A couple of questions.....

First of all i wanted to say WOW Im so addicted to this website:happy: And thanks to everybody that welcomed me the other day!

ok,my questions are:

1) I've got a body fat caliper that tells me that iam 20%BF! Its been saying this for about 2months now and i find it hard to believe considering that i need to lose atleast 20-25lbs! I mean, just going by the size of my jeans(14) it doesn't seem right! My husband measures it and says he did exactly how the directions state. Anyway,would that cause my body to think its healthy therefore making it impossible for me to lose? Ive got somewhat mucsle mass....alot more than i had two years ago,its all so confusing?

2)When i first set my goals i wanted to loose 1.5lbs a week which gave me 1330 cals a day. I just could not funtion on that little amount of calories so i changed it to 1lb a week and now its 1590 a day,but when i workout it jumps up to the 1900 and 2000....is that right? I mean i find it hard to believe that i could lose weight eating that much? but hey...i'll try it:wink:

ok,maybe this was a littlebit of a vent:sad: any info that anyone can give me....thanks!

Replies

  • punka274
    punka274 Posts: 895
    First of all i wanted to say WOW Im so addicted to this website:happy: And thanks to everybody that welcomed me the other day!

    ok,my questions are:

    1) I've got a body fat caliper that tells me that iam 20%BF! Its been saying this for about 2months now and i find it hard to believe considering that i need to lose atleast 20-25lbs! I mean, just going by the size of my jeans(14) it doesn't seem right! My husband measures it and says he did exactly how the directions state. Anyway,would that cause my body to think its healthy therefore making it impossible for me to lose? Ive got somewhat mucsle mass....alot more than i had two years ago,its all so confusing?

    2)When i first set my goals i wanted to loose 1.5lbs a week which gave me 1330 cals a day. I just could not funtion on that little amount of calories so i changed it to 1lb a week and now its 1590 a day,but when i workout it jumps up to the 1900 and 2000....is that right? I mean i find it hard to believe that i could lose weight eating that much? but hey...i'll try it:wink:

    ok,maybe this was a littlebit of a vent:sad: any info that anyone can give me....thanks!
  • For question 2... you should be eating your workout calories because the system has already cut out the calories in order to loose weight, by not eating those calories your body goes into hybernation and you could actually end up gaining weight.... hope that helps
  • punka274
    punka274 Posts: 895
    now that i think about it...maybe thats why i haven't been losing weight? I don't really factor in the amount of calories that i burn off? And now that i have this snazy website to help give me an estimate.....

    Yes,that does help me! thanks:smile:
  • Hello,
    I am also addicted to this site....I asked the same question a while back, and here is the link to the responses that I got.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/12138-eating-all-your-calories-reassurance-please

    Think about it this way....Michael Phelps (The Olympic swimmer) eats 12,000 calories a day. He burns 4000 calories a workout. He is under 200 pounds and very fit!
  • punka274
    punka274 Posts: 895
    Thanks,i'll go check it out now!
  • heartshapdworld
    heartshapdworld Posts: 323 Member
    I thought about buying a body fat cailper (sp?) almost a month ago. What I read online discouraged me. Apparently, these caliphers are highly unreliable-depending on the brand, model, and cost. Also, you need to have someone else take your measurements and then measure in the EXACT same places each and everytime. And, the caliphers need to be recalibrated nearly everytime you measure as well. Seemed like a lot of work for an unreliable result...I think you should go by what you body is telling you and make sure that you are eating healthy.

    Either that of see a professional to get measured.
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    calipers can be off by a ton. Even when done by a professional they have up to a 15% margin for error. Better to have one done once a year or so using water displacement or some other very accurate form, it costs about 100 bucks to do it, but it can be worth it if you really want to know.
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
    Body fat for women is a joke--it is not a good measurement of how fit you are. It doesn't take into account that we women have, as one site I read put it "2 huge lumps of mostly fat tissues" sitting on our chests.

    Get to a healthy weight, then tone if you want to "look" smaller.
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    While I don't share the disdain that shorerider does, I would agree that those two little gems do throw it off a little. body fat is a decent tool to help you, but don't forget direct measurement, bmi, and general fitness levels too. they all can be used as measuring tools.
  • punka274
    punka274 Posts: 895
    This is my fith day on this site. Ive been eating perfectly....i haven't weighed yet and probably won't for a while! I know the scale will be up....im eating so much more than i was before i started logging here,buts its ok(thats what i keep telling myself,LOL) im feeding my body! :happy:

    And i wanted to add that i FEEL GREAT,alot more energy and the night food cravings are all but gone! Im very, VERY excited !

    Thanks agian everybody for your reply's....i think im gonna like it around here!:wink:
  • jlwhelan1
    jlwhelan1 Posts: 664
    While I don't share the disdain that shorerider does, I would agree that those two little gems do throw it off a little. body fat is a decent tool to help you, but don't forget direct measurement, bmi, and general fitness levels too. they all can be used as measuring tools.

    LOL, perhaps you would share the disdain if you had ever ran a number of miles with those "gems" as a part of your body.:laugh:
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    While I don't share the disdain that shorerider does, I would agree that those two little gems do throw it off a little. body fat is a decent tool to help you, but don't forget direct measurement, bmi, and general fitness levels too. they all can be used as measuring tools.

    LOL, perhaps you would share the disdain if you had ever ran a number of miles with those "gems" as a part of your body.:laugh:

    Oh trust me, we have our own dangle issues with running. :wink:
  • punka274
    punka274 Posts: 895
    For question 2... you should be eating your workout calories because the system has already cut out the calories in order to loose weight, by not eating those calories your body goes into hybernation and you could actually end up gaining weight.... hope that helps

    I love your hair cut in your avatar! Im getting my little girls hair cut soon,do you mind telling me what style that is,its very cute!
  • For question 2... you should be eating your workout calories because the system has already cut out the calories in order to loose weight, by not eating those calories your body goes into hybernation and you could actually end up gaining weight.... hope that helps

    I love your hair cut in your avatar! Im getting my little girls hair cut soon,do you mind telling me what style that is,its very cute!

    Awww thanks! my best friend is a hair stylist, it is just a bob, but the roots are teased to give it the volume