Body Fat % Confusion!?

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gemmabuss
gemmabuss Posts: 5 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi!

I've been using myfitnesspal for about 3 years now and it's been incredible, I've so far lost 3 stone.
But now I feel a bit stuck... I'm a 21 year old female, weigh 112 pounds, around 5'4 , gym 3/4 times a week and Zumba once a week, and today just out of curiosity have measured my body fat which has come out at 15.2%. I used another one which told me my body fat was 24% which I couldn't think would be right. But what is considered a healthy body fat percentage? There are so many websites with different information on I'm so confused! Also, has anyone got any tips on decreasing your body fat percentage? I have an awful sweet tooth...

Thanks!
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Replies

  • Hondo_Man
    Hondo_Man Posts: 114 Member
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    Stuck, how exactly? At 5'4" and 112 pounds, your BF is more towards 15 then 24%. The best methods for BF determining are calipers or a physician. Actually the water method tends to be the most accurate, but can be costly depending on by whom it is performed. Scales that give BF readings are notorious for being inaccurate. I have a 15 years-old Tanita scale. It just gives me an idea, but is not close to what my physician determines each year.

    What is a healthy BF percentage? Rather subjective question. If you are an athletic woman, then 8-14 would be work. Good or healthy is from 15 - 22. Not perfect numbers, though. There are mounds of info on this in the Internet. Best to read some and determine for yourself.

    If you still want to lower your BF, lower your carbohydrate intake. Simple.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Stuck, how exactly? At 5'4" and 112 pounds, your BF is more towards 15 then 24%. The best methods for BF determining are calipers or a physician. Actually the water method tends to be the most accurate, but can be costly depending on by whom it is performed. Scales that give BF readings are notorious for being inaccurate. I have a 15 years-old Tanita scale. It just gives me an idea, but is not close to what my physician determines each year.

    What is a healthy BF percentage? Rather subjective question. If you are an athletic woman, then 8-14 would be work. Good or healthy is from 15 - 22. Not perfect numbers, though. There are mounds of info on this in the Internet. Best to read some and determine for yourself.

    If you still want to lower your BF, lower your carbohydrate intake. Simple.

    1. It's hard to estimate BF% using scales and calipers. It's further inaccurate to make an estimate off of someone's height and weight without pictures.

    2. 8-15% is a huge danger zone for women. 15% is athlete levels. Below 10-20% is beyond all essential fat and quite dangerous. Healthy range for women is ~15-30%.

    3. Carbs have nothing to do with BF% unless there's a health issue (like insulin resistance).

    To lose BF%, lift weights and eat at a small calorie deficit. Simple.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Are you using the online calculators where you enter your measurements? Those can be very wrong. You might have better results going to a page like this and comparing yourself to pictures:

    http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/

    If you really are close to 15%, you should probably stop losing unless you are trying to become a fitness model, and even then dips below 15% are generally temporary for competitions or photo shots.
    Body Fat Percentage Women 15-17%

    This is still considered a very low body fat for women, which is similar to the 6-7% body fat for range men. Many bikini and fitness models will reach this body fat level and some may not be able to menstruate. Muscle definition in the abs, legs, arms, and shoulders is apparent, there is some vascularity and some separation between muscles. Hips, buttocks, and thighs generally have a little less shape because of the low body fat.

    If you are low body fat and still unhappy with your body the problem might be lack of muscle instead of too much fat. I'd suggest looking into a good lifting program like Strong Lifts 5x5 or Starting Strength and increasing your calories to maintenance for a while. Once you have the good basic lifts down and have the actual number of your maintenance calories figured out, then you can think about eating at a surplus and possibly switching to a hypertrophy program. Protein intake is import. Should be 0.8 to 1 grams per pound of lean body mass, which actually ends up around 100g for most women.

    If you are closer to the 24%, I would still do the lifting as above as above but change your settings to a half pound a week (small deficit) in order to continue to lose body fat. Again, make sure you get enough protein.

    And yes, there is no reason to limit carbohydrates.
  • Shropshire1959
    Shropshire1959 Posts: 982 Member
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    The best methods for BF determining are calipers or a physician. Actually the water method tends to be the most accurate, but can be costly depending on by whom it is performed.


    Although expensive, I think that DEXA is the current gold standard for accuracy ... but I'm not sure what the % margin of error is on each of the popular methods.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Stuck, how exactly? At 5'4" and 112 pounds, your BF is more towards 15 then 24%. The best methods for BF determining are calipers or a physician. Actually the water method tends to be the most accurate, but can be costly depending on by whom it is performed. Scales that give BF readings are notorious for being inaccurate. I have a 15 years-old Tanita scale. It just gives me an idea, but is not close to what my physician determines each year.

