How I Dropped my Body Fat by 5% in Just Two Weeks
Ok, ok. You were right.
Well, at least some of you were. When I threw down the gauntlet the week before last, some of you said, “Heidi, there is no way you have 24.5% body fat!”
I admit, I was a little bit skeptical too, but I figured it could very well be possible. What the hell do I know?
Anyway, because of the determination with which I wanted to approach my goal of hitting sub 20% by my thirtieth birthday on August 23rd, I decided to go and have a my body composition tested with a method that had a better margin of error than Ye Olde Calipers. I wanted an accurate starting point for the finishing sprint to the big day.
I made an appointment to be tested with a Bod Pod at a local fitness facility. The Bod Pod works the same way a water dip test does, only it uses air instead. Unlike the lovely fitness model on that web page, I did not wear a yellow swimsuit and blue cap. I chose my favorite color scheme instead: black on black.
The trainer who administered the test warned me that caliper tests often give you a body fat percentage that is lower that your real number. “Great.” I thought, “This stupid thing is going to tell me that I am twenty-seven percent and then I’ll really be pissed.”
“Well,” I sighed, “Let’s just see what it says.” I got in, sat down, and waited as I was hermetically sealed inside and then analyzed.
And what did that weird Mork-and-Mindy pod say?
It said 19.5%.
NINETEEN POINT FIVE PERCENT, punk! You heard me right!
Booyah!
I was so freaking elated that I called Daniel The Boot Camp Guy to tell him my good news. And here is the coolest part about Daniel – he picks up his phone – always. He’s there for you. He cares about your goals. He is sincerely and genuinely excited for your life accomplishments.
Of course, I still felt like a complete tool for calling him but I couldn’t stop myself. I needed a wireless high-five and I needed it right away. I knew that Daniel, more than anyone else, would really understand how much it meant to me.
And I was right.
So consider the gauntlet picked up and ass-whooped. Now, as victory celebrations (protein drinks and chicken breast for everyone!) come to a close, I’m trying to settle on the next prize. I think it’s going to be 17% but I need to do some check-ins to make sure that’s not totally overboard.
Standby for The Gauntlet Redux, coming soon to a blog near you.
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Bonus Content!
Handy Tip for Tricking Yourself Into Drinking Enough Water:
Drink out of a cool cup. Does this sound dumb and childish? Yes. Does it work? Yes.
Does it possibly work for me because I am dumb and childish? Probably.
Here are my top three cool-cup strategies for making water more fun:
Freezer-Chilled Glass Beer Stein: I keep extremely thick glass beer mugs in my freezer. Sal uses them for beer, I use them for water. They work great for both and I love how the chilled glass keeps my water nice and cool. I can put room temperature water into it and it will cool to a perfect temp – not icy as with an ice-filled glass, but just slightly cooler than room temp.
Wine Glass: I use a big, crystal Bordeaux glass and fill it with ice. This makes me feel sneaky, like I’m getting away with something.
Crazy Straw: Hello!! Crazy straw. I do not need to explain this. Nothing is better than water that comes via the triple-loopty-loop super straw!
Go play. This is the first day of the rest of your life.
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oh, so now I know where my body fat came from . . .I’ve got yours. Just kidding! Hooray!
oh, also . . . loved the walk off. . . got to remember that!
Congrats on hitting your goal! When I drink water I sprinkle a pinch of sea salt/kosher salt into the glass for electrolytes. Then you don’t need as much water.
Yay low body fat! :-D
I have been known to shake my water with ice and strain it into a goblet. I really don’t like ice.
That’s awesome. Wait…so how did you do it? I wanna dump 5%, too…
I got measured a couple months ago at 19.1 (using one of those weird handlebar-electronic thingies) and would love to be 15 or less. Maybe I just need to take a less haphazard approach. But that approach got me from 192lbs to 171 in a few months, and it’s staying off.
LOL @ BettyC – taking your water 007-style: shaken, not stirred. :)
Ha. Ghost-Dog – you got me! That was a trick blog title, kind of. I “did it” basically by going to get a more precise measurement which revealed I was actually 5% under where I *though* I was based on calipers.
That said, I actually have lost about 5% since January. I have to tell you: it wasn’t easy. I eat super precise small meals – five per day. I shoot for a range of 50-70g of carbs, 150-200g protein (a shit ton!), and keep the fat low. I also workout with a boot camp program – 5 days per week in Jan/Feb, 3 days per week for Mar/April/May and now back to 5 days per week.
Those last few percentages are the hardest part – elite women athletes are usually somewhere in the 12-16% range (NoPo’s probably on the low end of that, just based on looking at pictures of her). Getting down that far will take continued precision.
As for you and 15% I definitely think you can do it! Just keep measuring and know that, if you find you hit a plateau with your current workouts and eating strategy, you’re going to have to shake things up a little bit.
Congrats on the 21 pound loss – DAMN!