a little confused

karleen

So, when i joined my gym i had a free personal training session and it included a body fat measurement thing. Mine was right at 31% which the women told me is highly unacceptable basically. I told her i don't want to be wicked thin or athletic, just healthy. And that my goal was 160 pounds. My lean mass is 135 pounds according to that device... She broke it down basically sayin it will take me a year to get there and shed all the fat and gain about 10 pounds of muscle.

I'm now looking at this website
http://www.healthchecksystems.com/bodyfat.htm

which basically says if you are 135 pounds lean mass and weigh 150 pounds your fat percentage is only 10%... Now I'm thinking my goal is 160 might even be too low. Would it be ok to set my goal to be more like 170? people are telling me i look great, that im getting obsessive and i should not weigh 160 pounds. I think this women at the gym kinda messed with my mind a little bit and i'm only realizing now that i'll still be pretty small at 170 pounds.


I dont even know what i want out of this post.. there's no real question. just kind of a rant about the way this lady made me think... i duno. its all so confusing!

tammietifanie

Be the weight you want to be!!!!! NO one can tell you what you should weigh or look like it's all about what you want. Im at 154 right now and would like to get down to 135 and then try to get to about 125 and alot of people say that's too skinny or that will never happen but really it's how i feel about myself and if i feel over weight at 154 and know i'll feel great when i reach my goal then i really don't care what other's say cause they don't live in my body and have to look in the mirror every day... So i would set a goal weight that you know you'll feel happy about and stick to that..

bethrs

Hi Karleen.
It can be both frustrating and confusing. And having other ppl tell you about your body can be at the top of the list!

My (unsolicited) advice is to find some exercise you enjoy, work on your calories, eat healthy, nutritious foods, and get down to the size you want to be- and if it is in a healthy BMI and your measurements are good (there are some numbers for waist/hips/etc. that predict heart disease for women)- then you are all set no matter what other folks or the scale says.


HTH.

AnneElise

How tall are you? I am 5'5" and trying to get to 135. Its what was suggested to me by my doctor. Maybe ask yours?

karleen

How tall are you? I am 5'5" and trying to get to 135. Its what was suggested to me by my doctor. Maybe ask yours?

i'm 5'9 . theyve told me 160 is good. i think im gonna say screw what others say and go to the weight i want!

no_worries

If you want to find out what your body fat is just buy a pair of calapers. We have a set that was cheap.

lt_mrcook

My thought on any information that is presented to me is this: If it makes you brain ask "WTF?" then you should doubt it's accuracy and do more checking. Good on you for trying to find out more on your own. If you look into it, you can also find what is considered a normal BF% for women.

If you goal is 160, then let that be your goal. If you were to maintain all of your lean mass, and weigh 160 lbs you'd have ~15.5% BF which is really good for a woman. Or you can plan to lose to 160, allow you lean mass to drop to 125 and have a 22% BF which I believe is right in the middle of the normal range for women. Your body, your choices.

P.S. Don't think just because someone at the gym is a "certified" personal trainer that they have all the answers, or even know anything special. You can get some PT certifications after one day of class and a simple test. Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing trainers out there who take great pride in their jobs and do keep up with new information. Still, always check what you are being told...which is amazingly easy in this day of Google and iPhone.

no_worries

"P.S. Don't think just because someone at the gym is a "certified" personal trainer that they have all the answers, or even know anything special. You can get some PT certifications after one day of class and a simple test."

Really? I worked at a personal training gym and all the trainers had to have masters degrees. If I could just spend a day and get my persona training certificate then sign me up. But in all seriousness, a lot of personal trainers have to have ongoing training and need to keep their certification recent which requires testing and all that fun stuff.

Maybe you should check that trainers credentials.

karleen

If you goal is 160, then let that be your goal. If you were to maintain all of your lean mass, and weigh 160 lbs you'd have ~15.5% BF which is really good for a woman. Or you can plan to lose to 160, allow you lean mass to drop to 125 and have a 22% BF which I believe is right in the middle of the normal range for women. Your body, your choices.

Interesting thought on the dropping of lean mass. if anything i thought id be adding more muscle to the mix.. it's all so confusing to me really cause i mean.. id say i hate my thighs [lol] and they could use some definate toning.. but i dont wanna be a 15 % body fat..

i guess ill just keep working til im happy and whatever the numbers say, i'll leave it at that.

karleen

If you goal is 160, then let that be your goal. If you were to maintain all of your lean mass, and weigh 160 lbs you'd have ~15.5% BF which is really good for a woman. Or you can plan to lose to 160, allow you lean mass to drop to 125 and have a 22% BF which I believe is right in the middle of the normal range for women. Your body, your choices.

Interesting thought on the dropping of lean mass. if anything i thought id be adding more muscle to the mix.. it's all so confusing to me really cause i mean.. id say i hate my thighs [lol] and they could use some definate toning.. but i dont wanna be a 15 % body fat..

i guess ill just keep working til im happy and whatever the numbers say, i'll leave it at that.