Obese at 135 5'6.5''???

zsaoosh
zsaoosh Posts: 402 Member
edited December 18 in Motivation and Support
I went into a bod pod (weighted 139, I am 5'6.5'' and I am a size 6) and the bod pod said I am 33% body fat. A site said that I am obese! This cant be right, can it?

Replies

  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    Nope. Use the tools on MFP, I find they are consistent with most other sites. I'm 5'3" and I know 25% body fat is around 140lbs. So I know that calculation is wrong.

    Yours is 22.4% right in the middle of the healthy range.
  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
    The bod pod is going to be way more accurate than calculations made by inputting #'s to a program though. ??????? Her post was spurred by a question on my page and I am curious about this as well. I am 5"2", currently 127, and listed as obese on Body Fat % charts... seems insane. I know I have way too much fat, but it still seems like a drastic classification!

    Can someone shed some light?
  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
    Bump
  • rcates2424
    rcates2424 Posts: 208
    You can be skinny and still have a higher fat % than someone who weighs much more.
  • kelseyhere
    kelseyhere Posts: 1,123 Member
    While your weight isn't unhealthy and I'm sure you certainly don't look obese it is possible that your body fat is high. You aren't at all fat (hey I'm the same size as you- 5' 6", 138 pounds) and I know I don't look obese. In high school I weighed less (about 127) but I did have a much higher body fat percentage. I refer to this as "skinny fat" (you look skinny but your soft and weak). Now I weigh more, but have lower body fat and look slimmer and fit into smaller sizes than I did in high school.

    If you want to know how to fix it- start lifting weights, fat will drop off your and you're metabolism will go up (muscle burns more calories than fat), allowing you to eat more without gaining weight.
  • summer8it
    summer8it Posts: 433 Member
    There is such a thing as being "skinny fat" - you can have a high percentage of body fat even if you're in the healthy BMI range. Conversely, heavily muscled athletes with very low body fat percentages can have BMIs that are in the "obese" range. Two people who are exactly the same height and weight can have vastly different body fat percentages, which is why online body fat calculators want to know measurements (such as neck, wrist, waist) in addition to height and weight.

    Luckily, there's a cure for "skinny fat" -- exercise!
  • carrie_eggo
    carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
    Yes. It's called "skinny-fat." Eat at maintenance (or just below), get adequate protein in your diet and start lifting. Heavy. Now.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Yes. It's called "skinny-fat." Eat at maintenance (or just below), get adequate protein in your diet and start lifting. Heavy. Now.

    what she said
  • Molly182
    Molly182 Posts: 406
    the numbers are always so confusing lol
  • jamiesadler
    jamiesadler Posts: 634 Member
    There is such a thing as skinny fat. You may be a low weight but you have too much fat and not enough lean muscle mass. This is possible.
  • zsaoosh
    zsaoosh Posts: 402 Member
    Thank you. I am lifting now so hopefully this helps. BUT are you sure I should be eating more cals? Eating at maintenance seems high if I am trying to loose fat. :bigsmile:
  • mamaclose
    mamaclose Posts: 179 Member
    Thank you. I am lifting now so hopefully this helps. BUT are you sure I should be eating more cals? Eating at maintenance seems high if I am trying to loose fat. :bigsmile:

    Yes, eating more calories can help you lose, there are many posts about it on the boards.
  • ChasingSweatandTears
    ChasingSweatandTears Posts: 504 Member
    Yes, lifting to reduce your body fat! I just started too :) and you are really pretty by the way!
  • zsaoosh
    zsaoosh Posts: 402 Member
    :blushing: Thank you!!!
  • KGFitnessGuru
    KGFitnessGuru Posts: 41
    Its not the weight that you really should look at its body fat %. when I started working out a few years ago I was 165 at 35% and I am 5'3 I was obese. when we think of the term obese we probably think you have to be quite larger but I was in the range of being way unhealthy. Cardio such as running on tread mills tone muscles and lean them out, so you have to also lift weights to gain muscle, the more muscle you have the faster your body burns body fat.
  • zsaoosh
    zsaoosh Posts: 402 Member
    Based on my above info, can anyone tell me how much I should eat? On this site it says that my BMR is 1360 BUT when I went into the bod pod it said that my BMR is 1189 because my body fat is so high I dont need as much. I am also lifting 3 times a week and doing Zumba and running. Its all confusing!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories