Body Fat or BMI?

jlturner386

I know everyone has there own opinions, but I want them all.....So I had my body fat measured and its 36%.....I'm 195lbs, of which 124.5lbs is lean body mass....I am only 5'2" And according to BMI charts a healthy weight for my height is NO MORE than 135.......so you can see my predicament......should i try to lose lean body weight, i.e. muscle tone on purpose? What should my goal weight be? Help!!!

segacs

Both methods have their pros and cons.

BMI is easy and is a decent indication of whether or not you're in a healthy weight range. But it's often inaccurate for very muscular people like athletes, who will be perfectly healthy even at a higher BMI.

Body fat percentage is technically a better gauge... you want to aim to get down to the healthy 20-25% range. BUT... body fat is notoriously hard to measure. Methods like body fat scales, calipers and formulas are little better than guesswork, and even more expensive methods like Dexa or BodPod are of somewhat questionable accuracy.

I'd say go with a little of column A, a little of column B, and a healthy dose of "this just feels right and comfortable for me".

Hollisamara

Your goal weight should be whatever you feel comfortable and happy at. BMI isn't particularly accurate as it doesn't take other things into consideration like muscle and water weight.

SezxyStef

both...neither.

BMI is an antiquated calculation. BF% is not the end all be all.

But you can lower both by losing weight and maintaining LBM (Lean body mass) while you lose fat...by not being in to big of a deficit, eating enough protein and doing some form of resistance training or weight lifting.

In 60lbs I haven't lost much muscle...I started at about 121lbs of LBM and down to about 113lbs...so that is 1lb of muscle for every 10lbs of fat...which imo is pretty good.

Emilia777

That doesn’t sound quite right. How did you get the BF%? A lot of measures aren’t accurate. Also, the BMI is notoriously inappropriate for people that have a lot of muscle mass.

If you were 135 and maintained 124.5lbs of LBM, you’d be at 7.8% body fat… which is barely even possible as a woman. Look at this website to get an idea of body fat levels.

What I’d suggest you do is start losing weight at a healthy rate (i.e. not overly aggressive) and do strength training to maintain as much LBM as possible. As you start losing fat, you might get a clearer idea of what would be a suitable goal weight for you.

jemhh

I used BMI only to determine a general range to aim for. Once I got to the top of that range, I switched my goal to something based more on what I see in the mirror.

I have absolutely no idea what my LBM was to start with. I am sure that I lost some along the way because it is nearly impossible to lose a lot of weight and not lose any LBM at all. My suggestion for you is to focus on maximizing your fat loss and minimizing your LBM loss by eating at a sensible caloric deficit (this means don't plan on losing 2 lbs a week), eating plenty of protein, and lifting weights. Don't let minutiae like BMI vs BF% cloud your thinking right now.

nosebag1212

5'2'' female with 124 lbs lean bodymass? sceptical hippo.jpg

Celestina_Loving

Getting your body fat to a healthy percentage is what's important. BMI is a general guideline at best, there is a lot it doesn't account for, like frame size or muscle mass. Just don't fall into the whole "well I'm big boned and carry a lot of muscle" mentality that a lot of women convince themselves of.

Hornsby

At your current weight, I would say BMI. That gives you a general guideline to go for. Once you get there, you can focus on nailing down the specifics.

jlturner386

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

Liftng4Lis

jlturner386 wrote: »

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

Awesome motivation. Prove him wrong!

lemurcat12

How was it measured? Lots of those are inaccurate and I also find 124 lbs of LBM unlikely unless perhaps you have a bodybuilding history. (Mine is about 95 lb @ 5'3.)

But that aside, it's too soon to worry about it. Lose weight, and you will lose LBM no matter what, although I'd still do what you can (eat adequate protein, do some weight training) to preserve muscle mass. When you get closer to goal you can assess again and figure out your goal weight.

Emilia777

^^ Mhm, what they said. I wouldn’t worry about that too much at this point. Get started on your goals, and things will shape up as you go along!

segacs

jlturner386 wrote: »

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

Bro-science.

