Confused about body fat %. Please do advise.

spacewanderer

Hi,

I'm female, 157.5 cm, 30 years old and weigh 57 kgs. My highest weight was 61kg and I lost the 4 kg in the last 2.5 months eating quite clean, around 1600 cals a day average and I do a mix of weight training, elliptical machine and body pump classes.
A year back I had my body fat tested at the doc's and it was around 35%, which shocked me since I think that is obese category. I just got the Omron body composition Scale and measured my body fat yesterday hoping I had got it down to 30% body fat. But its now 38.5%!! I don't understand, my clothes are looser, my diet is healthier and I am not eating too less, i feel i look more toned, I don't have much cellulite in any case. Don't understand how I could have 38.5% body fat!! On the web I see images of women with body fat in the same range and they look quite a bit bigger than me and with more cellulite. Does high body fat always correlate to more cellulite?
I doubt the reading is wrong(I wish), since my husband's came out to be 14%, which is quite realistic for him.

What should I be doing? To give you an idea of my diet, I eat lesser on weekdays(1350 cals) and more on weekends(2000 cals). I eat lots of fruits, try to get adequate veggies, have given up chocolate and fried stuff. I think my protein intake might be a bit less? It just crosses the MFP limit. Should i be having protein shakes? The scale also gave my resting metabolic rate as 1250. Should I be cutting down on my intake?
I already do weight training and lift heavy (at least feels that way to me!).

Any input would be appreciated as I have been brooding abt this since yest ! Thanks

WBB55

(5'2" and 126 lbs, to translate for the non-metric.) When I'm dehydrated, my BF% reads higher than I think it actually is. It's really hard to know the exact number unless you do one of those water displacement or body pod thingies. You also have to do it at the same time of day every day.

But if you're happy with the way you look and feel, and your doctor isn't telling you to do anything different with your diet and exercise regimen, why care what some silly scale says?

rduhlir

Try taping it out. It is possible you are getting a false reading.

jdad1

Do you do a lot of strength training? If so, and your diet is in check, your body fat percentage will drop.

Nige_Gsy

I agree with WBB55; there are so many variables that affect this. For what it's worth, I have noticed that body water % has a significant effect on the measurement of body fat when using Omron / Tanita electronic measurement scales.

Unless you're weighing in at a consistent time each week (give or take a few minutes ) and keep a reasonably static hydration level the results are, at best, spurious.

tigersword

Body fat scales are incredibly inaccurate, can be off by as much as 10%.

katevarner

I agree with the others that the level may be wrong, particularly if you are doing that much weight lifting, but if you are only eating as much protein as MFP tells you to, you aren't eating enough. MFP is set at 15% of calories from protein and you can safely eat about twice that. Try setting your goal for about 1g of protein per kg of body weight--and that's probably still low. Many US websites advocate 1g per pound.

AliciaC81

If you're lifting you want to be eating more protein than what MFP advises. Even with my percentages raised I look at it more like a minimum goal for protein (and fat too if it's healthy fats).

Your RMR isn't what you want to eat at, that's how much your body needs if it was to be doing absolutely nothing. Check out this thread here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/682138-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 That'll show you how to figure out what you need to be eating to sustain weight loss while also fueling your body for the strength training you've been doing.

tomcornhole

I have the Omron, calipers and a tape measure.
Results:
Omron: 23.7%
Calipers: 20%
Tape measure (using Navy formula): 24.6%
Visual comparison to pics on the web: 22%
BodPod = 22%
The Omron is precise. It's readings are consistent over multiple measurements.

I can tell you that the most accurate way to determine body fat is comparing yourself to pictures on the web. I have been doing that since I started a year ago and it has always been accurate. Frustrating, but accurate.

Tom

spacewanderer

Thanks everyone for your replies!
I am pretty disturbed that I have such a high level of body fat. Like a whale!
So if i continue to eat clean and weight train, it should drop? How long before you guys saw a difference?

sijomial

I use an Omron scale as well.
It is very consistent if you use it properly, but if you take you measurements at different times of day the readings will vary a lot depending on hydration levels, food in your body etc.
I take my measurements first thing in the morning

To check accuracy I had a BodPod analysis done and the result was only 1% different to the Omron figure.

neandermagnon

Body fat scales are incredibly inaccurate, can be off by as much as 10%.

^^^ this, or more than 10%

It's better to try a range of different methods to get an estimate of body fat percentage. Leigh Peele's blog contains some really good information and a free download on measuring body fat percentage, including pictures of men and women at different percentages for visual estimates.

Ultimately, it's the real world results that count, not numbers on a device. If your clothes are looser and you look better in the mirror, then you've clearly improved your body composition, and don't let the numbers tell you otherwise. This is why visual estimates are a good thing to include as one of the methods you use to calculate body fat percentage.