Reduce body fat % ?

nu2012

After losing some weight, I went to get the body fat % checked yesterday. It came out so high(above 30%). Even the people checking were surprised because they didn't see me as one who would have such a high body fat %. Especially when they say my "ideal" weight is 7 lbs less than what I am now. They did not give me any reasons why it should be the case. Also I have lost weight but not inches....

I also do decent amount of strength toning in my workouts. 30 mins zumba toning and two 40 mins toning classes in a week.

I have two questions:

1) Why? Why is the body fat % so high? I understand no one is an expert here but any reasons you might have can help me figure out what I am doing wrong

2) What do I do to reduce it? Does anyone have suggestions of some strength training workout dvds? Or some exercise suggestions? Some routines you might follow and works for you? Any dumbbell routines?

ladykate7

Where did you have it checked? What kind of measuring device was used? Whatever it was could be inaccurate.

Fred4point0

One way to reduce your fat is to continue to drink green tea without sugar. Use a sugar substitute. I agree with ladykate... where did you go to get checked. I have a special scale at home that measures weight, body fat and water content. It's callled Tanita. Cost about $40. Try that. BTW my body fat began at 30%. It is now about 18%. I have lost 32 and weight 168 lbs which is ideal for 5'9" yet it is still consider hight. My point is not to be so concern about your body fat at this point. Just continue doing what you are doing. The body fat will drop and the weight drops. Don't be discouraged!

nu2012

Where did you have it checked? What kind of measuring device was used? Whatever it was could be inaccurate.

The calliper method. They say its pretty accurate.

nu2012

Oh the measurement was taken at the gym!

AZackery

I want to start off by saying that no method is 100% accurate, except for an autopsy and a person will not know their true body fat percentage then. It's good to know your body fat percentage, even if it's an estimate, because it helps you see the changes in your body. It also lets you see the difference between scale weight loss and fat loss. Scale weight loss and fat loss aren't the same thing.

Scale weight is broken down into two categories: Pounds of fat and pounds of lean body mass. Once a person knows their body fat percentage, this is the formula to use to figure out how much of your weight is from fat and how much is from lean body mass.

Weight x Body fat percentage = Pounds of fat
Weight - Pounds of fat = Pounds of lean body mass

A person's pounds of fat is not the amount of scale weight or pounds of fat they need to lose and their pounds of lean body mass is the requirement for their body. They want to maintain that number or raise it up.

Example: Say Jane Doe weighs 160 pounds and her bf% is 35%. This is her results:

160 x 35% (0.35) = 56 pounds of fat

160 - 56 = 104 pounds of lean body mass

A lot of people look at their scale weight to determine how much weight they want to lose and in truth, it's not your scale weight that you should look at to determine how much weight you need to lose, it's your body fat percentage/ pounds of fat.

Jane may look at her 160 pounds and thinks that she needs to get down to 130 pounds. But, does she really needs to lose 30 pounds of scale weight? The answer is no.

If a person wants to lose fat and not scale weight, they need to use this formula to determine what will be a healthy body fat percentage and healthy scale weight for them. A healthy body fat percentage will be low, but the healthy scale weight will be high and that's a good thing.

Formula:

Body fat percentage written as a whole number / Original weight = Future body fat percentage

Original weight x Future body fat percentage = Future pounds of fat

Original lean body mass + Future pounds of fat = Future healthy weight

Original pounds of fat - Future pounds of fat = Pounds of fat loss

Original scale weight - Future Healthy weight = Pounds of scale weight loss

_____

When a person loses 100% pounds of fat, their pounds of fat loss and scale weight loss will be the same.

______

Jane Doe's results using the above formula:

35 / 160 = 22% Future body fat percentage

160 x 22% = 35 Future pounds of fat

104 + 35 = 139 Future Healthy weight

56 - 35 = 21 Pounds of fat loss

160 - 139 = 21 pounds of scale weight loss

_____

Jane doesn't have to lose 30 pounds of scale weight and even if she did, it doesn't mean that she has lost a lot of pounds of fat. Jane can get down to 139 pounds and still not have lost 21 pounds of fat. Why? Because scale weight loss can be the results of both pounds of fat and pounds of lean body mass loss and in this case, the pounds of fat will not be 100% loss. A person can lose scale weight fast, but they can't lose 100% pounds of fat fast. It takes time to lose 100% pounds of fat.