Trainers and competitive bodybuilders aren't scientifically proven to be any more accurate with calipers than anyone else. They just think they are.

Mr_Knight

The reality is at your weight, it doesn't matter whether your choose BF% or BMI, both numbers need to come down, a lot. Pick whichever one you prefer. Eventually, you'll get to a point where it might matter, but that's months away, no need to worry about it now.

Good luck!

:drinker:

PS Your BF% number is most likely higher than that.

Sarasmaintaining

Hornsby wrote: »

At your current weight, I would say BMI. That gives you a general guideline to go for. Once you get there, you can focus on nailing down the specifics.

This. I used BMI as my guide while I was in active weight loss and now that I'm in maintenance I go more by my bf% and then I still keep an eye on BMI, because I'm at the low end of the healthy range and need to make sure I don't dip below that.

Hornsby

jlturner386 wrote: »

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

Calipers are pretty dicey and rely heavily on the skill of the person taking the measurements. I wouldn't put too much faith in those numbers. Just focus on dropping the lbs right now. There is a long road ahead and no need to complicate it right now with something that really doesn't matter at this point.

Just my opinion.

Sarasmaintaining

jlturner386 wrote: »

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

That makes no sense-as you lose weight your bmi will go down. At some point it will enter the normal/healthy range. Is he telling you that you won't lose weight? If you get your weight down to to 134lbs, you'll be at the high point of a normal/healthy bmi. That's a 61lb loss and is very doable. That guy is full of woo

cwolfman13

Hornsby wrote: »

At your current weight, I would say BMI. That gives you a general guideline to go for. Once you get there, you can focus on nailing down the specifics.

OP...you're over thinking things at this stage of the game. Just lose weight at a reasonable rate...get plenty of protein...do some resistance work...lose weight, and win. As you lean out, the rest will fall into place. And no...there is no reason to burn up a bunch of lean mass.

Also, I'm 190 Lbs and around 15% BF...at my height, I'm overweight by BMI standards (high end is 175) but I'm at a perfectly healthy BF%. I would be unable to maintain a BF% low enough to be at a "healthy BMI". I'm not too worried about it given that the health implications of being overweight are largely attributable to fat mass, not lean mass.

jlturner386

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

jlturner386 wrote: »

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

That makes no sense-as you lose weight your bmi will go down. At some point it will enter the normal/healthy range. Is he telling you that you won't lose weight? If you get your weight down to to 134lbs, you'll be at the high point of a normal/healthy bmi. That's a 61lb loss and is very doable. That guy is full of woo

He didnt mean i wouldnt lose weight, he meant with my body composition i will always read high on the BMI chart. He told me that my goal should be to not lose any or very little LBM bc its really hard to gain it back.....so focus on high protein diet/weight lifting etc.....

esjones12

jlturner386 wrote: »

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

Fire him and then prove him wrong. Your lean mass will go down as you lose weight. You won't be able to retain it all.

I am 5'8 and started at age 21, 228lbs with 38% bf and 141lbs lean mass. My BMI was 34.7.

I am now 24 and 187lbs (-40lbs), with 30% bf and 130lbs lean mass. My BMI is 30. I am no longer obese, just overweight! I am way, way stronger than I used to be and way more fit. View a progress chart of me here: http://www.pushinglimitsocr.com/progress.html

What you need to do is focus on eating at a deficit and not set an end all be all goal weight or bf% or anything else. Just keep focused on making yourself better all around each and every day. Right now you need to focus on creating healthy daily habits to get towards a healthier you

Best of luck!!!

Sarasmaintaining

jlturner386 wrote: »

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

jlturner386 wrote: »

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

That makes no sense-as you lose weight your bmi will go down. At some point it will enter the normal/healthy range. Is he telling you that you won't lose weight? If you get your weight down to to 134lbs, you'll be at the high point of a normal/healthy bmi. That's a 61lb loss and is very doable. That guy is full of woo

He didnt mean i wouldnt lose weight, he meant with my body composition i will always read high on the BMI chart. He told me that my goal should be to not lose any or very little LBM bc its really hard to gain it back.....so focus on high protein diet/weight lifting etc.....

