEN start a fresh clean bulk.

[@momentumstocks3493]

when i hear fat people saying they are a bulk I shake my head.

[@austecon6818]

This is my strategy now... Had 6 months off training because all the gyms are closed for covid (New Zealand is absolutely crazy - I hate our prime minister so goddamned much I can't even describe it). Did an initial 2 weeks of conditioning with 100 press ups per day and 30 pull ups per day and a few 30 min runs on maintenance calories to quickly get some muscles back... Now I am cutting from around 80kg (17% body fat) down to around 72-73kg (ideally around 10% body fat) whilst trying to increase the press ups to 100-200 per day depending how I feel each day and will add in 100 squats every second day too... Nothing crazy but at least it's something to stimulate the muscle a bit to stay... THEN AND ONLY THEN can I start the lean bulk with an actual 5x5 strength training program when my home gym equipment all arrives. I should get pretty good noob gains because I was doing 5x5 6 months ago for about 6 months so muscle memory will no doubt kick in.. :)

[@JasonVaysberg]

I am able to create a calorie deficit and lose weight just fine. My issue is that I feel like I lose muscle and lean body mass. I’ve tried a high protein diet, but to get a calorie deficit, I cut carbs very low and then I’m just tired all the time and my NEAT sinks. Idk, not trying to complain. Just struggling to get past like 18% body fat.

[@jstorey6226]

I thought i was good but, results didn’t come till I got a coach than I started crushing it , now I’m at 15% trying to get to 12%

[@everready2903]

I never count calories because we can never know our dailycalorie output. I do OMAD though and tweak the carbs downwards if I want to get leaner. And just go by the mirror.

[@momentumstocks3493]

Just measure your waist. 100% proof there

[@garysimpson7326]

I just bought a FitBit and this is helping me get better numbers for the calories that I am burning and it makes tracking my food intake more simple.

[@far3467]

Nice work Mario, subs increasing nicely too👍

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

Thank you!

[@genoc3803]

Too many people put in hard work getting to the 18-22 range then convince themselves they need a “short” diet break before going all the way. Even when fat loss hasn’t plateaued. How many of those people do you think actually got back on track?

[@rockybalboa8378]

Yes, definitely for me I realize I'm not a professional at this stuff. Like youtube vids because I only pay for internet also doing roku. downsized

[@momentumstocks3493]

Yeah so hard to lose yet so easy to put on 2lb loss= GIGANTIC effort 2lb gain = EASY as eating cake!

[@austecon6818]

100%. If you are going to bother going on a diet (and sometimes feeling hungry). Then for god's sake just weight all your food down to the gram and actually MEASURE YOUR CALORIES ACCURATELY. It beats the hell out of wasting 12 weeks of no progress. And if you successfully lose 0.5kg per week for 12 weeks that is 6kg! That is epic progress. For an 80kg man with decent muscle mass that is enough to get beach lean in just 12 weeks.

[@DantesInferno96]

The issue I have is at my current weight of 77kg and 6ft height if I cut more calories I feel like I'm hungry constantly and my lifting strength in the gym reduces drastically. I want to get shredded

[@carlanthonyholmes2162]

Remember also that your metabolism will adjust and slow down to compensate for the lack of calories. IF is beneficial as it will keep insulin levels down and your body will have more time to digest and convert the food to muscle/ energy.

[@Christianlvm22]

this channel is gold

[@suisinghoraceho2403]

Denial and mental dissonance is one thing, there is also no deny that tracking and accountability is difficult if you have kids and eat with your family. Kids inevitably want crappy food as well as variety. Your significant other half is going to prioritise those food. And as a dad, can you refuse to clear leftovers? It also gets wired when daddy is weighing all his meals. What you can do, is to improve the overall food quality your family consumes. I am currently on a project to reduce refined grains and frying for my family. Once you get there, you can learn to pay more attention to your body’s demand. There is a book called “the endurance diet”. Well worth a read.