I'm on the slow road. It will take me a year or so to reach my body fat percentage goal, because I'm aiming to lose 100% pounds of fat. I'm aiming to lose 2 to 4 100% pounds of fat a month.

Scale weight loss doesn't determine if a person is healthy or not or even what size clothes they are wearing.
______

Nu2012, I'm sorry that my comment is so long. I don't know how much you weight and please don't take this the wrong way, but your body fat percentage can be 30%. I don't if you were tested by a very skilled caliper tester. With calipers, it's easy to get different readings by different people. Why? Because, everyone doesn't test in the same spots and a caliper requires the testing to be done in the same spot each time. Some testers don't pinch enough skin as well. If I can suggest something to you, it would be for you to get a body fat scale or if you have a scale already, buy an Omron Handheld body fat monitor.

You might be told that these devices aren't accurate and that you can get a different reading within seconds of each other and that can be true, but that goes for scales as well. A scale can give a different weight within seconds of one another. Another thing, you might be told that a body fat scale only measures the bottom portion of your body and an Omron Handheld measure your top portion and that's true as well, but the reading can be the same. I'm a living witness to this. I own both devices. Can the devices give different readings? The answer is yes, but if a person has both devices, all the person has to do is add up both percentages and divided it by two. The answer will be dead on or close to the number of one of the devices.

I don't know if you want to invest in a body fat scale or Omron Handheld Body Fat monitor ( Check your local Academy or GNC. It's cheaper at Academy. You can even get it for a good price on Amazon.com.), but if you don't want to buy either, you can also get your body fat percentage checked at one of those paid scales at the store. I don't know how much the machine charges now to get your weight and body fat percentage or even if they still print out papers, but back in the day, they would cost 25 cents to get your weight and 50 cents to get both your weight and body fat percentage. If you go this route, bring something to write with to record your results, just in case they don't print out receipts anymore. The machine might tell you that your result is 30% body fat percentage or lower.

almc170

How long were you dieting and how much were you eating? Too few calories will cause you to you to lose muscle over time, even with strength training. To regain it you'll need to lift heavy. The New Rules of Lifting for Women book is a great place to start.

Shaz_74

Very informative post AZakery, thank you.

nu2012

AZakery, thank you SO much for all that information. Since I checked the body fat % with two devices that day, hand held at Dr's office and caliper at the gym, I know it is high and round about the same. I was very confused about it though but now I understand.

Doing two types of measurement is a good idea. I will get that done once I give myself couple of weeks to build some muscles.

So doing strength training should help in reducing bf%?

Does anyone have DVD suggestions for it or some routines they follow at home?

nu2012

How long were you dieting and how much were you eating? Too few calories will cause you to you to lose muscle over time, even with strength training. To regain it you'll need to lift heavy. The New Rules of Lifting for Women book is a great place to start.

I eat in the range of 1200-1400 usually. It just goes up and down. I don't think I ever took too few calories.

Thanks for the book suggestion!

Sl1ghtly

AZakery, thank you SO much for all that information. Since I checked the body fat % with two devices that day, hand held at Dr's office and caliper at the gym, I know it is high and round about the same. I was very confused about it though but now I understand.

Doing two types of measurement is a good idea. I will get that done once I give myself couple of weeks to build some muscles.

So doing strength training should help in reducing bf%?

Does anyone have DVD suggestions for it or some routines they follow at home?

Strength training while in a calorie deficit will help you to strengthen and maintain what muscle you have now. A proper routine combined with a balanced diet and reasonable calorie deficit- results. Also, there are no strength training videos. Sorry. A strength training program involves a bench and cage and a bar. Gotta have the right tools for the job.

AZackery

Very informative post AZakery, thank you.

You are welcome.

AZackery

AZakery, thank you SO much for all that information. Since I checked the body fat % with two devices that day, hand held at Dr's office and caliper at the gym, I know it is high and round about the same. I was very confused about it though but now I understand.

Doing two types of measurement is a good idea. I will get that done once I give myself couple of weeks to build some muscles.

So doing strength training should help in reducing bf%?

Does anyone have DVD suggestions for it or some routines they follow at home?

Nu2012, you can buy one device and use it. It's not recommended that a person do a caliper test on themselves. The scale or handheld monitor will do just fine. You can track your progress using either.

Cardio burns fat. Cardio helps the body fat percentage number go down.