Yeah, he's full of woo

annaskiski

My doctor told me that BMI is not useful for anyone athletic. Many athletes have BMIs in the obese range, due to muscle mass.

Body fat percentage is a more accurate picture of your body comp, though this is more complicated to measure yourself. The solution is to pick a method (whether scale, caliper, etc) and then watch the trend. The actual number is less important than the fact that it is decreasing.

DebzNuDa

Hornsby wrote: »

jlturner386 wrote: »

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

Calipers are pretty dicey and rely heavily on the skill of the person taking the measurements. I wouldn't put too much faith in those numbers. Just focus on dropping the lbs right now. There is a long road ahead and no need to complicate it right now with something that really doesn't matter at this point.

Just my opinion.

^^This

Zedeff

BMI is the greatest example of special snowflake syndrome. It's applicable to the overwhelming majority of individuals, but anyone who's overweight likes to whine about its inaccuracies as if they are elite athletes.

BMI is a proven metric which in medical research is linked to health. It's the Gold standard.

Packerjohn

segacs wrote: »

jlturner386 wrote: »

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

Bro-science.

Trainers and competitive bodybuilders aren't scientifically proven to be any more accurate with calipers than anyone else. They just think they are.

^ This.

lemurcat12

jlturner386 wrote: »

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

jlturner386 wrote: »

I was measured by a trainer and competitive bodybuilder. He used the caliper method several places....he flat out told me I will never be a healthy BMI.....

That makes no sense-as you lose weight your bmi will go down. At some point it will enter the normal/healthy range. Is he telling you that you won't lose weight? If you get your weight down to to 134lbs, you'll be at the high point of a normal/healthy bmi. That's a 61lb loss and is very doable. That guy is full of woo

He didnt mean i wouldnt lose weight, he meant with my body composition i will always read high on the BMI chart. He told me that my goal should be to not lose any or very little LBM bc its really hard to gain it back.....so focus on high protein diet/weight lifting etc.....

There's no choice to make, though. These things won't hurt you (although really high protein is unnecessary) and will help even if you end up with a lower weight. The numbers he has are likely wrong, but maintaining your lean mass, whatever it is, is a good thing.

If he says don't have a deficit or don't do cardio (assuming you enjoy it), then I'd question, but eating protein and strength training are great.

53welshlady

Why don't you just go by what you see in the mirror? If you see rolls of fat that you don't want, then carry on losing. If you have no more spare fat but want to see your muscles show through more, then carry on losing. If you are happy with the way you look, then try and maintain.

Maybe this is too simple....

SezxyStef

Zedeff wrote: »

BMI is the greatest example of special snowflake syndrome. It's applicable to the overwhelming majority of individuals, but anyone who's overweight likes to whine about its inaccuracies as if they are elite athletes.

BMI is a proven metric which in medical research is linked to health. It's the Gold standard.

Actually no it's not.

The origins of BMI came from the 1800's and design to disperse food during lean times...so it's neither of what you indicate.

However OP that trainer is wrong...

I never thought based on my bone structure etc that I would ever get to a "healthy" BMI...guess what here I am

5 ft 7...150lbs BMI of 23.49...bodyfat not too sure but my LBM is probably right around 113-120lbs...I lift heavy do a fair bit of cardio and quite firm.

As I said at first don't use either of them...use them both plus tape measure, scale weight and clothing size along with the mirror and how you feel.

There is no one number that can define a healthy weight/good weight for you.

Zedeff

@SezxyStef you are not a special snowflake. You can pretend otherwise but BMI IS a research-proven validated standard. I'm on mobile and can't search pubmed for you, but the Harvard school of Medicine corroborates my statement.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-definition/obesity-definition-full-story/

portugaline

BMI is not accurate for athletes or for some one looking for body composition...

Using BMI you can easily have an athlete result saying he is overweight when he is ripped and cut.