what is your body fat %?

jackieatx

I'm trying to get a handle on what different body fat percentages look like (especially for women) because it seems the body fat charts I've seen are rather off. According to ones I've seen I would have been obese at 156 pounds at 32%- yeah, I was overweight.. not obese. Now I'm at 28.7% at 149- "average"- and I still look very loose in the bum and tummy areas.

jackieatx

And the body fat calculators online are always off for me.. according to them I should be around 20%.. which is definitely not true.

Loulady

I had mine tested with one of those hand-held things earlier this year before participating in a study here on campus. It was 24.4%.

I'd like to start tracking it now that I'm working out again. I'd probably just buy myself one of the cheap calipers, though.

jaznsusan

When I've been measured at the gym I've always been between 21 to 25. I'd love to hit 20 and stay there.

dixiewhiskey

When I started working out again almost two weeks ago I was 40.7%, now I am 36.1 and would like to get to 25%

mortyfit

Navy limit is 21% for me and I was right on the edge two years ago when I started running. Down to just under 15% now (by my body-fat scale at home), 13% by Navy calculation. I don't really know what my actual percentage is because like was already mentioned above, I don't buy the whole "calculator" thing. But here on base we have a "Bod Pod" at the Wellness Center, I think I'm going to make an appointment and see what it says--if you've never seen one, these things are really cool!

jackieatx

When I've been measured at the gym I've always been between 21 to 25. I'd love to hit 20 and stay there.

Right?! Me too, but I was shooting for around 26%, because anything lower seems unattainable for me.. I'm not really sure how much fat you should have on your body.. I am guessing what looks best?

13inchestogo

I am, according to my scale which I know people find are inaccurate, 28 percent too. I really want to be measured with the body calipur to actually find out. I am aiming for 20 percent because at 20 percent I felt really great.

kalynn06

I went from around 31% to 25.6% (by calipers averaged with 2 circumference formulas- all have pretty close results). For the circumference formulas, they are also way off for me if they use the natural waist, because I have a small waist.

I tend toward getting "skinny fat". At 5'5 141 lbs I wasn't overweight, but I was overfat. Also, my current body fat is, I think, high for my weight of 129 lbs. It is, however moving in the right direction.

WifeNMama

I'm 5'3", currently 146 lb., 28.6% body fat. Going down to 120 will put me at 20% I think. We'll see how I feel when I get there.

I think the term "obese" is misunderstood for the most part. It's a medical term to describe how far from a healthy weight a person is. When we hear that word, we think of the 600+ lb. people who can't get up off their recliners. The state of obesity occurs long before that stage, when being overweight becomes a major health concern and causes complications.

"Obesity traditionally has been defined as a weight at least 20% above the weight corresponding to the lowest death rate for individuals of a specific height, gender, and age (ideal weight). Twenty to forty percent over ideal weight is considered mildly obese; 40-100% over ideal weight is considered moderately obese; and 100% over ideal weight is considered severely, or morbidly, obese. More recent guidelines for obesity use a measurement called BMI (body mass index) which is the individual's weight multiplied by 703 and then divided by twice the height in inches. BMI of 25.9-29 is considered overweight; BMI over 30 is considered obese."

Taken from: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=obesity

jackieatx

Navy limit is 21% for me and I was right on the edge two years ago when I started running. Down to just under 15% now (by my body-fat scale at home), 13% by Navy calculation. I don't really know what my actual percentage is because like was already mentioned above, I don't buy the whole "calculator" thing. But here on base we have a "Bod Pod" at the Wellness Center, I think I'm going to make an appointment and see what it says--if you've never seen one, these things are really cool!

Wow! How did you get down to 15%?

gseburn

My scale tells me 17% right now. I started out at 24%, so it's going the right direction

mortyfit

Navy limit is 21% for me and I was right on the edge two years ago when I started running. Down to just under 15% now (by my body-fat scale at home), 13% by Navy calculation. I don't really know what my actual percentage is because like was already mentioned above, I don't buy the whole "calculator" thing. But here on base we have a "Bod Pod" at the Wellness Center, I think I'm going to make an appointment and see what it says--if you've never seen one, these things are really cool!

Wow! How did you get down to 15%?

Worked out (running primarily) consistently for the first time in my life, and I finally fixed my diet--cut out cholesterol-heavy items, lowered my fat intake, balanced the right nutrients (I track fat, protein, carbs, cholesterol, sodium, and potassium). I've never been above 23% (because that's a Physical Fitness failure on my military record if I do!), so it wasn't a huge drop--but I have definitely noticed a difference in my energy level and I don't feel like I had to make any drastic changes to my diet, really. Just had to get consistent.

karensoxfan

I have no idea, and I've given up on trying to find out.

When I first joined a gym in March after about 10 years of inactivity, the handheld monitor read 35.8% (I'm 5'5" tall, weighed 196.5 lb., and I'm 39). A month later, I measured again after exercising 5x/week for a month, and using the same handheld monitor at the same time of day under the same circumstances (early morning, nothing to eat or drink prior, etc.), it read HIGHER (approx. 38%), and after another month, incorporating weight training into my 5x/week routine, it read HIGHER - AGAIN (approx. 39%), which I know to be scientifically near impossible. So like I said, I've given up on finding out. Even the online calculators using different body measurements give me all different results, so I don't know which one of those to trust, either, and my Dr. doesn't measure it (I asked).

This post on Nerd Fitness has a lot of photos showing people at different body fat % if that's helpful to you though:

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/02/body-fat-percentage/

jackieatx

I have no idea, and I've given up on trying to find out.

When I first joined a gym in March after about 10 years of inactivity, the handheld monitor read 35.8% (I'm 5'5" tall, weighed 196.5 lb., and I'm 39). A month later, I measured again after exercising 5x/week for a month, and using the same handheld monitor at the same time of day under the same circumstances (early morning, nothing to eat or drink prior, etc.), it read HIGHER (approx. 38%), and after another month, incorporating weight training into my 5x/week routine, it read HIGHER - AGAIN (approx. 39%), which I know to be scientifically near impossible. So like I said, I've given up on finding out. Even the online calculators using different body measurements give me all different results, so I don't know which one of those to trust, either, and my Dr. doesn't measure it (I asked).

This post on Nerd Fitness has a lot of photos showing people at different body fat % if that's helpful to you though:

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/02/body-fat-percentage/

That doesn't seem right, I would be frustrated as well! Thank you for the link!

baxterlf

Hand held ones are very unreliable and depend highly on hydration. I had a DEXA scan at my doctor's office for body composition. They did the handheld first to compare. The handheld one said 30% but the DEXA was at 38%. I'm 5'2" and 123lbs. I was shocked at how high it was. The gym told me I was 25%.

margojr4

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/02/body-fat-percentage/

Great link!

I'm 5'8", 145lbs and have had tests from both caliper and hand held machines. I've ranged from 19% - 24%

I would love a DEXA scan!!