[@greenarrow219]

I'm that guy, lost a lot of weight but still got that soft tummy look. Just can't get trim across my lower belly, very frustrating.

[@videogazer801]

@@maalikfazal1406 wait a minute, why would he need to cut out porn? Doesn’t make any sense

[@geno5169]

I don’t drink any soda I cut that year’s ago. I try to cut my surgery. I love my coffee from Starbucks.i used almond milk

[@momentumstocks3493]

A lot of it comes down to culture, family/work as well. Imagine a burley builder telling his co -workers he is cutting down on fats? Or telling your parents you will skip the weekend get together as it is far too unhealthy? Not easy

[@regmemer9198]

Made me laugh, I went in a bod pod yesterday morning (day this video was posted) and came out at 17.4%. Joke's on you, Mario! Joking aside, you're spot on. A part of it as well is that people, like me, did not build up enough lean muscle mass so we look skinny fat at, say, 18%. Then the panic sets in and you start mini bulking then mini cutting and you end up in this 18-22% cycle. Nothing wrong with 18% bodyfat, but I imagine most people have goals of at least 15%, if not 10-12%.

[@Andrushe4kanka]

I don’t want to get lean before I make significant progress in strength. You just can’t get lean and gain muscle at the same time.

[@fattuglee]

Great video. Hurts to hear the hard truth!!

[@greenrobot5]

Whenever I get into a deficit to lose fat I wind up losing muscle

[@momentumstocks3493]

if you lift weights you will not.

[@stevenm.6886]

For the life of me I can’t understand why? Are you competing in a contest? Then why? Workout , eat good . Live

[@deioped]

Not everyone likes food as much as we do. Some people like seeing abs more than eating good.

[@herbertvonsauerkrautunterh2513]

I'm not trying to get to 10% body fat.. I'm nowhere near that and I always get negative comments from everyone I know.. blah blah.. "your too skinny", "are you anorexic?"... 15% is good enough... I'm at about 25% now and stick at around 83kg.. I need to be 76-78 kg..lol

[@hrvojestilin6256]

F the jelaous people

[@mcfarvo]

Yeah, the average man can be a healthy 18%BF with their lifestyle dials/toggles set to the moderate difficulty level, but if you want to get to 10-12%BF, you must adjust those dials/toggles to moderate-high to high difficulty for all aspects (diet, training, rest/recovery, etc.). If you have your best life at 16-20%BF, then that's fine too! If your goal is 10-15% or exotically lean like 5-9%BF, then you must engineer your life into one that produces that result.

[@mcfarvo]

Addendum: for some people, their appetites are so slight/tightly regulated naturally, that they can much more easily have their lifestyle dials/toggles set to give lower BF% with less perceived effort. This is how it is for me with alcohol/tobacco/drugs, I never have been tempted to use them and have no desire to, even after trying both alcohol and tobacco products, I have absolutely no attraction to them and so it's easy for me to not drink/smoke at all. For some people, this is how it is for them with eating/not overeating or their food reward response in their brains too for hyper-palatable/low-satiating/bliss/junk foods.

[@Leo-vy9bk]

I’m 17, 5’10, 145 pounds… I’ve have been trying to get “shredded” but I have been stuck at 18% body fat like wtf I’ve been doing this for a year and nothing…

[@joey.a3803]

Before starting a calorie deficit you should make sure your bmr is at least 2500 cal my problem was that my bmr is low and I couldn’t lose enogh weight before plateaue happens, it’s weird that not a lot of people talk about this, maybe I’m wrong.

[@olympic-gradelurker]

As a woman I could only dream of getting stuck in the 18-22% bf range.

[@johnpathway8581]

That’s a very low body fat range for a female though - equivalent to approx 8-13% for a male so would be considered very lean indeed.

