Help! So CONFUSED about my BF% numbers!

ExplorinLauren

Ok I need help!
According to my BMI- I am 1 point over and in the obese category.
I'm 202 lbs. 5' 7" and my goal weight is 150-160.
While reading a different forum on eating more to lose more, it included a link to start at, which was the Covert Bailey BF% calculator, to find out my bf% first. I entered all my info and measurements and my results were this:

Lean body mass: 138
67 lbs of fat on my body
BF% 32.5

My body fat % is still in the normal range for my age (32) So when I enter what I would like my body fat % to be, and it gives me a goal weight, I entered 25% and it says my goal weight should be 181 lbs. But my goal weight is 150-160. I know I would not be happy being 181... well I would be happierrrr lol but not finished and content.
What am I doing wrong? I'm not understanding how I can be obese on one thing, and within normal limits on the BF%, and why it would give me a goal weight of 181? (Note: I understand that a BMI calculator and BF% calculator are two different things lol)

Thanks for any help you can offer

Francesca3162

I went to FAT@FITRADIO.com and used all three BF% calculators they have then took an average of them as my current BF% as well as averages to set goals for wieght and BF%...
For my BF% I took the high and low of the normal range and went half way inbetween..
so if the percentages were 23%- 35% I went with 29%. THis way I have wiggle room higher and lower...

Montegue42

Mine did the same thing...according to BF%, I should lose ten pounds...but I don't think ten pounds would make me happy.

I feel like it might be because of my measurements? Like, on paper it sounds like I'm pretty hourglass, but I feel like I don't carry it like that. Plus, I'm super short so I feel like the amount they gave me as a goal for my BF% isn't exactly where I should be as a 5'1" individual. I understand everyone's body is different, and that I'm German so I'm stockily built, but it was very confusing for me.

I don't really have any advice! I'm kind of new to this, but you aren't alone in being confused by that.

susannamarie

Ok I need help!
According to my BMI- I am 1 point over and in the obese category.
I'm 202 lbs. 5' 7" and my goal weight is 150-160.
While reading a different forum on eating more to lose more, it included a link to start at, which was the Covert Bailey BF% calculator, to find out my bf% first. I entered all my info and measurements and my results were this:

Lean body mass: 138
67 lbs of fat on my body
BF% 32.5

My body fat % is still in the normal range for my age (32) So when I enter what I would like my body fat % to be, and it gives me a goal weight, I entered 25% and it says my goal weight should be 181 lbs. But my goal weight is 150-160. I know I would not be happy being 181... well I would be happierrrr lol but not finished and content.
What am I doing wrong? I'm not understanding how I can be obese on one thing, and within normal limits on the BF%, and why it would give me a goal weight of 181? (Note: I understand that a BMI calculator and BF% calculator are two different things lol)

Thanks for any help you can offer

Maybe 25% isn't where you'd be happy. Maybe your dream body is more of a 20%.

Glucocorticoid

Don't worry about BMI, it's useless for your purposes.

nheilweil

I can understand why you are so confused...there are tons of different charts showing different numbers about what's "right".

The American Council on Fitness says "21 - 24% body fat" for women in the "fitness" category. The Jackson & Pollock chart says "22 - 26% body fat" for women ages 31-35. So, those targets might be more acceptable for your personal goals. Also, for what it's worth, if you care about tracking your body fat, get a scale that can measure it! They aren't that much money, they are accurate and It's really hard to guess correctly without one.

As far as your goal weight, you can set whatever you want and if 150-160 is right for you -- great. But a target of 130, rather than 160, might help shed that extra body fat if you want to reduce that.

Good luck!

p.s. I think it's normal for folks to start off with higher weight/BF goals and then as they approach that goal, readjust their goal to a lower number. I started out at 197 lbs & 30% BF, thought I wanted to get to 177 & 22% BF, but once I got there I re-evaluated and figured out that 155 lbs & 17% BF was my "real" goal.

susannamarie

As far as your goal weight, you can set whatever you want and if 150-160 is right for you -- great. But a target of 130, rather than 160, might help shed that extra body fat if you want to reduce that.

Sure would, since that's under her current lean mass :P

ExplorinLauren

I can understand why you are so confused...there are tons of different charts showing different numbers about what's "right".

The American Council on Fitness says "21 - 24% body fat" for women in the "fitness" category. The Jackson & Pollock chart says "22 - 26% body fat" for women ages 31-35. So, those targets might be more acceptable for your personal goals. Also, for what it's worth, if you care about tracking your body fat, get a scale that can measure it! They aren't that much money, they are accurate and It's really hard to guess correctly without one.

As far as your goal weight, you can set whatever you want and if 150-160 is right for you -- great. But a target of 130, rather than 160, might help shed that extra body fat if you want to reduce that.

Good luck!

p.s. I think it's normal for folks to start off with higher weight/BF goals and then as they approach that goal, readjust their goal to a lower number. I started out at 197 lbs & 30% BF, thought I wanted to get to 177 & 22% BF, but once I got there I re-evaluated and figured out that 155 lbs & 17% BF was my "real" goal.

