Q: In reference to Question 82. I want to improve my physique so that I have a chiseled look around the neck and jaw area. I noticed that people in really good shape you can see very clearly the outline of the edge of their jaw.do you know what I mean? I dont know what Body composition I would need to get that look but that is my goal.

A: I would say that in general you'll need to get down to somewhere around 10-12% body fat for that look. 10% BF is also the typical body composition for seeing all of your six-pack, though again it can vary both up and down for some.

At 6 feet 200 pounds, even with heavy bones, you definitely have room to safely lose some fat, say down to 180 pounds. If you are at 19% body fat, it means you have around 38 pounds of body fat now. If all 20 pound that you lose dropping to 180 are fat, then you you'd end up with just 10% body fat! It's more likely to be something like 15 pounds fat and 5 pounds muscle, but even that would give you 13% body fat and you would be very close to your goal. At that point you can reevaluate your progress and decide whether to continue to lose fat or try to bulk up with a little muscle (which would make future fat loss easier).

Therefore I recommend a fat-burning diet with a goal of losing about one pound per week (slow weight loss ensures true fat loss as opposed to muscle loss), combined with a good weight-training program, combined with some light cardio (optional). Read the weight training and nutrition articles in the Articles section of this website. The weight training articles gives several sample programs to follow -- pick any one that appeals to your the most ('Split' ones are good). The nutrition article should give you an idea of how and what you should be eating. Then come back and ask me any questions that you're not sure of.