You can view these workouts on Collagevideo.com. Some of the workouts can be bought at Walmart, Target, Barnes and Nobles, etc. and online, Collagevideo, Amazon.com (Amazon is cheaper). The library might have some of them that you can check out.

1. Tae Bo Ripped Extreme. I recommend this to women, because Billy Blanks is the only man in this video. I believe he created this workout just for women. (Check your local stores)

2. Tae Bo Cardio Sculpt: The cast is a mixture of men and women. (Check your local stores)

3. Supreme 90 Day. It's a 90 Day muscle confusion program, but you don't have to do it as a program. You get 10 dvds with this program for $19.99. Some places are selling the program for cheaper than that. Bed Bath and Beyond has it for $9.99. Some people have found it at other stores for as little as $5.00. Check Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, Walgreens, The Dollar General Store and Walmart. I did the program as a program. It was the first program that I have done. I have to warn you, some of the exercisers go fast, but don't focus on them. Go at your own pace or keep up with the slower exercisers.

4. Chris Freytag's 10 Pound Slimdown. Collagevideo.com doesn't carry it anymore, but you can still preview the workouts on here: http://www.collagevideo.com/workout-video/chris-freytags-10-pound-slimdown-6047#

You can buy the workout on Amazon.com. I love Chris. She's one of my personal trainers. You can preview some of her other videos on Collagevideo.com and the ones that's not on there, you can preview them on youtube.

I have others that I can recommend.

runnerwithin

AZakery, thank you SO much for all that information. Since I checked the body fat % with two devices that day, hand held at Dr's office and caliper at the gym, I know it is high and round about the same. I was very confused about it though but now I understand.

Doing two types of measurement is a good idea. I will get that done once I give myself couple of weeks to build some muscles.

So doing strength training should help in reducing bf%?

Does anyone have DVD suggestions for it or some routines they follow at home?

Strength training while in a calorie deficit will help you to strengthen and maintain what muscle you have now. A proper routine combined with a balanced diet and reasonable calorie deficit- results. Also, there are no strength training videos. Sorry. A strength training program involves a bench and cage and a bar. Gotta have the right tools for the job.

I completely agree, there are very few dads that can give you what lifting actual heavy weights can. The best part about really pushing yourself (HEAVY WEIGHTS, your purse weighs more than those five or ten pound weights you do videos with) is that you can see result rather quickly. I swear every time I lift that I can see more definition the next day.

tangal88

P90 - Beginner (start here)
P90X - Intermediate-advanced
P90X2 - intermediate to advanced
All with (Tony Horton)

Chalene Extreme (Chalene Johnson) - Beginner to advanced

All above are very good strength training videos (beachbody.com or amazon) - not cheap but can be very effective if used correctly.

New Rules For Lifting For Women - Book with great strength training basics, and workout plans (on amazon.com or your library)

Strong Lifts website has good info and plans

Jamie Easons Live Fit Training Web Program (at bodybuilding.com) - Free

Pair any of the above with HEAVY weights (for you) low rep count (8-12) (not many many reps with light weights) - will help build muscle. Paired with good macro ranges (higher protein, moderate carbs and fats) and a decent calorie range (not to low) - You WILL build lean muscle and gain strength, and lower your Body Fate percentage.

I have done it with P90X. So have many others.
Using only Dumbbells, and an indoor pull up bar.

You can start with a smaller set of dumbbells or resistance bands, ($40 a set at Walmart) and increase the weight of the bells, or band resistance as your strength grows. Just keep increasing lbs, and keep reps low, and stress your muscles to build them. i typically use paired dumbell weights from 15-50 lbs, Though I started MUCH lower at the beginning, and worked up.

I have done this with a moderate calorie deficit, so have also lost fat pounds at the same time. (lost 60 lbs, went from size 18/19 to size Junior 7, and down to 23-24% body fat roughly)
Though I am now at my goal size, so focus is more on lowering body fat more, and increasing lean muscle .

In all honesty, I have never found a scale or handheld device that accurately measured MY Bodyfat correctly. I have used many, both "correctly" and "incorrectly", they are pretty inaccurate for me.

The accuracy is very much debated, and for some people they may be very accurate, but depending on personal muscle distribution, height, water storage in your body, hydration state, etc can be extremely Inaccurate.

Caliper accuracy is strongly swayed by experience of the measuring person, and number of locations used. So though those can guide you, they can also be very "wrong" depending on a variety of factors, depending on your specific situation and body composition..


