4lbs away from my goal and still 25% body fat?!

vichick20

I am a 20 year old, 5.5" tall, 124lbs, I would say medium/small framed. I calculated my body fat % and it said I am still at 25.5%.... should my goal be lower than 120lbs? Or should I just continue to do strength training along with cardio to get that % down. Help?

larisadixon

lift heavy weights honey, it will come down!

Hernandezedw

If you see definition, don't worry about the %. You're not really in it for the numbers are you? I assume just the look.

Angela4Health

lift heavy weights honey, it will come down!

I agree! Lift lift lift!

hroush

lift heavy weights honey, it will come down!

this.

erickirb

In order to get you BF % down you should lose weight slowly. I would suggest changing your goal to 0.5lb/week. A large deficit will cause your body to burn more muscle while losing, this may be what is happening. I would keep your goal where it is now and increase the weight you are lifting and change your goal to 0.5/week and be sure to eat all of your exercise calories.

See an example of losing fast vs losing slow doing heavier weighted strength training: Starting at 124 @ 25.5%, if you lose 4 lbs 90% from fat (slow loss) vs 50% from fat (fast loss) you would be:
Slow loss you may lose 3.6 lbs of fat and be 120 with a BF% of 23.4%, if you lose fast you may end up 24.7% at 120 lbs (2lbs from fat) So this is the difference between losing fast 24.7% vs losing slow 23.4% both at 120lbs. Slow and steady wins the race.

ChantalGG

Are you doing this online? Those are the average person. if you have more muscle or less then it is not accurate.

hollyb9871

You're weight is fine for your height, it's your body composition muscle to fat ratio that needs the work. You need to build up the muscle or at least keep what you have, reduce the body fat usually via cardio. What did you use to calculate your body fat? Most methods can be off by a few percent.

cha36jennings

My sister is 5'7 and 110 pounds with 25% body fat
I'm 5'6 and 143 pounds with 23% body fat.
I do strength training and she doesn't. I feel that strength is the way to go.

Kwosti

Hiya - congratulations on almost reaching your goal!!! As for the 25% body fat - make sure you measure properly using callipers or other professional device, also it might be a good idea to book in with a (good/ experienced) trainer at your local gym. They should be able to provide some sound advice on the weigh:fat issue.
Rachael

Msaip

I am a 20 year old, 5.5" tall, 124lbs, I would say medium/small framed. I calculated my body fat % and it said I am still at 25.5%.... should my goal be lower than 120lbs? Or should I just continue to do strength training along with cardio to get that % down. Help?

Man I sure hope not! im 5'6 and my goal is 135ish I would think wherever you are happiest though!

Elizabeth_C34

Strength training with heavy weights is the key. Light weight strength training does very little to help stiumulate muscle growth.

leighton1245

I am a 20 year old, 5.5" tall, 124lbs, I would say medium/small framed. I calculated my body fat % and it said I am still at 25.5%.... should my goal be lower than 120lbs? Or should I just continue to do strength training along with cardio to get that % down. Help?

How did you calculate your BF%?

The avg for female BF% is 20-24%

MariaAlexandra

That can happen! Now it's just time for some toning! Weights and protein, i say !

pftjill

How did you calculate your BF%? Even one of those bioelectrical impedance meters are off. You should be doing calipers or some colleges have a body pod that you can get measured for a reasonable price. That being said-25% is not bad. Are you doing a lot of aerobic cardio, because that tends to hold on to fat. Most endurance athletes-though you can't tell-have more fat on them. They need it for the sport they are in. However yes, as some stated, lift weights. Building more muscle burns more fat and cut your aerobic cardio down some-don't get rid of it, but add more anaerobic stuff-weights, sprints.

vichick20

First of all, thank you guys for all the support and comments!! I did the calculation online, so I suppose it could be off. I will definitely try changing my goal to 0.5lb/week (it is set at 1lb/week now). I always eat my exercise calories back. I will also try upping my weights. What is a good weight to start with?

