Body Fat Percentage

[Charlie]

Hello Drs.
I have a question regarding with body fat percentage. I assume our hormone and testosterone level is a genetic thing (pretty much no way to increase them). And that is why people have different body fat percentage. If one starts at 160lbs(15% body fat), and follow his LP gained significant amount of strength and reached to 200lb body weight, when that one starts to lose weight all the way down to 160lb again, does one have a lower body fat percentage then? If yes, why? I assume lifting weights do not necessarily increase your hormone or testosterone level, therefore, your hormone is always the same, lots of people will assume by the time you are down to 160lbs again, you should carry more muscle(therefore with a lower body fat percentage), why is that?(if the assumption is true.)

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Hello Drs.
I have a question regarding with body fat percentage. I assume our hormone and testosterone level is a genetic thing (pretty much no way to increase them). And that is why people have different body fat percentage. If one starts at 160lbs(15% body fat), and follow his LP gained significant amount of strength and reached to 200lb body weight, when that one starts to lose weight all the way down to 160lb again, does one have a lower body fat percentage then? If yes, why? I assume lifting weights do not necessarily increase your hormone or testosterone level, therefore, your hormone is always the same, lots of people will assume by the time you are down to 160lbs again, you should carry more muscle(therefore with a lower body fat percentage), why is that?(if the assumption is true.)

Your assumption that "hormone and testosterone" levels are genetic things are incorrect. They are also not responsible for body fat percentage, though certainly involved

Then, you're asking if someone gains muscle mass if their body fat decreases? Yes it does, because their muscle mass increased, which is not fat...

Kind of a hard question to read, Charlie. Let's see if we can add some more nuance to this

[pressandpull]

i think he is asking if one gains weight (muscle and fat) from 160lbs at 15% bodyfat to 200lbs and then immediately go on a cut and reduce bodyweight back to 160lbs will the bodyfat percentage return at 15% or lower? assuming one uses the right protocol to bulk and cut.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

i think he is asking if one gains weight (muscle and fat) from 160lbs at 15% bodyfat to 200lbs and then immediately go on a cut and reduce bodyweight back to 160lbs will the bodyfat percentage return at 15% or lower? assuming one uses the right protocol to bulk and cut.

I don't know if that's what he is asking and that sounds like a colossal waste of time to be honest.

[GoWolfpack]

Hello Drs.
I have a question regarding with body fat percentage. I assume our hormone and testosterone level is a genetic thing (pretty much no way to increase them). And that is why people have different body fat percentage.

The good doctor can correct me if I'm mistaken, but that would only be true for untrained individuals whose body weight is relatively consistent. Anyone gaining or losing weight is either gaining or losing both fat and muscle, thereby altering their bodyfat percentage. The untrained individual whose weight is consistent has the body composition they do because of their genetics. Training is how that changes.

If one starts at 160lbs(15% body fat), and follow his LP gained significant amount of strength and reached to 200lb body weight, when that one starts to lose weight all the way down to 160lb again, does one have a lower body fat percentage then? If yes, why? I assume lifting weights do not necessarily increase your hormone or testosterone level, therefore, your hormone is always the same, lots of people will assume by the time you are down to 160lbs again, you should carry more muscle(therefore with a lower body fat percentage), why is that?(if the assumption is true.)

The most obvious answer: it depends. Primarily I think it depends on how the cut is managed; a massive reduction in calorie intake, abandoning heavy resistance training and taking up endurance cardio would result in a significant change in body composition (for the negative, in my opinion). This method of weight loss could even cause someone to end up at a higher body fat percentage than they started; your hypothetical 200 pound person could cut 40 pounds in a month but end up at 20% body fat due to the loss of muscle mass in addition to fat. If, on the other hand, your 200 pound person, continued to train with heavy weights, incorporated HIIT cardio and reduced calories only until they lost weight at a rate of 1-2 pounds per week, it's certainly conceivable they could end up at their original body weight but with less body fat.

However, I agree with Jordan that this would be a colossal waste of time and would likely result in sacrificing a significant portion of the GainZZZ_TM realized during the novice LP.

Plus, 160 pounds is too light for anybody taller than 5'2". Any full grown male walking around at 160 lbs needs to head straight for the nearest gym, then the nearest buffet, then rinse repeat for 3 to 5 months.