You will need more then a standard "toning" program. (usually uses lighter weights and multiple reps) Which is probably not providing enough resistance to help you build in Lean muscle mass.

marycmeadows

also check out the book 4-hour body -- it's all about reducing body fat. super easy, common sensical stuff.

MelBee29

saving for later.......

BeetleChe13

I agree with what everyone has said so far. You have plenty of good information now. It is possible to be not far from your ideal weight and still have a high body fat %. This is what people call "skinny fat". I was 132 at my top weight, well within a healthy range for my height, and 32% body fat. Now I'm down to 23%, and even though I like my scale weight, I only have 89 lbs of lean mass, so I can get much smaller. I'm pretty sure heavy lifting is the best way to build muscle, but I'm struggling with these last few pounds of fat myself.

treetop57

The caliper method is highly dependent on the skill of the measurer. Try another method for comparison if the result was suspicious.

kjpersich

Saving for future reference on how to calculate...

AZackery

I completely agree, there are very few dads that can give you what lifting actual heavy weights can. The best part about really pushing yourself (HEAVY WEIGHTS, your purse weighs more than those five or ten pound weights you do videos with) is that you can see result rather quickly. I swear every time I lift that I can see more definition the next day.

A lot of women on here thinks that every woman's purse weighs more than 5 pounds and that's not true. Why? Every woman doesn't carry a big purse full of junk. Some women carry small purses.

I would love to hear that a woman that believes in lifting heavy, use 20 pound weights while doing a cardio sculpt workout. For example. I would love to hear them say that have used 20 pound weights doing Tae Bo Ripped. I'm sure they wouldn't do it.

treetop57

Body fat percentage written as a whole number / Original weight = Future body fat percentage

Original weight x Future body fat percentage = Future pounds of fat

I'm curious where these formulas come from. These would say that everyone who starts off wih 36% body fat should set a goal of 36 lbs of body fat. Everyone who starts off with 50% should strive for 50 lbs body fat, etc. It seems like goal weight of fat has to depend on gender, height, age, etc, not just beginning body fat percentage.

meerkat70

I completely agree, there are very few dads that can give you what lifting actual heavy weights can. The best part about really pushing yourself (HEAVY WEIGHTS, your purse weighs more than those five or ten pound weights you do videos with) is that you can see result rather quickly. I swear every time I lift that I can see more definition the next day.

A lot of women on here thinks that every woman's purse weighs more than 5 pounds and that's not true. Why? Every woman doesn't carry a big purse full of junk. Some women carry small purses.

I would love to hear that a woman that believes in lifting heavy, use 20 pound weights while doing a cardio sculpt workout. For example. I would love to hear them say that have used 20 pound weights doing Tae Bo Ripped. I'm sure they wouldn't do it.

Huh?

cherirae

I'm new to this forum and am amazed at the information provided. Thank you! When I started, my doctor tested my body fat and it was 48%! I've lost 69 pounds - but have 61 to go. It will be interesting to see what my body fat is when I lose the rest of my weight! I do a really cardio workout on my treadmill and shoveling snow - but haven't done strength training. We live 30 miles from town and it's just too hard to go there and use a gym. I measure every two weeks and I'm just now losing inches. That doesn't make sense to me, as I've gone down three sizes.

AZackery

Body fat percentage written as a whole number / Original weight = Future body fat percentage

Original weight x Future body fat percentage = Future pounds of fat

I'm curious where these formulas come from. These would say that everyone who starts off wih 36% body fat should set a goal of 36 lbs of body fat. Everyone who starts off with 50% should strive for 50 lbs body fat, etc. It seems like goal weight of fat has to depend on gender, height, age, etc, not just beginning body fat percentage.

You've misunderstood what I have posted. Please go back and read what I have posted to see that I'm not saying, what you think that I'm saying.

treetop57

Whatever. Sorry for wasting your time.

AZackery

Whatever. Sorry for wasting your time.

You haven't wasted my time. I just wanted you to go back and read what I have said to see if you can understand what I was saying.

I wasn't saying that a person should strive to lose a certain amount of pounds that matches their body fat percentage.

doubglass

Can't beat your genes. Why worry about it? Accept the fact that you are on the high end of the spectrum for women and aim for your "ideal weight."

treetop57

I wasn't saying that a person should strive to lose a certain amount of pounds that matches their body fat percentage.

That's the result of the equations you posted. Which is why I asked where you got the equations from.

pukekolive

posting for later

prettygirlhoward

bump