    What is a healthy BF percentage? Rather subjective question. If you are an athletic woman, then 8-14 would be work. Good or healthy is from 15 - 22. Not perfect numbers, though. There are mounds of info on this in the Internet. Best to read some and determine for yourself.

    If you still want to lower your BF, lower your carbohydrate intake. Simple.

    At 8 - 15% she'd be closer to dead than healthy.

    Anything from 18- 24% is pretty good for a female.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,298 Member
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    Pardon me but I fear at 5.4 and 112 lb the very last thing you need to be doing is loosing more weight. As you say, you believe yourself to be at the lower end of the % fat range. Women of any age especially young ones such as yourself need to maintain a level of 15% or more because below this the body goes into a "revolt" and it starts to go wrong. You will loose periods which in itself might be a sort of blessing, no ups and downs to contend with BUT what this represents is highly problematical. You may be fine for the time being but in the long hall you will do damage to yourself. Please take care of yourself because from my more distant view you can't undo damage and the last thing you need to be is condemned to live with health issues. I have for 40 years and it ain't good.

    Posted with care and thought and concerns. We have one body and when it fails, Life is very, very hard. Please take great care of yourself for yourself. No one else matters
  • TwoPointZero
    TwoPointZero Posts: 187 Member
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    Nice discussion of %BF bounds:

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

    Although expensive, I think that DEXA is the current gold standard for accuracy ... but I'm not sure what the % margin of error is on each of the popular methods.

    Interesting comparison of all of the methods, with a nice discussion at the end regarding interpretation and use of the numbers:

    http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=180
  • Hondo_Man
    Hondo_Man Posts: 114 Member
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    Stuck, how exactly? At 5'4" and 112 pounds, your BF is more towards 15 then 24%. The best methods for BF determining are calipers or a physician. Actually the water method tends to be the most accurate, but can be costly depending on by whom it is performed. Scales that give BF readings are notorious for being inaccurate. I have a 15 years-old Tanita scale. It just gives me an idea, but is not close to what my physician determines each year.

    What is a healthy BF percentage? Rather subjective question. If you are an athletic woman, then 8-14 would be work. Good or healthy is from 15 - 22. Not perfect numbers, though. There are mounds of info on this in the Internet. Best to read some and determine for yourself.

    If you still want to lower your BF, lower your carbohydrate intake. Simple.

    1. It's hard to estimate BF% using scales and calipers. It's further inaccurate to make an estimate off of someone's height and weight without pictures.

    2. 8-15% is a huge danger zone for women. 15% is athlete levels. Below 10-20% is beyond all essential fat and quite dangerous. Healthy range for women is ~15-30%.

    3. Carbs have nothing to do with BF% unless there's a health issue (like insulin resistance).

    To lose BF%, lift weights and eat at a small calorie deficit. Simple.

    1. Calipers: I doubt she has a BMI of 35 or more.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-definition/how-to-measure-body-fatness/

    2. Fat and Calipers: 8-15% for athletes, as I said is the norm. Like it or not. And Calipers are accurate.

    http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/underbodycomp.html

    3. Lose a small percentage of BF:

    http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update0904c.shtml

    I've been doing this for 30 years. You? I maintain between 10 and 12% BF. During a cutting cycle, for 4- 6 weeks, lower carbs, increase fats and increase protein. Obviously, you're clueless. Pro bodybuilders, men and women, cut their carb intake down to 10% of their caloric intake in order to show more muscle definition, i.e., lose body fat. Do you think the pros continue to eat huge amounts of food and lift weights to knock off fat? Nope. They also have a high carb day once a week to keep leptin levels optimal.

    info on cutting carbs (no study):

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/metabolism-massacre-7-ways-to-avoid-undermining-fat-loss.html

    For someone who is 5'4" and 112lbs, she is far from obese. No, there is not photo, but one is not needed. 3-4 weeks of a low carb intake will ensure no longer term health effects and will be just so to lose a few BF percentage points.

    Anything else?
  • Hondo_Man
    Hondo_Man Posts: 114 Member
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    Stuck, how exactly? At 5'4" and 112 pounds, your BF is more towards 15 then 24%. The best methods for BF determining are calipers or a physician. Actually the water method tends to be the most accurate, but can be costly depending on by whom it is performed. Scales that give BF readings are notorious for being inaccurate. I have a 15 years-old Tanita scale. It just gives me an idea, but is not close to what my physician determines each year.

    What is a healthy BF percentage? Rather subjective question. If you are an athletic woman, then 8-14 would be work. Good or healthy is from 15 - 22. Not perfect numbers, though. There are mounds of info on this in the Internet. Best to read some and determine for yourself.

    If you still want to lower your BF, lower your carbohydrate intake. Simple.

    At 8 - 15% she'd be closer to dead than healthy.

    Anything from 18- 24% is pretty good for a female.