Thank you for the info....
I know I could not personally go down to 130. lol Even in my "bangin' *kitten* body" high school days, I was 140... and for me that was right... back then! lol Trust me, I couldn't even stop looking at myself lmao... 130, with my body composition would be sickly and anorexic looking so I would never ever go that far. But with that said... I already have weight loss goals on tier level.. Technically my 1st goal is 170. When I get there, I know I will want to still lose 10 lbs. Thats why my ultimate goal is 150-160.
I'm not concerned completely with the BF% measurements. I just want to do this right, and I am worried that the calculators are so far off, maybe I shouldn't use them at all? Just keep trying to lose, stay healthy, and use measuring tape, scales and pics to guide the way? I love the idea of a scale that does it all! I didn't realize they even had those! Def an investment I would make! So thank you

ExplorinLauren

As far as your goal weight, you can set whatever you want and if 150-160 is right for you -- great. But a target of 130, rather than 160, might help shed that extra body fat if you want to reduce that.

Sure would, since that's under her current lean mass :P

I don't understand this? What do you mean?
That I should want to be below what is already bones, muscle ...etc?

ExplorinLauren

Don't worry about BMI, it's useless for your purposes.

I'm not worried about it I guess, But if something tells me I'm obese... I def don't want to be there!
Thank you tho

ExplorinLauren

Mine did the same thing...according to BF%, I should lose ten pounds...but I don't think ten pounds would make me happy.

I feel like it might be because of my measurements? Like, on paper it sounds like I'm pretty hourglass, but I feel like I don't carry it like that. Plus, I'm super short so I feel like the amount they gave me as a goal for my BF% isn't exactly where I should be as a 5'1" individual. I understand everyone's body is different, and that I'm German so I'm stockily built, but it was very confusing for me.

I don't really have any advice! I'm kind of new to this, but you aren't alone in being confused by that.

I'm glad I am not alone in all the confusion haha

ExplorinLauren

I went to FAT@FITRADIO.com and used all three BF% calculators they have then took an average of them as my current BF% as well as averages to set goals for wieght and BF%...
For my BF% I took the high and low of the normal range and went half way inbetween..
so if the percentages were 23%- 35% I went with 29%. THis way I have wiggle room higher and lower...

This is a great idea! Thank you!

BuckeyeLife

Something to put out there... The total number weight is kind of over valued. 170 pounds at 20% BF vs 170 pounds at 12% BF looks quite a bit different. (34 lbs of fat vs 20.4 lbs of fat). People losing weight a lot of time sacrifice lean body mass to get that number down. More lean mass maintaining while losing fat will usually be an easier maintenance after you finish the cut. (1 lb of muscle burns like 5x the calories of 1 lb of fat over a day.) So looking at first numbers, you're looking at a significantly higher caloric burn just throughout a normal day with a lower BF% which makes it much easier to eat(keeping a clean food intake) and being able to just eat more to avoid getting hungry. I hope this clears it up some.

BuckeyeLife

As far as your goal weight, you can set whatever you want and if 150-160 is right for you -- great. But a target of 130, rather than 160, might help shed that extra body fat if you want to reduce that.

Sure would, since that's under her current lean mass :P

I don't understand this? What do you mean?
That I should want to be below what is already bones, muscle ...etc?

Basically doing this aiming for 130 or whatever would be bad because your goal is now lower than what your lean muscle mass(non-fat) is and thusly your scale number would drop, but so would your lean mass.

susannamarie

As far as your goal weight, you can set whatever you want and if 150-160 is right for you -- great. But a target of 130, rather than 160, might help shed that extra body fat if you want to reduce that.

Sure would, since that's under her current lean mass :P

I don't understand this? What do you mean?
That I should want to be below what is already bones, muscle ...etc?

Basically doing this aiming for 130 or whatever would be bad because your goal is now lower than what your lean muscle mass(non-fat) is and thusly your scale number would drop, but so would your lean mass.

This is exactly what I meant. I meant that the goal of 130 someone else mentioned for you would be a bad idea.

BuckeyeLife

looks like you have a lot of muscle mass. SO BMI will be highly inaccurate for you, it's an idiotic method anyways. Just go by bodyfat %.

ETA:
Your current stats
202 total weight
138lbs muscle
67lbs of fat
32.5% bodyfat

Your ending stats should be.
155lbs total weight
138lbs of muscle
17lbs of fat
10% bodyfat.

That's pretty low for a female, you should reassess your goals. You're welcome, that's what friend's are for right?

Solid break down here. I agree, re-assess goal and go for a higher number. Scale number is just a weight, it isn't a definition of anything else. I bet you would be surprised how you look at that 181 with a good BF%!

ElizabethRoad

What am I doing wrong?

Expecting an online calculator to be even slightly accurate for you as an individual.

i_miss_donuts

So, I did the Bod Pod which is supposed to be within 1% accuracy (right up there with the DEXA) and it said that your lean body mass (LBM) includes muscle, bone, organs and WATER. I know that to look better and keep your metabolism high you want to minimize loss of LBM as your weight goes down, but wouldn't your water weight also decline? Does the DEXA differentiate between water, fat, muscle, bone and organs?

So for OP - some LBM loss might be expected - though not encouraged. Right?

BuckeyeLife

What am I doing wrong?

Expecting an online calculator to be even slightly accurate for you as an individual.

What a helpful comment, really...

BuckeyeLife

That's fine dude, I get it. I have not supported BMI at all. The reply was pertaining to "trusting an online calculator." Actually, it is trusting the equation to start with. That reply provided added 0 to help the OP. As I said before, your post prior was a solid post and great info for OP. Confused as to why you are defending a troll post to someone who agrees with you...

I understand BMI being off first hand. At 258 lbs it had me listed as way off the charts obese. My doctor last year didn't even believe my weight until he checked the file when they weighed me. I have been an athlete my entire life and BMI will never see me as proper, it is a moronic equation.

ExplorinLauren

Thanks guys I think I will just stop obsessing over the whole BMI thing period, sounds like the best plan! lol