Discouraged Body fat %

IronSmasher

People completely underestimate the importance of strengthening problem areas instead of just avoiding them

psuLemon

Keep in mind, weight and size don't determine body fat %. So you can't say I want XX lbs and am size XX so I should be XX body fat %. 30% isn't bad for a woman so please don't discourage yourself. The only thing to do is lift weights to strengthen your muscles. Now since you have a health issue, i would just talk to your doctor to see if there is a way around it. Now, I will say, I have tendinitus in both my wrist and tore my MCL but since I started doing more lifting, the muscles take the strain off my joints and ligaments.

j_courter

don't be too discouraged! i am 5 one, 120 pounds. i started around 26% bf (124 pounds) and i've been run/walking for about 2-3 months and doing jillian's 30 day shred for close to 20 days now. when i stepped on the bf scale last week it said 18.5! it's amazing how well our bodies respond to exercise and healthier eating habits.

you can do it!

(oh, i forgot to mention, i've carried and birthed five children!!!)

georgiag111

People completely underestimate the importance of strengthening problem areas instead of just avoiding them

trust me I do alot of strength started 45 days ago with my wrist brace only able to do 3 lb weights and now at 5 lb weights with no brace that is HUGE for me

JennLifts

girl that cant be right i weigh 135 and my body fat % is 19.6

Lol, that doesn't mean anything.....

pkpzp228

Thanks everyone - Yes I am discouraged I guess we all hit that point at some point during this I just need to stay motivated which is really hard lately

More I look at all the calculators its probably 30-33% which makes me a Skinnier fat person which just is down right depressing

We're all here because we want to nurture a positive lifestyle. There's no magic tick mark on the scale that says "Yep, congratulations! You're healthy." Weight, BMI, fat percentages, these are all tools for helping you understand where you are and how choices and behaviours effect you and your goals. Observe them and move on.

Discouragement is natural but it doesn't make you thinner, lighter, stronger nor faster, and certainly not healthier. Making the effort is the only thing you can do and as long as you are doing so you are living a healthy lifestyle. Keep doing what's good for you and let your body find it's balance.

HaleyAlli

I would invest in some calipers or a good body fat scale. These online calculators cannot see the actual fat that is in your body, all they know is your circumference, which means nothing for a lot of people. I also noticed you're a fellow shorty (5' 2" here) and BMI, Body Fat calculators, etc. are notoriously inaccurate for shorter people. At this point I would investigate more and most of all, DON'T PANIC!!

psuLemon

I would invest in some calipers or a good body fat scale. These online calculators cannot see the actual fat that is in your body, all they know is your circumference, which means nothing for a lot of people. I also noticed you're a fellow shorty (5' 2" here) and BMI, Body Fat calculators, etc. are notoriously inaccurate for shorter people. At this point I would investigate more and most of all, DON'T PANIC!!

Some of the best advice....


To put it in perspective, I use body calipers to measure 10 different area's of my body and used multiple formulas to capture my total body fat and came up with 11.75%. When I use the navy calculator or another one, it comes up with 18%. I blame it on the fact that my hips and ribs are a bit wider. So dont go by the calculators or even a scale. Scales go off your inputs. If I don't set my to althetic, it puts me around 18%. When i have it set to athletic, it puts me at 10%. So it does matter how your set up your scale.