body fat 5% not bad but obese

Becca21

Hiya
so my body fat according to websites is between 28-30% and thats under acceptable.
But My weight is obese.
i have lost 2 trouser sizes 2 bra sizes and a top size this year but only lost around 14lbs. i haven't lost for the past 4 weeks but my pants are getting bigger..

what should i follow the fat % or the scale..

tquill

The scale doesn't take into account muscle mass and your body fat calculation is just an estimate.

Go by the mirror, it's the only thing that really counts.

KatLifter

Always the body fat. The scale doesn't take into account lean body mass.
There are people who have low body fat but are labeled as overweight. And people with high bodyfat who are labeled as "healthy".

rahlpn

Body fat calculators online are garbage. Very innacurate most of the time. You need to have your body fat % measured using calipers or one of those dunk tanks.

MinnieInMaine

Two thoughts on this...

1) It seems odd to me that your bodyfat % would be in the "normal" range when you're obese. Personally I don't really trust those online calculators because they go by body measurements which can be way off especially if you're doing them on your own and if you don't know the proper spot to measure. Plus as with any of those online calculators, some are much better than others.
To illustrate my point, let's do the math. At about 194 pounds, 30% BF means you have 58 pounds of fat and 136 pounds of LBM (lean body mass, organs, muscles, etc). The thing that sticks out the most to me with this is your goal weight of 120. You would literally be skin and bones at that weight but I'm assuming you picked it because it's a healthy weight for you or a weight you had been at before and felt good at. Point is, obviously something is off with the math there.
If you want to get an accurate reading, I would suggest checking with your doctor's office or a local gym to see if they'd be willing to measure you with calipers.

2) That aside, to answer your question, because you are obese, I would concern yourself with both body fat % and scale weight at this point. However, obviously neither tell the whole story as you're also losing inches. There are several measures of weight loss and health. Take body measurements, keep track of your clothing size as you have been, take progress pictures, weigh on the scale, get an accurate body fat %. Also pay attention and keep track of your fitness levels. Say 2 months ago you were only able to lift 5 pound weights and now you lift 10 pound weights. Or you were only able to walk a mile at 2 mph and now you can walk 2 miles at 3mph. All of these are ways to measure your accomplishments and they're all important.

Hope that helps!

Francl27

Body fat calculators online are garbage. Very innacurate most of the time. You need to have your body fat % measured using calipers or one of those dunk tanks.

This. Very unlikely to have normal body fat and still be obese.

I got it measured at the gym (with calipers and all that good stuff) and I'm 32%, and right in the middle of the overweight BMI, so it's possible to be overweight with a normal bf (although 32% is high), but obese, unless you're REALLY muscular, it's a bit hard to believe.