[@williamalvarez9563]

I agree, it's a little frustrating but each individual must find out what works for them, I remember at a point I started cutting on a lot of things like added sugar (only went for sweets like once a week) cut butter, ketchup, mayonnaise, ate only subway's sub...for while(it didn't work for me and it wasn't long before they all taste the same to me no matter what I did). I was still quite chubby, the last item that I remove from my menu that actually made the difference was cornflakes and milk, once I ditched those I started to see real changes.

[@mikafoxx2717]

Trying to cut out mostly empty carbs like sugar and highly processed grains, it makes a pretty good difference

[@kps.77]

If it take 3,500 calories over maintenance to gain 1lb fat, I was wondering, once you get down to say 18%, is it reasonably easy to stay there?

[@TheNordicHunter]

Been catching up on your videos. Loving the semi-subliminal way of getting people to hit that like button. 😂

[@BasketBall-NewsCast]

As far as I am concerned I am following a program since 8 Months with a coach, tracking my macros... I lost nearly 40kg, move from 35% BF to 18/19% and I am really struggling to go closer to 15% despite calories deficit, active, work out, not a single cheat meal since 6 Months... so basically thanks for the advice but I did not learn anything on this video

[@joeplem5329]

I have been maintaining 135lbs for quite some time and that includes about 3-4 mountain dews per day. I have now cut down to half that...

[@AudioJunkie79]

I have been stuck at 18-20% for years. I am currently 43. I track everything. All my meals are cooked at home. I weigh and measure everything. All the meals are measured to the gram. When cutting I won’t have any cheat meals. I have tried adding in 24hour fasts as well. I have tried high carb low fat with proper protein. So 45% carbs 20% fats and the 35% protein. Carbs come from sweet potatoes with nothing on them, oats, veggies and fruit. Fats are from eggs a little bit of butter and fats in pork which is my main protein. I have tried high fat low carb. Just reverse the carb and fat macro numbers. Using an in body scanner I have consistently gained muscle but my body fat fluctuates around 18-20% no matter what I do. Maintenance calories for my workout routine, which is 6days a week is 3200 calories. When trying to cut I consistently eat around 2650 calories. I have tried this calorie intake for 30days then 60days. After 30 days my weight stalls every time. My recent experiment at 2600cals per day with 24hour fasts one day a week I gained weight and gained fat. That was 30days. No cheat meals and everything weighed and measured. To say it is frustrating is an understatement. I also don’t drink at all. No coffee or caffeine either.

[@Steve-mq9zl]

Appreciate this is 6 months old but how tall are you!!! My BMR is 1850 and I'm 6 feet 18% body fat. That being said I am trying to fight through the 18% barrier, been on carnivore diet for 3 weeks now to try something different. Dropped 1% body fat and the eye test is good.

[@AudioJunkie79]

@@Steve-mq9zl 5’9” my BMR is around 2k calories. For some people it must be easy to get lean. I feel I have tried everything and it just won’t happen. Lowest I ever got was 17%.

[@MonkeyBarsEveryday]

I have my deficit calculated and I have a plan for each incoming plateau. 😄

[@YouAreNotFree1]

Coach Greg should offer a body fat analysis service using his laser eyes for $99 based upon pics. He'd make a killing😄

[@WereFz]

At the end of the day what matters is calories defecit, not macros

[@momentumstocks3493]

True but one slice of chocalte cake -= 500 calories. 1 tin of tuna = 100 calories. Which is easier? Sadly, the rule is the nicer the food the worse it is for you...@-(

[@gabrielrosales7559]

I’m just frustrated that after getting to this position of my fitness, that I have to go even harder on tracking in order to further my fitness goals. I’m just so tired of it already. And it summer of all times. After I finally felt okay being in my body, I feel even worse now for some reason idk.

