Percentage of Body Fat?

faithchange
faithchange Posts: 311 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
OK. I'm curious is 27 % body fat horrible? I went to just google calculating body fat and came up with 26.83% and rounded up from there.

I'm 172 lbs and still have some to lose, but I wanted to be out of the "acceptable"...is that a horrible word? Not sure why I'm taking it as horrible. LOL!

thanks

Replies

  • deisha
    deisha Posts: 122 Member
    No 27% body fat isn't horrible. You said you still have a little weight to lose, so your figures will change. I don't know how accurate google body fat % is. Can you not have it taken elsewhere? I have mine done at my gym.
  • blonde71
    blonde71 Posts: 955 Member
    No, not horrible at all. What is your body fat goal?
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    For a female it's within the healthy range.

    I'm 24.8% with a goal of 20%

    What method did you use to get your number?
  • CESarver
    CESarver Posts: 6
    I wouldn't got by the charts on-line I did mine and it was 25.33% and I have a scale at home that measure it and I'm at 18% BF...so almost 7.5% different is a big difference. The chart tells me I'm "acceptable" but my diet & exercise would prove other wise. I would find a facility to have this accurately tested. All bodies are built different and carry weight differently.
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    I mean I can convert pounds into kilograms, but how do you convert handfuls into percentages? it baffles me
  • DawnMarieMomofTwo
    DawnMarieMomofTwo Posts: 186 Member
    if your interested in measuring body fat i suggest getting a accu-measure it measures using skin folds, will probably give you a more accurate reading not completely accurate but it gives you an idea and is only $5 on amazon
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    It's not horrible at all! But if you wanna change it U've come to the right place!
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Get a body fat estimating scale or get someone who is experienced to do a caliper test. There are other methods, but they are more expensive.

    What is an acceptable body fat % is related to sex and age. Older people tend to have higher body fat % because they lose muscle mass unless they exercise and hormonal changes can result in large fat deposits.
  • lechrome
    lechrome Posts: 3 Member
    I vote for the Accu-Measure calipers. I got mine off of Amazon for around $5. I have a body fat scale and I would weigh myself every day just to get an idea of what my body fat was doing, not really looking into the weight number. Well anyway, over the course of one month I lost around 4-5lbs, however my body fat was staying around 16-18% even before the loss. I did weight training to prevent muslce loss so I should be losing body fat, not gaining or staying the same. Finally got a set of these Accu-measure calipers, did the three-spot skin fold test (thigh, naval area, side of chest) on the right side of my body. Did an average of three tests per spot, calculated it all, and came back with 10.1% body fat. Water weight and variable can affect the reading on the scale, so if you want a cheap, accurate method I suggest the calipers.

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