AdAstra47

I would try adjusting the percentage of carbs/fat/protein you eat. The chemical process that burns fat for energy in your body uses three parts fat to one part protein. So if you don't eat enough protein, your body takes the protein from your muscles, and then your muscle mass decreases, which means your body fat percentage actually increases even though your weight is going down. Most people really eat too many carbs and not enough protein. I agree with the other posters, you need both cardio and weight training, but eating protein is an important element, too.

I try to keep my carbs under 30g per day and my protein at least 300g per day, which is pretty extreme, but it's working for me. I've lost a steady 1.5 lbs a week since starting this, and it's all fat loss, not muscle loss.

Elizabeth_C34

First of all, thank you guys for all the support and comments!! I did the calculation online, so I suppose it could be off. I will definitely try changing my goal to 0.5lb/week (it is set at 1lb/week now). I always eat my exercise calories back. I will also try upping my weights. What is a good weight to start with?

You should talk to a trainer to find out what your ideal weights should be for each muscle group. Really, if you can't possibly lift it after 8-12 reps, that's a good weight. If you can do 15-20 reps, it's too little. Talking to a trainer can really help you isolate which muscle groups are weakest and what the appropriate form and workouts should be to bulk up those areas. Weight training with bad form can be very very bad for the joints and cause injury so make sure (especially with free weights) that you have some guidance here.

judijl

How is that possible? Seems crazy to be so thin and yet so high in the body fat?? I am 5'6" and 133 lbs. Mine is 18% (which is also too high) What can we do about it?

shaunshaikh

First of all, thank you guys for all the support and comments!! I did the calculation online, so I suppose it could be off.

An online calculator is probably the last place I would look to get a body fat calculation from. I would get a trainer at the gym to do the caliper test on you.

NikkisNewStart

I came here to post just like a lot of my fellow friends....

LIFT WEIGHTS

pftjill

You want to work toward the point of muscular fatigue to get anything out of lifting. That means you lift until you can't do another one. For reps anything above 12 is muscular enurance-which I suggest for what it sounds like you want. 6-12 reps is hypertrophy-builds size. If you want size do this many, but again making sure you get to muscular fatigue.

pyro13g

Analyze your cardio too. Almost sounds like there is some excessive cardio that may be helping you stay skinny fat. Perspective on Intense Lifting for free http://drdarden.com/readTopic.do?id=415445

Flyntiggr

How is that possible? Seems crazy to be so thin and yet so high in the body fat?? I am 5'6" and 133 lbs. Mine is 18% (which is also too high) What can we do about it?

18% is too high? 17% in women is considered elite athlete.

Goal_Seeker_1988

Those machines that you test with are not always accurate!!!

ResilientWoman

The women athletes I have met who are healthy enough to still be fertile/breastfeeding are getting the lowest body fat percentages by lifting kettlebells. See Lauren Brooks www.ontheedgefitness.com as an example. I am headed for 20% bodyfat personally but I know female kettlebell athletes that are in the single digits.

KarenLouise1981

How is that possible? Seems crazy to be so thin and yet so high in the body fat?? I am 5'6" and 133 lbs. Mine is 18% (which is also too high) What can we do about it?

I know it can sound scary to have 18% BF but you may wanna educate yourself on that a bit more - top elite athletes have around that and once you start going under 18% your really messing with body needs. at 14% your TOM will stop and the hideous things your organs go through because you have no essential fat to insulate them are not even worth it.

To the OP - there is no way the computer can know how fat you are regardless of which programme you entered your details into. There are 2 ways; callipers done by a PROFESSIONAL as there are very specific places on the body which are used, scales with a breakdown of water, fat, muscle and bone (it needs to differentiate between them!) and the pod thing someone else mentioned and I cannot remember the name of it for the hell of me lol! Non of them are accurate though so I tend to go off BMI as a GUIDE.

marigolds1

How is that possible? Seems crazy to be so thin and yet so high in the body fat?? I am 5'6" and 133 lbs. Mine is 18% (which is also too high) What can we do about it?

18% is too high? 17% in women is considered elite athlete.

Um, YEAH. When I was bodybuilding I was 165 lbs at 18% and I wore a size 4. I think you're getting women's percentages mixed up with men's, probably; anything sub 20% is hard to reach for women.