Body Fat Goal

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  • ptjolsen
    ptjolsen Posts: 365 Member
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    I am trying to find a fitness goal that makes sense to me--I've already decided I don't want to use dress size (designers vary) or weight (composition varies) or just "how I look" (the least reliable of them all for me!). I think that leaves me with measuring body fat. Are there any other suggestions for a metric to use to evaluate yourself and your fitness? BP? Heartbeat?

    Also, if I do use body fat, what is realistic for a woman at age 35? I am currently at 19.6% according to trainer measurements, down from 24%. I basically am a bottom-heavy hourglass shape, but in decreasing body fat, the fat is coming first from my waist and then from my bust. My hips are losing inches, but at a rate that is far less than that of my waist and bust. I worry that if I go too low on body fat, I'm going to end up a full-on pear, which I don't want.

    Right now, I have my MFP set up to lose 0.5 lb per week. I've been using that as a proxy for getting healthier, but I guess I don't have a clue of how to determine when I am healthy enough to eat for maintenance. All thoughts appreciated.

    In my professional opinion, for your age (and without knowing anything else about you) you would like to be between 20 - 25%
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    I had to laugh at "become one with the pear"! I definitely don't want to fight my natural body shape and will keep in mind that maintenance at too low a body fat may be more trouble than its worth. I'm on MFP to be healthy, not become a middle-aged supermodel :)

    Does anyone suggest tracking another metric like heartbeat or blood pressure instead of body fat? I've seen a steady decline in both (I started at normal). And what about liposuction.....does it really make your body rebel and do horrible things?

    Liposuction soes not make your body rebel and do horrible things. It is simply the removal of fat cells from specific areas. When you gain weight, your fat cells become larger, so if you have fewer fat cells in one area, then you will not gain as quickly in that area, because there are fewer cells to 'swell'. You don't suddenly start getting fat ears or anything like that.

    ETA- overall better health is a good goal to shoot for. This includes lower BF%, lower cholesterol, BP, blood sugar, and gains in strength, endurance and cardio health. (lower resting HR)
  • lulusmom
    lulusmom Posts: 71
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    The affect of age is largely overstated.

    If you're referring to my comment, I don't feel like I overstated it, but the simple fact is that not many women maintain 15% into their thirtees. For whatever the reason, it's obviously more difficult to do.

    Probably because they become less active and consume more calories, not because there is a magic switch. Yeah your metabolism may slow a little, but really, how many calories per day difference does that male? 50? 100? Eat a tablespoon less ranch dressing and you have made up for that.

    Actually, the effect of age on body fat comes into play mainly because the same caliper measurements do not equal the same body fat percentage as you age. If I measure the same now as I did ten years ago, my body fat percentage would be higher.

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