Body Fat Percent

klkateri

27%.

No way.... this seems off! I'm 5'5", weigh roughly 230. Here are the measurements I have Waist: 39 inches, Hip 48 inches, Wrist 8 inches, Forearm 11.5 inches. (active.com - this is the calculator I used.)

My scale says the same thing.

This seems really low for my size and the way I look. About 2-3 years ago I was measured at a gym and they told me I was like 60% body fat. Can someone help me out?! I'm just curious of where my body fat number is in terms of how much I realistically want to lose.

eatgoodeat

guides like these have always helped me. Unless you can get a dexa scan, these help as a visual guage.

klkateri

According to those pictures, I think I look like the 35-39% or the 40-44%. This is why I'm so confused!! Because according to this picture, aint no way I'm in the 25-29% range at all!!

eatgoodeat

I hear ya, I've used the active.com measurement guide before too and it put me at a lower bf% than I really was. I stopped tracking those measurements to use for that purpose. Go by what you visually see.

jemhh

Those scales are generally wrong. I have one at home and it has had me in the 27-29% range for the past two years, even before I lifted weights. It was low then and high now.

Realistically, at this point, your bf% doesn't matter. You are around 80 lbs over the highest point of your healthy weight range per BMI. Even if you are a super muscled outlier to BMI, you have an excess of fat to lose. I am not saying this to be mean or snotty. I just think that people need to be reasonable and not focus on the minutiae.

eatgoodeat

she's one of my favs on here

yarwell

115 lbs LBM and 50% fat would be my opening bid.

klkateri

O i know I have a fair amount to lose (almost down 50 with another planned 70 or so to lose!!) but I guess I just like having a lot of data at hand! One of my friends is obsessed with her body fat number and I suppose that it got in my head... I wonder where I'm at too!!

As to being the 50% body fat... no way, I think the 40% range (+/- a couple percents) is definitely where I fall for sure! I am active and do lift and run and am fairly active for having a desk job!!

I think I just wanted confirmation that it was a pretty low number too!!

pedidiva

If you can find a bodpod or have a DEXA scan, that would give you an accurate reading. I am shooting for 30% body fat as that is assumed to be a healthful amount for women. Good luck.

pedidiva

http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

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Francl27

eatgoodeat wrote: »

guides like these have always helped me. Unless you can get a dexa scan, these help as a visual guage.

There's no way that 3rd woman is 25-29% lol. Also, since when is the stomach area the only factor for bodyfat?

Those pictures are just confusing.

Anyway, don't trust the gym bodyfat tests either. Not accurate at all. I gave up on mine after I was told that the 3 pounds I had lost in 3 months were only lean mass (when I was lifting regularly and eating at a small deficit). They also told me I was 22% body fat and find it hard to believe (I'm guessing I'm probably around 25-26 but considering that I have thin limbs and loose skin, it's tough to tell from pictures).

AnnPT77

klkateri wrote: »

27%.

No way.... this seems off! I'm 5'5", weigh roughly 230. Here are the measurements I have Waist: 39 inches, Hip 48 inches, Wrist 8 inches, Forearm 11.5 inches. (active.com - this is the calculator I used.)

My scale says the same thing.

This seems really low for my size and the way I look. About 2-3 years ago I was measured at a gym and they told me I was like 60% body fat. Can someone help me out?! I'm just curious of where my body fat number is in terms of how much I realistically want to lose.

Just to give you another data point, FWIW: I got curious & tried this calculator, since I'm your height 5'5". I got 25%, just 2% less than you.

For weight 119, and measurements: Waist 27", hip 35", wrist 6", forearm 10".

Ain't no way both of our results are correct.

chunky_pinup

I'm 5'6", 170 pounds and am 27% bf...I know this for certain as I just had a DEXA scan done as part of a challenge I did in our dietetics department. The number you were given seems unlikely unless you are EXTREMELY muscular.

rontafoya

I recommend going to Youtube and checking Alan Thrall's recent bodyfat percentage video, where he and some of his clients get measured using the water tank. It's not a simple thing. Some people have more visceral fat (fat under the muscles, around the organs), while others have a lot of subcutaneous fat, which is the fat just under the skin. Therefore, one guy could have 10% and some flab on his belly, and another guy could have 15-16% and a washboard stomach. Because the 15-16% guy has more visceral fat (which is the more dangerous one, men get it worse usually). My point is, appearances can be deceiving to some degree with body fat.

shadow2soul

That calculator actually gave me a higher percentage than others. It gave me 26%
For comparison-
U.S. Navy method: 22.8%
Covert Bailey "Fit or Fat" book Method: 20.9%
YMCA Method: 18%

Trend from Aria Scale readings: 20.7%

5.5" wrist
8.75" forearm
12.5" neck
26.5" waist
30" abdomen @ navel
36.5" hips
20.5" thighs
13.25" calf

5'4.5" and trend weight 121.9 lbs (fluctuate between 120 -124 lbs)