    I SAID: 8-15 for athletes. Read what I wrote before you infer a wrong remark. Female athletes get thier BF down that low, Yes.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    Most bf% calculators are notoriously inaccurate, being at the mercy of user errors, your hydration levels, water retention, and how long ago you ate.

    If you are really interested in having an accurate reading, you'll need a DEXA scan or a BodPod test. Neither are cheap, but you will get a more accurate reading than electrical impedance, body measurements, or calipers. Good luck.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    If you are 5'4 and 112 pounds you probably don't have much fat to lose OR you have a very low lean mass due to low amounts of muscle. 15% bodyfat is very low for a woman, right around where you would start to see your abs. It seems to me that a women generally carry about 8% more bodyfat than a man with an equivalent fitness level. So a woman with 15% bodyfat would be like a man at 7% which is very low. 24% on a woman is well within the healthy range. Either way you aren't really needing to lose fat.

    People at equivalent bodyfat percentages can look quite different however based on how much muscle they have. A muscular woman at 18% bodyfat is going to look very lean and fit. A low muscle woman at 18% will look small-ish.

    When you get to bodyfat that low as a woman and you don't have the look you want yet, its time to stop dieting and start lifting heavy weight.

    women-bodyfat-chart-visual.jpg


    Point being that fat stomach, cinched in toned look ultimately comes from muscle not from dropping sufficient weight. You certainly have to drop down to a certain bodyfat percentage to be able to get that look but sounds to me like you are already there or certainly close. Dropping additional weight is how you get to see your ribs not how you get toned.
  • jenmom2myboys
    jenmom2myboys Posts: 311 Member
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    If you are 5'4 and 112 pounds you probably don't have much fat to lose OR you have a very low lean mass due to low amounts of muscle. 15% bodyfat is very low for a woman, right around where you would start to see your abs. It seems to me that a women generally carry about 8% more bodyfat than a man with an equivalent fitness level. So a woman with 15% bodyfat would be like a man at 7% which is very low. 24% on a woman is well within the healthy range. Either way you aren't really needing to lose fat.

    People at equivalent bodyfat percentages can look quite different however based on how much muscle they have. A muscular woman at 18% bodyfat is going to look very lean and fit. A low muscle woman at 18% will look small-ish.

    When you get to bodyfat that low as a woman and you don't have the look you want yet, its time to stop dieting and start lifting heavy weight.

    women-bodyfat-chart-visual.jpg


    Point being that fat stomach, cinched in toned look ultimately comes from muscle not from dropping sufficient weight. You certainly have to drop down to a certain bodyfat percentage to be able to get that look but sounds to me like you are already there or certainly close. Dropping additional weight is how you get to see your ribs not how you get toned.

    I want the body of the woman with 18% body fat!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I want the body of the woman with 18% body fat!

    If we are going for aesthetics I like 20% personally but one thing all those women have in common (at least sub 25%) is that they all have a decent amount of muscle. If you don't lift weights, if you don't do some sort of resistance training, and you get down to that level of bodyfat you will not look like that. You will still have the health benefit of low bodyfat, but not the aesthetic look like in these images.
  • jenmom2myboys
    jenmom2myboys Posts: 311 Member
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    I will take her body, too. As soon as I get to my goal weight which will be soon I am starting lifiting!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    At 112lbs it's not that you have too much fat, it's that you don't have enough muscle... Eat at maintenance and start lifting heavy stuff!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I will take her body, too. As soon as I get to my goal weight which will be soon I am starting lifiting!

    Why wait?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I will take her body, too. As soon as I get to my goal weight which will be soon I am starting lifiting!

    Why wait?

    Fat loss comes first if you are in an unhealthy range. As soon as you are in a healthy bodyfat range but you don't have the aesthetics you want then comes the weight training. You will still burn fat weight training and eating at maintenance. The fat will come off slower but the aesthetic changes will be faster.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I will take her body, too. As soon as I get to my goal weight which will be soon I am starting lifiting!

    Why wait?

    Fat loss comes first if you are in an unhealthy range. As soon as you are in a healthy bodyfat range but you don't have the aesthetics you want then comes the weight training. You will still burn fat weight training and eating at maintenance. The fat will come off slower but the aesthetic changes will be faster.

    The person I was asking the question to has 4lb to get to a goal of 110lbs....
  • jenmom2myboys
    jenmom2myboys Posts: 311 Member
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    I am close enough to my goal that I want to focus on that and once I get there I will start. I have only been doing cardio for just under month now. I am a routine kind of person and want to accomplish one thing at a time.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I am close enough to my goal that I want to focus on that and once I get there I will start. I have only been doing cardio for just under month now. I am a routine kind of person and want to accomplish one thing at a time.

    I can appreciate that. If I'm honest I approach it the same way. Like to be very focused on one goal at a time.

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