Body Fat % ?

Dori_Gaga
Dori_Gaga Posts: 50 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so I am female, 5'8 and 207lbs. My scale says I have 50.5% body fat, which to me seems absurd because it means I have over 100lbs of fat. I have a lot of muscle mass so I just can't believe I have that much body fat, at this weight. I know my bones and organs and the water make up a large percentage of my weight too, so I just can't believe that my muscles weight almost nothing in comparison!

So I went to this site: http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html

And put in my measurements and the result was a BF% of 27.4, and about 56lbs of body fat. This site is an estimate, but they claim to be very accurate, and I have read that the scales that measure body fat can have up to a 40% margin of error??

I'm so confused! In one way I want to trust my scale, since I paid money for it, but it seems so inaccurate. In another way I want to trust the site because I like the result better lol. Does anyone know if that could possibly even be accurate, just putting your weight, age, sex and measurements (hips, calf, thigh and wrist) into a website and getting a result? Is there a better way that I can do this at home? Or should I not even worry about my BF%??

Replies

  • LeanButNotMean44
    LeanButNotMean44 Posts: 852 Member
    If those two methods for determining BF% are the only ones available to you, I'd suggest just looking at the numbers to see how they trend because the number itself likely is way off. The best way to get an accurate measure would be to get a Dexa scan. A less expensive way (and probably more accurate than websites and scales) would be to have yourself measured with calipers. But, keep in mind that those measurements are only as good as the person performing the test, meaning that one really needs to know how/where to properly use the calipers.

    As an aside, unless you have a previous athletic history you may not have as much muscle as you think. Women not only naturally carry more fat than men, it also is tougher for women to gain muscle. Further proof that God is a man (if you believe in that sort of thing). :wink:
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Look at leigh peele's blog for more info on body fat precentage and the various ways you can get it measured - she has a free download about this, i found it extremely helpful

    when I was obese, various ways of measuring body fat were very innaccurate, some were gross overestimates others gross underestimates. i used them to monitor progress, rather than worrying what exactly my bf% was. You can also use waist measurement and other circumference measurements for progress, as loss of inches = loss of fat. When I was obese my lean body mass was calculated at being anywhere between 92lb and something like 115lb... my lean body mass is currently around 101lb, after reaching my goal weight it was maybe 97 or 98lb, and while I did lose some lean body mass in the process (some of which I gained back quickly when I switched to maintenance alongside heavy lifting) - I was doing weight training while losing weight I'm sure I couldn't have lost more than about 5lb lean body mass altogether, so my starting lean body mass would be not much more than it is now.... meaning that none of the body fat percentage estimates when I started were close to the truth.

    Use the Harris Benedict formula to work out how many calories you should eat, as the Katch McArdle one requires your body fat percentage, and unless you have a reasonably accurate idea of what it is you won't get the correct number of calories. There isn't really any need to know your exact body fat percentage right now, but as you lose fat a) you will need to know and b) most methods of measuring it are more accurate on leaner people. So when it's more important to have an accurate measure for body fat percentage, you will find it easier to get an accurate measurement of it.

    Hope that helps. Sorry if I didn't phrase it well, (i'm not awake yet lol even though it's lunchtime) - read leigh peele's download whether my post makes any sense or not.

    btw I think 27% is probably closer to the truth than 50+% - when I started out my bf% was somewhere in the middle of the estimates i got (ranging from 28% to 44%... I think the truth was around 30-35%....)
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    Maybe I measured wrong, but that website you listed has me at a whopping 34% body fat. :noway:

    I was professionally tested in January and was 23.3% body fat, and I have gotten even leaner since then. Those measurements are NOT taking into account that some of us have nice muscle mass, especially around the thigh and calf.

    Even with the 3 site caliper test I measured just 22% body fat back in March.

    I wouldn't trust that website. Do you have access to some calipers, or do you know someone who is skilled in using calipers that can test your body fat? I am sure that it would be more accurate that either of the measurements you have been using.
  • Ejwelton
    Ejwelton Posts: 331 Member
    I just used the health central one....

    "You have 20.8% body fat.

    You have 27.2 Pounds of fat and 103.8 Pounds of lean (muscle, bone, body water)."


    I got measured on a tanita scale at the weekend and that read 14% - which to be honest I thought was a bit low.

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