Body fat percentage? What's yours?

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  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    Please disregard the body fat %'s of the males that posted here. Healthy body fat %'s are totally different for males and females. Generally, a healthy range is anywhere in the 20's for most (not all) females. I myself am a long-distance runner, with body fat % in the mid 20's and a BMI of 21 (and at my goal weight). Since each person is different, I would consult a doctor on this one. Glad you are on the road to recovery! :heart:
  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    good luck in your recovery :)
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
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    Before judging those who do monitor their success by their BF %, keep in mind one number doesn't work for everyone. At 19% I have my cycle routinely every month. I've even been as low as 11% when I competed in Figure and still had my regular cycles then as did many of the girls. People can spit numbers out all the time to try and look educated when the fact of the matter is its truly an individual aspect.

    Totally agree... I took it as a given that a single figure without any range or standard error is the mean.

    No one is judging anyone - just stating what applies to most. That wasn't harmful of me, was it, particularly if the figures are conservative like you suggest they might be for some? When I was anything below 20% my cycle was regular but... tmi to go into it, all I can say is that it was far from healthy and babies would not have been happening.

    No disagreements, just trying to be helpful here :)

    *edit. also, her goal is health. not having a proper period for a sustained period of time is an indicator of poor health. if a woman's goal is to win a competition then it is a given that she is willing to cut body fat to unhealthy levels for a period of time. that's cool, i totally understand cutting for competition, but when i say the 'hype' around low body fat I mean general population aiming to sustain at a low body fat %. People who participate in competitions can't do this and know not to do this... the rest of us look at people in figure competitions and don't know that they usually hang out up around 20% body fat (or whatever). That was the point I made quite a poor attempt at making.
  • ExistingAsAMemory
    ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21
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    I'm 5'1", and my BF is around 19%.



    Good luck on your recovery. Remember that it's a journey, not a destination. It'll be hard work, but worth it.

    Thank you! :) I'll keep that in mind.
  • ExistingAsAMemory
    ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21
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    You need to add body fat. Eat good nutritious food, but run a bit of a calorie surplus to add some body fat slowly. If you lose fat or gain muscle alone, your body fat % will slide back down when it needs to come up about another percentage point. Good luck and make sure you only listen to people with your best interest at heart, not people who earn their living convincing you that you're not good enough. They lie. I was with a female friend when a gym trainer measured her at 18% body fat and told her she should trim that down a bit. No matter what I said, she let this jerk convince her she was overweight!

    Not comparable because I'm male, but mine is 17.6% based on a skin fold test in 3 places, but my scale says 27%.

    18% BF and she's considered overweight? That trainer is most definitely a crook. It's not hard to see why so many people suffer from eating disorders these days.
    I will, thanks. There are a lot of doctors in my life right now. Oh, what I wouldn't give to be healthy and normal!
    I've learned to not trust the scale. It's the most deceiving instrument of all.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    I'm a guy (41 yrs) so my numbers probably dont really matter much, but I recently had 2 different tests done and they came back very close: 16.1% and 16.3%. I'm 5'10" and 165lbs and have a pretty slim build. Like others have said, ladies should have a higher % than guys. Best wishes on your journey to recovery!

    15% is fine. I'm not saying she should go lower. Someone posted a link with photos showing what people, men, and women, look like at various body fat %s.

    IT IS NOT FINE for her.

    You really can't reach a conclusion like that without context. That's the problem with threads like this.
  • ExistingAsAMemory
    ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21
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    @love4fitnesslove4food thank you. I won't let it bring me down. I'm trying my hardest, honest. :smile:

    @psulemon according to the calculator, my TDEE is 2009. Another calculator says it's 2019. Does that mean I'll have to eat more than 1500 calories a day?

    @Sarauk2sf thanks for the support. :smile: Yes, females do tend to have a higher body fat % to be able to function properly and conceive children. I'm working on upping my weight; it's a tough journey. :)

    @fasttrack27 those are good numbers. :) Thank you!

    @moe5474 I'm so happy to hear that you've recovered. It gives me hope that I can do it as well. If 3 years is what it takes, then I'm willing to fight for recovery. I'll definitely follow your advice. And thanks, really. :smile:

    @mfpcopine As I've said before, I understand where you're coming from. I'm sorry if I've offended you by writing "horribly unhealthy", it's just that those were the words that the psychiatrist keeps using. You're right, not everyone on this board has an ED, which I'm thankful for because it would suck to have everyone suffer in that way. But many of the people I've met on here have experienced EDs either firsthand or through someone they love.

    @laceylou0702 That's great progress in such a shirt while! =D

    @WayyOutOfLine Sound advice :tongue: I'll be sure to seek you out for doubts. :) It's great to hear about all the good things you've gained after becoming healthier: something to look forward to. Hopefully one day I'll have all that too. :D

    @Lolli1986 that's interesting to know, because I had gotten ill a few months back and the sickness stayed with me for a long time. By the time it was gone, I was a bag of bones, quite (but not really) literally. It's awesome that you're happy with your BF%, because after all, that's what we all want right? I'll definitely keep what you told me in mind. :)

    @DangerDiv ahahah thankyouuuuu. Woah girl, your attitude the ED you had is inspiring! I'll be sure to check out the minimum 30 mins/7 days a week thing. I haven't thought of it that way, actually. I just can't seem to get enough of exercising! There's always a few extra calories to be lost, and even though I'm trying to recover, it's hard to drop my routine. I definitely don't want this to be the death of me, so I'm doing my best. :happy: I'll spam you =P Because I'm a spammer.

