I'm Scared and Confused!

Ok so I'm still fairly new to the weightlifting community and right now I'm extremely scared on what I should be doing right now. Here's the dilemma...

I'm extremely underweight right now. I calculated a weekly average for my weight and it came out to be 114.8. I'm also 19 years old, female, and 5' 10" so I'm pretty low on the scale.

I recently bought a fat caliper to do a body fat test but with all of the calculators out there, I've gotten results from 20%-31% body fat so I don't know where I am right now.

What I'm scared about is that if I have a really high BF% and that I'll have to cut first to get it down. This scares me since my TDEE is already pretty low and I'll have to cut my calories even further on top of the fact that I'm still new and might lose more muscle in the process.

I already got this way from falling into the whole "modeling diet" BS while I was living in New York and I don't want to have to restrict myself again.

Does anyone know what to do here?

Replies

  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    Actually, 20℅ is a BF that most women set as a long term goal (women are generally going to have more BF than men). Below that are your competition women. But you are right that you are underweight, so even if you were 30℅, it's not a good idea to lose more. I would go ahead and start your weight lifting and eat at a reasonable surplus of 300 calories. Having been on a "model" diet, I imagine learning to eat at any surplus might take time to get used too anyway.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I would argue, as a woman, the surplus should be more like 200 to minimise fat gains, given how slowly women put on muscle. But agreed, I'd definitely not run a cut. I can't imagine your BF% is as high as 30, at your weight and height you'd have to have pretty much no muscle and even then you'd be hard pushed (and dead).
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    20-30% BF is a pretty big range. You can post a picture if you are comfortable and we can help give you an estimate.. but no matter what, with your stats you are very underweight so there is really nothing to cut down to.. bulking and building your body will be in your best interest. Will it be a bit uncomfortable? Probably.. but it is well worth it in the end. Otherwise you are just going to stay the same. Follow a weight lifting program, keep the surplus small as stated above and you won't gain as much fat. Use weigh-ins, body measurements and photos to track your progress.
  • Hello_its_Dan
    Hello_its_Dan Posts: 406 Member
    Use fat to fit radios BMR calculator.
    Put in your stats as if you were your goal weight.
    Slowly increase calories to match that amount.
    When you reach your goal weight you'll ideally already be eating at maintenance.
  • TayTayDrenDren
    TayTayDrenDren Posts: 65 Member
    How do you guys post pictures on here? I don't see an attachment button anywhere.
  • Hello_its_Dan
    Hello_its_Dan Posts: 406 Member
    edited February 2017
    How do you guys post pictures on here? I don't see an attachment button anywhere.

    Use [ IMG ] tags to insert photos from websites.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    On top of the reply box is a camera icon. Click on that to add a photo
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    edited February 2017
    If you are on a computer, there is a little folded paper icon, from the app there is a camera icon where you can choose a file or enter a URL.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    I don't think you can do that on the app- at least, I can't post pics with my android phone.
    It's entirely possible to be underweight and still have a highish body fat percentage. When I started here I was at the low end of ideal weight for my height,though strictly speaking not underweight,but I could see from pics that I had quite a high percentage of body fat. I've been eating at a surplus to gain weight and started a lifting programme. I have gained weight and the chances are that,being a 61 year old female,a lot of it is fat but like you I wasn't comfortable with losing weight and you certainly don't need to.
    I'd say start lifting first and worry later about losing fat. Do what feels comfortable for you right now.
  • SierraFatToSkinny
    SierraFatToSkinny Posts: 463 Member
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  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    I don't get the camera icon on mine.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,372 MFP Moderator
    Ok so I'm still fairly new to the weightlifting community and right now I'm extremely scared on what I should be doing right now. Here's the dilemma...

    I'm extremely underweight right now. I calculated a weekly average for my weight and it came out to be 114.8. I'm also 19 years old, female, and 5' 10" so I'm pretty low on the scale.

    I recently bought a fat caliper to do a body fat test but with all of the calculators out there, I've gotten results from 20%-31% body fat so I don't know where I am right now.

    What I'm scared about is that if I have a really high BF% and that I'll have to cut first to get it down. This scares me since my TDEE is already pretty low and I'll have to cut my calories even further on top of the fact that I'm still new and might lose more muscle in the process.

    I already got this way from falling into the whole "modeling diet" BS while I was living in New York and I don't want to have to restrict myself again.

    Does anyone know what to do here?

    First, 20% is a good range. In fact, it would be lower than most women would see. Also, the reason you have some body fat issues, is due to your lack of lean body mass. It's very common in many women that I have seen underweight. The solution is to gain more muscle to help fill out your body and cycle between bulking/cutting until you get to a normal weight range. Here is a bit more of an extreme case, but it demonstrates the point of adding 10-20 lbs can do.

    https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    I would agree with some of the others. Start lifting and gaining now, you can worry about fat loss later. In cases like yours ("skinny fat") losing body fat first on an already small frame rarely leads to good aesthetic results and wastes quite a bit of time.

    A calorie surplus should be in effect with 150-200 calories maximum extra to minimize fat gains.
  • TayTayDrenDren
    TayTayDrenDren Posts: 65 Member
    Well a bit of an update...ok found out that I was using my fat calipers wrong and was using the wrong point to measure. I over measured so I can breath there at least. lol
  • jaymie_x0
    jaymie_x0 Posts: 265 Member
    5'10 & 114....I'm the same height & 114 is scary skinny for our height