Women: Something to Consider Regarding BF%

EmilyTwist1

Interesting... in my health classes in high school they taught that 12% to 15% was ideal for women. At the time I was around 8% and had a regular cycle (don't know how fertile I was, though, as I've never been pregnant).

8% holy crap i bet you looked ripped!

Lol! Not really. I've always had very little muscle.

hookilau

If I had to choose, miss chicky @ 30% is what I'd like to look like....but alas....dangerous curves are likely not in the cards for me :sad: I just don't have that body type. :ohwell:

HealthyBodySickMind

personally i take this with a grain of salt. As i said, my goal is 16% bf. How can I think 16% bf might be "ok" for me when a study shows it's not? Well, because 16% bf is not the same as 16% bf when one person is barely eating and the other one works out like a beast. This is what I mean:



There are other factors to consider than just BF%. If I starve myself until I'm too fatigued to do anything and I am not getting proper nutrition, I wouldn't be surprised if there were negative health consequences.

but I think a woman who eats well over 1800 calories a day and works out hard can achieve a perfectly healthy 16% bodyfat.



And that's exactly what I intend to do. Weight lifting has shown to be GOOD for your bones:

http://fitness.holplus.com/Exercise/Powerlifting/The-Hidden-Benefits-For-Women-To-Weight-Lift.html

So if I eat 1800+ calories a day, I work out like a beast, my bf goes down to 16%, i'm getting proper nutrition, I think that's ok.

^^^This exactly. I was surprised when I started looking into body fat at how low mine was, and got worried and looked into the health risks associated with low body fat. However, I don't think most of them apply to me. I did lots of high impact things (good for bone density) both when I was growing and now, and have always eaten rather good homecooked food. I also don't bruise easily, which is related to bone density. I'm also very regular. I think as long as we are above essential fat, get our regular cycles, and eat well we are probably just fine.

kbauman09

It's definitely different from person to person. I'm 45, 5'7", 148 pounds, and and have 19.6% body fat (bod pod last week). I have recently lost 45 pounds and do a boot camp workout with heavy weights/cardio 3x a week and run the other days. I'm a size 6 or 8, but am a muscular build. I, personally, think I look like my body fat should be more, but I must carry more muscle than I think. I am also a believer that we mess our minds up with all of these numbers. I'm trying to be moderate with my exercise and diet and just be happy with the way I am today!

HypersonicFitNess

Weeeellllll, I take this with a grain of salt. I am not real concerned about osteoporosis but then I do plenty of weight bearing exercise, get plenty of calcium (mostly through veggies and almond milk),

AND, I am in my 40s and do not plan to have any more children, so I would be thrilled to have amoneria (of course I'm pre-menopausal anyway). My body fat is somewhere between 14.8 - 20 depending on how it's done. By calculation it's 20% by caliper its 14.8%.

Nefetete

bump to read later

likitisplit

Seriously? I'm at 32% and I look a lot more like the lady in the 40% picture. When I was under 20%, I didn't look like that one either - more like the 25% picture - and I exercised all the time.

stines72

different body types hold fat differently... so those visual guides arent representative of everyone obviously. i am SUPPOSEDLY at 11.4% body fat right now (caliper test 7 point). but i do not look like the first picture, i look more like the 2nd one (15-17).

lithezebra

And if vanity is more important to you than health, body fat makes your face prettier, and lightens those dark circles under people's eyes.

pudadough

Thanks for the info. Although for me personally, I can't imagine ever getting to a point where LOW body fat was my issue. :grumble:

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

^^^This exactly. I was surprised when I started looking into body fat at how low mine was, and got worried and looked into the health risks associated with low body fat. However, I don't think most of them apply to me. I did lots of high impact things (good for bone density) both when I was growing and now, and have always eaten rather good homecooked food. I also don't bruise easily, which is related to bone density. I'm also very regular. I think as long as we are above essential fat, get our regular cycles, and eat well we are probably just fine.

I don't disagree. If you're getting your periods and are eating healthily then it's not an issue. The problem is that most women are on BC and think they're getting a "period" when it's simply a withdrawal bleed. When at lower levels of bodyfat I highly recommend using condoms for birth control, otherwise you run the risk of not catching the tale tell sign (i.e. amenorrhea).

CorvusCorax77

Weeeellllll, I take this with a grain of salt. I am not real concerned about osteoporosis but then I do plenty of weight bearing exercise, get plenty of calcium (mostly through veggies and almond milk),

AND, I am in my 40s and do not plan to have any more children, so I would be thrilled to have amoneria (of course I'm pre-menopausal anyway). My body fat is somewhere between 14.8 - 20 depending on how it's done. By calculation it's 20% by caliper its 14.8%.

haha. OP jumped down my throat for saying exactly the same thing ("I take this with a grain of salt.") Apparently it was rude of me to dismiss the original post and have a different opinion, questioning if the studies controlled for how the lower body fat was acheived, what type of exercise was being done, what type of diet was being eaten, etc.

lexherrera

I got measured at 19.1% using one of those handheld devices (not sure I trust it...)

