I'm So Chuffed - Or Am I ??

millerll

I started working out in January at 170 pounds, got serious about it in March, and also changed my diet at that time. I eventually hit a plateau after 15 pounds lost, and a trainer at my gym told me about this site. So here I am.

In May, this trainer did a body fat test on me using the skin fold caliper method. I know it's not the most accurate, but it was free, ya know? I came out at 22.9%. Let's not quibble, shall we? We'll call it 23%. A month later and 6 pounds lighter, a different trainer checked me again and I was again 23%. OK, so different trainers have different techniques and all, but still. A few days later I had the test repeated using the Bod Pod - a small chamber that uses some type of air volumetric ratio to determine BF. It's supposed to be very accurate. That test put me at 27%. Well, that sucks. I figured I'd split the difference and consider myself somewhere around 25% BF.

Fast forward to today. The first trainer I used measured me again. I'm down another 9 pounds (15 total from the first test) and lots of inches. She measured me at 12.6% BF! WTH??? Well, good for me and all that. All my hard work it really paying off! Except......according to my chart, that's dangerously low for a woman who's not an elite athlete. And I assure you I'm far from an elite anything.

Even factoring in the error, I could still be as low as 15% BF. I sure don't see it when I look in the mirror, but that damned thing reflects as much of your mind as your body, I think. I still have about 5 more pounds to go for my goal weight of 130. That would put me at 40 pounds lost. I started at 170, and I'm a 48-year-old, 5-foot-4-inch woman. I'm not sure if I should go much below 130, though, as I'm afraid my BF could get too low. Maybe it's time to eat a little more? Jeez, I'm confused.

For the record, I track everything I eat, eat really clean, lots of protein, fruits and veggies, water, etc., and I always eat my exercise calories. (I love to eat!) Anyone with any experience in this area, feel free to jump in here. I know I should be really happy about this, but I'm a little worried at the sam time. Thanks!

ChrisWag

Yay for you being so close to goal.....Have you tried using one of those scales that tells you your body fat %'age? That is what I use and it seems rather accurate.....not sure how but I can tell if I eat too many carbs and I get FLUFFIER even the weight doesn't go up my body fat % will......You program it with all your info and then BAMN, it tells you LOL.....

Again, congrats on 5lbs away.....YAY for you! 130 was my goal too and I have maintained it now for 3 months!!!

msbanana

Go to the doctor.
Not because you're ill but they should be able to give you a more accurate reading. The skin fold test is better than the hand held electroshock thingy by far BUT if the person doing it doesn't do it right you get results like you did... If you're seriously concerned about what a healthy goal weight should be for you schedule an appointment with your doc to talk about it. I had to. All the charts say I should weigh between 155 and 175 (I'm 5'10") however at last count I have 170lbs of lean body mass. The little chart thingies are all off for me. I wish ya the best of luck and unless you notice that you can see all of your muscles flex when you stand in the mirror and you've got bones poking out all over the place you're likely not 12%...

xarrium

If you have concerns, I'd say you should talk with your trainer--if they're properly qualified, they should know what a decent BF% is for you... if not, maybe consult a doctor.

I figure as long as you aren't starving yourself (good job for eating your exercise cals!) your body will do what's best, and as long as you aren't feeling like crap you should be okay... some people just naturally have lower body fat than others.

CONGRATS on your weight and body fat loss!

millerll

Thanks to everyone for the advice! I know a doctor is the best person to get to the bottom of my weight, but I wanted to know if anyone else had experienced these weird BF numbers.

Either way, I don't feel like I'm dangerously thin. I have good energy, I sleep like a rock, have a great appetite, etc. While I do think I'm muscular, I don't think I look like a bodybuilder the day before a meet - you know, all definition and no fat. No way! I'm a looong way from that! And I still have a little roll of stubborn belly fat that's going to be the death of me, so I think I'm OK. It's just that this is the first time in my life that I've had to worry about a body fat that is too LOW. Figures. :grumble:

kerrymh

i was told that you have to pick one method and stick with that because while the actual number might not be perfectly accurate the difference or drop is..so if you had stuck with the calipers..and were 23% and then now you were say 20% you`d know you dropped 3%..but now since you`ve changed up your methods its hard to tell what the real drop is. When I started my journey I used some hand held electronic thing..it couldn `t read my body fat thats how high it was...now it can and I`m at 40.9% so I`ve lost atleast over 10% bf if not more. I know because I keep using the same tool.

millerll

Mystery solved! Turns out the trainer used the MEN'S chart to figure out my percentage. Well there ya go...........Using the WOMEN'S chart, I'm 16%. I still think that's too low, but whatever. At least I don't have to worry about having some weird metabolic disease!

I still find it a little disappointing that this trainer was convinced that 13% was correct. I told her at the time that I didn't think there was any way that could be right. Her reply was that I had been working so hard and she could "definitely see it". I don't have a lot of confidence in her at this point. If she could look at me and think 13% was right, then she doesn't know her stuff. I'm a layman and I knew right away it was off.

I guess the moral of the story is that you should take these measurements with a grain of salt. A lot can be effected by the competence of the person doing the test. Personally, I think I'm more likely around 20%, but I'm happy with that! I've still made good progress overall. I'll just keep on plugging along! Thanks everyone.