Is my body fat % too low?

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2

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  • aetzkorn14
    aetzkorn14 Posts: 169 Member
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    15-18% is my goal and I have spoke to two trainers who say that is fine as long as it is done right, but your stats look fine to me.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    In short, your trainer is a kook. Those bf calculators are notoriously inaccurate. One of the handhelds once told me I was around 8%. I was sitting at about 14%. Looking at your pics, you look in the neighborhood of 25%. I think you should concentrate on building muscle. But you don't even have abs. No way is your body fat too low.

    Did you look at her before pics, or her after pics? There is NO way she is 25% now.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Those last pictures in the shorts are current? Yeah, that's not 16%. I'd guess around 20-23%. You are fine. Those handheld things are very inaccurate and for your trainer to not know that is scary. And she's also throwing out numbers that are wrong further indicating she doesn't know what she is doing.

    However, while I don't think you need to gain weight, be aware that 1800 might not be enough for you to maintain. Try it. If you keep losing go up 100-200 calories.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    In short, your trainer is a kook. Those bf calculators are notoriously inaccurate. One of the handhelds once told me I was around 8%. I was sitting at about 14%. Looking at your pics, you look in the neighborhood of 25%. I think you should concentrate on building muscle. But you don't even have abs. No way is your body fat too low.

    Did you look at her before pics, or her after pics? There is NO way she is 25% now.

    body-fat-percentage-women.jpg

    It's possible she's around 25%. Can look great at that level, and women carry their fat so differently. Talking 6 pounds between 25% and 20% for her. Would be interesting to see a more reliable test result.

    Anyway, she's obviously not in danger of being underweight and the trainer is nuts.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    In short, your trainer is a kook. Those bf calculators are notoriously inaccurate. One of the handhelds once told me I was around 8%. I was sitting at about 14%. Looking at your pics, you look in the neighborhood of 25%. I think you should concentrate on building muscle. But you don't even have abs. No way is your body fat too low.

    Did you look at her before pics, or her after pics? There is NO way she is 25% now.

    The problem with those pictures is that the women above 22% have very little muscle, while the women below it have a lot. What does a muscular woman at 25% look like? How about a non-muscular woman at 22% (I'd guess the OP)?
    body-fat-percentage-women.jpg

    It's possible she's around 25%. Can look great at that level, and women carry their fat so differently. Talking 6 pounds between 25% and 20% for her. Would be interesting to see a more reliable test result.

    Anyway, she's obviously not in danger of being underweight and the trainer is nuts.

    The problem with those pictures is that they lean women have much more muscles than the others. What does a non-muscular woman look like at 20%? Or what does a woman with muscles look like at 25%?
  • g04fit_girl
    g04fit_girl Posts: 16
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    I disagree with the pictures. My BF is around 10-11% and i dont look like those pics !!!! No crazy six pack either... It's about YOU and how you feel.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    I'll add that unless your personal trainer happens to be a licensed and registered dietician, she really shouldn't be recommending a specific caloric intake since doing so is more or less viewed legally as writing a prescription - which is outside her professional boundaries. Doctors who "dabble" in nutrition are in the same boat. From her questionable replies and directions, it doesn't seem like she is.

    Regarding your body fat, choose one method of assessment and reevaluate every three months to get a more accurate estimate on your current percentage. Testing too frequently, using various methods, and doing so under different and less than ideal conditions will only lead to very inconsistent readings.
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
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    Your stats are very close to mine. I have been checked out by a doctor numerous times, and was told I'm very healthy. My blood work was fabulous.

    I say drop the trainer and find a new one who doesn't try to diagnose you by looking at you.
  • KathleenMurry
    KathleenMurry Posts: 448 Member
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    Any chance you ended up getting hotter than your trainer and she is now jealous?

    Any chance you have taught yourself so much about weight loss, fitness and diet over the past few months that she now feels her credibility is threatened?

    It sounds fishy that a trainer would say you're too low and need to eat more. From your pics, you look fit and healthy and I'd peg you around 21-23% body fat (not that I'm a pro, just from experience).

    It's time for a new trainer or to just strike out on your own.
  • o2bADyer
    o2bADyer Posts: 208
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    Unless you FEEL like something is wrong (which it doesn't sound like it until this "trainer" started throwing up negative crap), keep doing what you're doing. If you want to make sure just to be on the safe side, your physician would be the next stop...not another trainer.

    Keep up the good work! :happy:
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Your personal trainer is not a doctor.
  • glennstoudt
    glennstoudt Posts: 403 Member
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    In short, your trainer is a kook. Those bf calculators are notoriously inaccurate. One of the handhelds once told me I was around 8%. I was sitting at about 14%. Looking at your pics, you look in the neighborhood of 25%. I think you should concentrate on building muscle. But you don't even have abs. No way is your body fat too low.


