Body fat percentage is the amount of fat that an individual carries on his or her body. This percentage will provide you a true picture of healthy weight that your body should have based on your gender and age. Fat is necessary for a healthy individual but if the increase is beyond the normal level, it is detrimental for your overall health.
So what should be the ideal body fat percentage? If you are a woman under 40 years of age, the percentage should be 16%-28% and if you are a man under 40, it should be 5%-15%. For women over the age of 40 the percentage should be 16% – 33% and for men it is 5% – 18%. If your body fat is beyond this permissible limit, you would need to take steps to reduce it.
Excess calories in your diet plan have been found to be one of the most important reasons for accumulation of fat on your body. So it is important that you reduce the number of calories you consume on a daily basis. However you should not completely eliminate fat from your diet. You should identify foods that provide good fat (fish, nuts and olive oil) and include these in your diet, while eliminating bad fat foods from your diet.
Apart from reducing calories in your diet, you will need to burn the excess calories that are present in your body through regular exercises. Walking, running, cycling and swimming, for at least 3 days in a week, will help you burn your body fat faster.
It is important that you sleep for at least eight hours each day to reduce body fat. Lack of sleep has been found to be one of the causes of excess weight. Anxiety and stress have also been found to be contributors to fat accumulation. You can try various meditation methods like yoga and tai chi to reduce stress and relax. All these easy to follow methods will help you in reducing your body fat percentage in an effective manner.