Body Fat Percentage
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sarahebelzer
Posts: 5
I went to the Bod Pod and learned that I am 25.7% body fat.
Now, that would be okay with me if this was my body fat percentage at the beginning of the year, but I have been working out and taking multiple fitness classes since January and lost 10 pounds. I thought I had something to be proud of and I was hoping desperately to be in the 20-23% range.
At this rate, I don't even want to know how high that body fat percentage was beforehand.
For some more information I am a 19 year old female. 4'11".
The pod measured my fat weight is 25.4 lbs and my lean weight is 73.6.
My total weight is 99 lbs.
I do NOT want to lose weight! I just want to lose the fat weight and up my lean weight.
I just don't know what I am doing wrong. I do at least four days of cardio a week. I am in turbo kick and zumba (cardio based) and I do strength on my own time at least twice a week.
I eat well too, trying to get all my lean fats, proteins, minimal but needed carbs, etc. in.
I feel so bad about myself right now.
Even after I lost 10 lbs, I still don't feel as fit as I should be. Despite going to the gym regularly and eating right. What can I do?
Thanks.
Now, that would be okay with me if this was my body fat percentage at the beginning of the year, but I have been working out and taking multiple fitness classes since January and lost 10 pounds. I thought I had something to be proud of and I was hoping desperately to be in the 20-23% range.
At this rate, I don't even want to know how high that body fat percentage was beforehand.
For some more information I am a 19 year old female. 4'11".
The pod measured my fat weight is 25.4 lbs and my lean weight is 73.6.
My total weight is 99 lbs.
I do NOT want to lose weight! I just want to lose the fat weight and up my lean weight.
I just don't know what I am doing wrong. I do at least four days of cardio a week. I am in turbo kick and zumba (cardio based) and I do strength on my own time at least twice a week.
I eat well too, trying to get all my lean fats, proteins, minimal but needed carbs, etc. in.
I feel so bad about myself right now.
Even after I lost 10 lbs, I still don't feel as fit as I should be. Despite going to the gym regularly and eating right. What can I do?
Thanks.
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Replies
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Well when I was at a 25.5% body fat percentage I was a lil crazy about the cardio to. Runnin 4-5 days a week. I did that for a couple months which no change in bodyfat, so I started doing 3-4 days strengh training and 1-2 days cardio. Month later I lost 1.5 percent body fat. I say more strengh training, less cardio. I'd recommend Jillian Michael s dvds as its a mix of strengh and cardio. It did wonders for me.0
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I would suggest doing heavy lifting. this would probably require a gym, and possibly a trainer session to show you correct posture. It will tone you up and drop your body fat- but will not make you "big". Don't drop your cardio all together, just cut it down.0
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I agree with what the others have said. More strength training not as much cardio.0
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I had my body fat measured yesterday using the machine that sends an electric pulse through your body and it came out at 27.3% - I really cannot believe this reading as I'm my goal weight, fit and toned. It's just really knocked my confidence. I work out 5-8 times a week - a mixture of cardio and weights as well as sports I enjoy - and eat a balanced diet. I think it's a shame to be happy with yourself (doesn't often happen!) to then have a machine make you doubt yourself. I do enjoy measuring different aspects of body fitness but do think there's a limit when you think you look fine and are pleased with your training performance to then have a number tell you you're not good enough. All my other readings were great! Grrr!0
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I have noticed that people can carry body fat very differently, just as people carry weight differently. You can look at two different women with the same 25% body fat and they look quite different. One can look much more muscular and toned and yet strangely still have the same body fat measurement. Also, you may want to have a master trainer measure you. I have had different readings from the machine with the electronic pulse. Remember they are within 3% points of accuracy.0
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Ladies please remember that females naturally have higher bf% due to child bearing features.
In terms of going to the gym to burn fat. I would say a balance of strenght training & cardio. Here is what Dr. Dave Palumbo mentions about cardio which I use for my diet to trim bf%.
"CARDIO should be performed at a low intensity (under 120bpm heartrate). This will ensure that you use FAT as a fuel source since as your heartrate increase, carbohydrates begin to become the preferred fuel of choice for the body. When on a low carb diet, you're body will break down muscle and turn that into carbs. Remember, Fat CANNOT be changed into carbs.Therefore, for bodybuilding, the rule of cardio should be LONG DURATION, LOW INTENSITY.
never do less than 20 min per session
The BOTTOM LINE is that low intensity cardio (while you might need more of it) ensures that fat is utilized and muscle is spared (especially while on my high protein/moderate fat/low carb diety).
Do you feel the treadmill is better for cardio, or is the bike(stationary or recumbent) just as good? As long as the intensity is LOW, it doesn't matter which piece of equipment you use."0 -
I had a similar "wake up call" recently too... I filled out a bunch of online body fat calculators, and while I know they aren't all that accurate, I got around 27% - 29% body fat!!! It took me some time to finally accept that. I thought I'd be closer to 20 - 23%. I def WANT to be around 20%!!!
All the reading I've done since says the same as the advice above: low intensity cardio, more strength training.
Guess we'll have to get over our phobia of lifting weights
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