    Agree bad approach by trainer. And that your BF % based on your photo can not be an issue.
    Disagree only on the fact that some handhelds, over time, can be accurate if used in similar exacting conditions
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    Drop the trainer and find another one. Unless your trainer is also a doctor that has performed blood work and other tests on you, it is impossible to "look" at someone and diagnose them medically. This trainer obviously has no idea about nutrition or the body, and to blindly throw out how many calories you should consume, scare you, and tell you to drink Ensure between meals is just dumb and unprofessional. This "trainer" probably took an online course, paid $50 and got a certificate printed on the spot.

    My suggestion: Always consult a physician before starting a weight training or exercise program. After that, do some research on beginner lifting and strength gaining programs. Determine your optimal caloric and macro goals based on your fitness, health and strength goals. Seek help from other's IN THE KNOW and learn from them, while also understanding that you will need to encounter trial and error before you start to feel comfortable with your results. Don't waste your time or money with fake guru trainers spouting nonsense.

    this just about expresses my sentiments perfectly...
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    In short, your trainer is a kook. Those bf calculators are notoriously inaccurate. One of the handhelds once told me I was around 8%. I was sitting at about 14%. Looking at your pics, you look in the neighborhood of 25%. I think you should concentrate on building muscle. But you don't even have abs. No way is your body fat too low.

    Did you look at her before pics, or her after pics? There is NO way she is 25% now.

    The problem with those pictures is that the women above 22% have very little muscle, while the women below it have a lot. What does a muscular woman at 25% look like? How about a non-muscular woman at 22% (I'd guess the OP)?
    body-fat-percentage-women.jpg

    It's possible she's around 25%. Can look great at that level, and women carry their fat so differently. Talking 6 pounds between 25% and 20% for her. Would be interesting to see a more reliable test result.

    Anyway, she's obviously not in danger of being underweight and the trainer is nuts.

    The problem with those pictures is that they lean women have much more muscles than the others. What does a non-muscular woman look like at 20%? Or what does a woman with muscles look like at 25%?

    I think the biggest difference you are seeing (with the exception of the women competitor at 10%) is the ability to see the muscles underlying the fat layer. As you get leaner, you will appear more muscular simply because you will have better definition. I personally don't see huge differences in ACTUAL muscularity between the 25 to 15% examples in these photos. It is all about perceived vs actual muscularity here.

    My upper arms don't carry a lot of fat, and I have always had well defined deltoids and biceps. People assume I am stronger than I really am. I haven't lifted heavy in YEARS.
  • KyliAnne26
    KyliAnne26 Posts: 209 Member
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    One of my biggest pet peeves is trainers playing the role of registered dietitian. More often than not they have absolutely no clue what they're talking about.

    Also, I second the comment about your trainer possibly feeling threatened? Not sure what the reason may be, but I can't imagine any other reason why a trainer would say such things to you and freak you out. Sounds like it might be time to move on, or at least be aware to take everything else she says with a grain of salt until you check it out for yourself.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    I disagree with the pictures. My BF is around 10-11% and i dont look like those pics !!!! No crazy six pack either... It's about YOU and how you feel.

    You look pretty darn low body fat in your photo. If you haven't specifically built up your abs, are not tanned, oiled (and dehydrated) you aren't going to look like that fitness competitor.
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    In my opinion, no. But I think your opinion is more important in this case.
  • norcal_yogi
    norcal_yogi Posts: 675 Member
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    no.... 19-21% for a woman is fine... great even.
  • djeffreys10
    djeffreys10 Posts: 2,312 Member
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    In short, your trainer is a kook. Those bf calculators are notoriously inaccurate. One of the handhelds once told me I was around 8%. I was sitting at about 14%. Looking at your pics, you look in the neighborhood of 25%. I think you should concentrate on building muscle. But you don't even have abs. No way is your body fat too low.

    Did you look at her before pics, or her after pics? There is NO way she is 25% now.

    After. If you think there is no way she is 25%, the problem lies not with my approximation, but rather with your perception.
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
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    Drop the trainer and find another one. Unless your trainer is also a doctor that has performed blood work and other tests on you, it is impossible to "look" at someone and diagnose them medically. This trainer obviously has no idea about nutrition or the body, and to blindly throw out how many calories you should consume, scare you, and tell you to drink Ensure between meals is just dumb and unprofessional. This "trainer" probably took an online course, paid $50 and got a certificate printed on the spot.

    My suggestion: Always consult a physician before starting a weight training or exercise program. After that, do some research on beginner lifting and strength gaining programs. Determine your optimal caloric and macro goals based on your fitness, health and strength goals. Seek help from other's IN THE KNOW and learn from them, while also understanding that you will need to encounter trial and error before you start to feel comfortable with your results. Don't waste your time or money with fake guru trainers spouting nonsense.

    this just about expresses my sentiments perfectly...

    I agree! Find a new trainer

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