    @HMVOL7409 About the numbers thing, I get it. I never have regular periods anymore, sometimes missing them as well. Your body and metabolic reactions must be pretty awesome then! :)

    @Hezzietiger1 thanks!

    @jenilla1 Yeah, the guys did mention about the difference. It's because of the female reproductive system mostly, right? Happy to hear you're at your goal weight! Hopefully I'll reach mine soon as well. :)

    @angel79202 Thanks!

    Thank you everyone for your tremendous help. I've gotten so much advice as well that I'll most definitely be keeping in mind. I didn't mean to start a controversy. :tongue: But honestly, it's the best thing to have such a supportive community of people. :heart: Now I have more reasons to recover, too.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    @psulemon according to the calculator, my TDEE is 2009. Another calculator says it's 2019. Does that mean I'll have to eat more than 1500 calories a day?

    Based on those numbers, if you're trying to gain weight, you need to eat more than 2000 cals.
  • ExistingAsAMemory
    ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21
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    Based on those numbers, if you're trying to gain weight, you need to eat more than 2000 cals.

    More than 2000 calories a day? That's definitely a lot for one day. :ohwell: It can be done though, and I will. :grumble: :smile:
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Based on those numbers, if you're trying to gain weight, you need to eat more than 2000 cals.

    More than 2000 calories a day? That's definitely a lot for one day. :ohwell: It can be done though, and I will. :grumble: :smile:

    It's a process... eat more this week than you did last week, then more next week, etc, and you'll get there. Great attitude, and good luck!
  • ExistingAsAMemory
    ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21
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    Based on those numbers, if you're trying to gain weight, you need to eat more than 2000 cals.

    More than 2000 calories a day? That's definitely a lot for one day. :ohwell: It can be done though, and I will. :grumble: :smile:

    It's a process... eat more this week than you did last week, then more next week, etc, and you'll get there. Great attitude, and good luck!

    Thanks. :happy: I'll try that. Here's to hoping it works!
  • thistimeismytime
    thistimeismytime Posts: 711 Member
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    Thank you so much for the helpful replies. I can't spend a day without exercising for at least 30 minutes now, so I'd say I'm pretty active most of the week. I think it would be better to raise the % of muscle and decrease the fat, correct?
    you probably don't need to decrease your fat at all, it's already very little. I'd work on just gaining muscle and upping your weight a little!

    I totally agree! 15% with some more muscle would be fine, but if you get lower than 15% for long periods of time, you can have problems. Healthy, VERY fit women are usually around 20%, so 15% is in the low range for sure. Work on adding some lean tissue, and keep up your recovery efforts. Cheering for you!! :flowerforyou:
  • Scorpioangel
    Scorpioangel Posts: 951 Member
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    My body fat is around 10% and I am 5'4" and 104-105. My Dr. has tested everything and I am perfectly healthy. I have nice muscle tone, a tiny frame, and have good coloring. Not sickly looking at all and I love my figure!
  • cswhitchurch
    cswhitchurch Posts: 4
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    I just discovered the world of body fat percentage calculation and so I've been using all the methods available to me to figure out what mine is... the consensus is between 12% to 12.5%. That seems surprisingly low to me! I know I am at the low end of my "healthy weight range" according to the BMI chart (appx 132lbs at 5'11" puts me at a BMI of 18.3, which is just barely in the "underweight" category). I have been at this weight for the last year-- up from 120, when I was in the grips of anorexia. My body's "set point," pre-ED behaviors, is around 150-155. It just seems strange to me.... my BMI is not very low (I do not meet the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa) but my BF % seems low for that number. I'm not an athlete and never have been, although I do exercise 1-2x per week. The calculators say that I'm carrying around 16 lbs of body fat. So when I weight 12 pounds less than I do now, was I only carrying 4 pounds of body fat? Does the body tend to lose fat first, and then muscle?

    Sorry, I'm just super interested in all this stuff, and it's been awhile since I have stumbled into an area I didn't already know all about! And you people seem to know what you're talking about :) Educate me?
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    I just discovered the world of body fat percentage calculation and so I've been using all the methods available to me to figure out what mine is... the consensus is between 12% to 12.5%. That seems surprisingly low to me! I know I am at the low end of my "healthy weight range" according to the BMI chart (appx 132lbs at 5'11" puts me at a BMI of 18.3, which is just barely in the "underweight" category). I have been at this weight for the last year-- up from 120, when I was in the grips of anorexia. My body's "set point," pre-ED behaviors, is around 150-155. It just seems strange to me.... my BMI is not very low (I do not meet the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa) but my BF % seems low for that number. I'm not an athlete and never have been, although I do exercise 1-2x per week. The calculators say that I'm carrying around 16 lbs of body fat. So when I weight 12 pounds less than I do now, was I only carrying 4 pounds of body fat? Does the body tend to lose fat first, and then muscle?

    Sorry, I'm just super interested in all this stuff, and it's been awhile since I have stumbled into an area I didn't already know all about! And you people seem to know what you're talking about :) Educate me?


    That does seem low. How did you calculate it?
  • cswhitchurch
    cswhitchurch Posts: 4
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    I had a trainer at my gym do the caliper pinching thing, and also used various calculators which required taking measurements from the various body parts... i did that in both inches and centimeters. I got a couple wacko numbers from online calculators (one was over 50%, the other was NEGATIVE 4 %, haha what the heck?) but all of the others were right about 12.25.

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