My trainer says he wants to get me down to 15%. I don't think I trust going that low.

HealthyBodySickMind

^^^This exactly. I was surprised when I started looking into body fat at how low mine was, and got worried and looked into the health risks associated with low body fat. However, I don't think most of them apply to me. I did lots of high impact things (good for bone density) both when I was growing and now, and have always eaten rather good homecooked food. I also don't bruise easily, which is related to bone density. I'm also very regular. I think as long as we are above essential fat, get our regular cycles, and eat well we are probably just fine.

I don't disagree. If you're getting your periods and are eating healthily then it's not an issue. The problem is that most women are on BC and think they're getting a "period" when it's simply a withdrawal bleed. When at lower levels of bodyfat I highly recommend using condoms for birth control, otherwise you run the risk of not catching the tale tell sign (i.e. amenorrhea).

This is a very relevant topic for me because I would like to get pregnant in the next year.

It's true that birth control suppresses periods, but I've always been this low bf, and any time I've gone off my birth control I get my cycles. Some women naturally fall lower on the body fat spectrum.

ElyseL1

I read somewhere that its better for women to be slightly over weight, and i do mean slightly as in five to ten lbs in order to get pregnant. i've always been ok with that amt for myself. my goal is actually still five lbs overweight. i may reevaluate this as i get closer to my goal though.

iorahkwano

Good message out there! Not that I was planning to achieve super low body fat, but what percentage did you go down to that caused these issues?

And here is a visual for those of us that may not know what different body fat %s look like. You see here that there are no pictures of women under 10% like there is men, and there's a reason for that. Women were meant to have some fat for hormonal processes, bone health, organ protection, insulation & need fat to absorb certain nutrients in food. Men too, but their bodies can handle low fat better than ours can.

Weebs628

good thing i dont want children!

I was thinking the same thing...

Jonesie1984

Seriously? I'm at 32% and I look a lot more like the lady in the 40% picture. When I was under 20%, I didn't look like that one either - more like the 25% picture - and I exercised all the time.

mines looks about right for the woman at 25% but my goal is 16-17%. Again, there are other factors I would love to see that are adjacent causes to bone mineral density loss. Factors such as: thyroid issues, race (white and asian ethnicities are at higher risk), calcium intake, vit d intake, location, previous smoking history. To say that lower boy fat percentage is the cause for osteopenia/osteoporsis is almost negligent IMO. I was a DEXA tech. We recommend weight bearing exercises. For this reason I don't believe cardio effect and regular weight lifters at the same bf% would produce the same results. I don't have to the time to look up a study but weight lifting has been KNOWN to correct bone disorders (even scoliosis in some). I forget her name but that young powerlifter girl who's 21 breaking all these records back was completely recovered from weight lifting.

Also arbritary numbers like "over long term" doesn't give adequate time lines to know how long the effects would last. Also, they don't take into account people who bulk/cut cycle and bf% rises and falls in cycles.. The one paragraph article seems pretty inconclusive IMHO. And sure EXTREME bf% loss can lead to infertility and amenorrhea however most people don'thave this problem. Most people find it easier to get pregnant (especially with history of PCOS) when losing body fat and thus increasing blood circulation to reproductive organs

**also if you take calcium supplementation calcium carbonate is actually the gold standard vs calcium citrate. Better absorption occurs when taken with vit d as well

BinaryPulsar

My body fat has only ever been in the range of 18 to 22 (one time when I was 16 it dropped too low for about 6 months, but I purposely gained weight). I always had visible abs. 22 was high to me. But, I have never eaten a low calorie diet. I've always had extremely regular and healthy cycles. I don't use hormonal birth control. Getting pregnant was never difficult for me. I also don't want to have any more children. I recently had my hormones tested and they were all normal. I have a very clean bill of health from my doctor. I lift weights and eat calcium in my foods to maintain bone health for a lifetime. I'm 35.

I am sorry to hear that this happened to you. I hope you will regain health. Thanks for sharing.

But, I don't think it is unhealthy to be under 22%. I also do not think that breastfeeding is bad for health. Breastfeeding actually reduces the risk of certain cancers and is actually healthy for the mother, as well as the baby. Period loss due to malnutrition, starvation and low bodyfat is unhealthy. But, having breaks from your period due to the natural cycles of pregnancy and breastfeeding is actually healthy. That's why nuns (as a population) have such a high incidence of breast cancer and cancers of the reproductive system.

WandaWoman41

Bumping to read entire thread. Thanks