[@papafituae]

I'm a classic 18 % and stop guy haha

[@davidsimons5764]

its my diet and quitting when it gets a little uncomfortable

[@woodbyte]

For me it's been rather straightforward so far. If I don't feel a bit hungry at least once a day, I'm likely not losing any fat. Or nothing I can measure week to week, anyway. My hunger level appears to be a reliable indicator of the daily caloric deficit, perhaps due to consistently eating clean without cheat days? Not sure, but I'm glad this is the case. Really hate micromanaging intakes.

[@momentumstocks3493]

i did one a meal a day last year for a month....Man it was painful in the first week but yeah in a weird way I got to like the pain as i imagined the fat being attacked. It got easier and easier as time went by.

[@momentumstocks3493]

I hate eating small meals....I end up eating more for sure.

[@woodbyte]

@@momentumstocks3493 Yeah, I was raised eating many small meals throughout the day but I can see now that it was not a good fit. It just made me progressively lose track of hunger feedback and overeating more and more over time. Now I eat 2 big meals a day (lunch and dinner) with no snacking in between and feel much better. I also try to go for at least 16h separation between dinner and lunch everyday to improve my body's willingness to tap into fat reserves without complaining/hunger, though it can sometimes be hard to keep to that goal depending on when I do my workouts. They stimulate hunger for me quite severely. When I first changed to this diet I also had a bit of discomfort for the first 3 weeks, but its been clear sailing ever since. Also, I tried one meal a day when I was younger and it worked at what I was going for (losing weight fast) but I did not enjoy getting stuffed and looking back I was probably not hitting any macros on most days. OK for a few weeks I guess, but I doubt I could ever sustain such a diet indefinitely without health repercussions.

[@vedantkaran1853]

Great video as always 👍

[@Dragnmastralex]

it really sucks in todays society because the only way to eat healthy in modern days is to eat at home. there is no places you can eat out or premade foods you can buy that are healthy. this means you spend half your life working out and the other half preparing meals when your not at work or sleeping. living fit is hard work and you get very little reward for it.

[@momentumstocks3493]

Eating out is a killer and real eye opener. Some of those meals are over 3,000 calories

[@ZephyrRestorations]

I think most people are just guessing their body fat percentage anyway. I relied on a Repho smart scale and it was 3.5% off from the dexa scan.

[@Ninnoization]

Rounding up helped me greatly.... An egg is 78? No its now 100, chicken breast 145? no 150. but i eat mostly salad... energy drinks are my downfall -_-

[@robedwards6926]

I'm stuck right now. Just cut my calories again. Hard to be patient and stay motivated.

[@meregaming1770]

Why is it an issue? Because life is stressful and consistency is hard.

[@geno5169]

Mario I eat out once out on weekends. So I eat 3 to 4 eggs with my oatmeal avocado 🥑 on my eggs. Everyday. I’m not sure if I’m not eating enough protein or eggs . Too get lean. I weigh 164. My height 6.1

[@timschildermans]

I think the number 1 reason why guys can't get this is the lack of dedication. You need control of you're diet, but everyone is to lazy, or love bad food to much, and they drift off again.

[@ace455442]

That's where I'm at.....the video I needed!!!!

[@MrQhuin]

The problem with having that physics is you always feel hungry in the whole fkng day.

[@rogerfvb]

Keeping track of everything in the diet is easier than it seems. I've been keeping track of carbs and protein for over 8 months now, I think. This month I just started keeping track of calories too (because my carb sources can vary and I'm getting deeper into a cutting phase now, I need more granular info). It works fantastic and it's so easy and fast to add everything up on my phone's notepad. I also started weighing myself daily to check if I'm losing weight too fast or too slow (don't wanna lose any muscle, slow cutting is the best). And when you factor in that having cheat days is GOOD for cutting (it reboots your ability to burn fat if you stagnate), you get motivated to keep cutting. No need to suffer. We can all get lean and still enjoy some sweets once a week. Hell, I even drink alcohol often and it's been no problem. As long as I'm training hard almost every day and doing plenty of weekly cardio.

[@chipster3394]

Use MyFitnessPal. Lol notepad what a waste of time