Body Fat Percentage

I got a body composition test done today with calipers and it said my body fat was 33.1%. I weigh 138 pounds and I'm 5'5". 33% body fat puts me in the obese category and this doesn't seem right to me. Is this really accurate? I have been going to the gym 6 times per week and have been lifting and doing cardio.

First for a woman 33% is on the border between healthy and overweight, not obese. The amount of fat on your body, your body composition, is only loosely tied to your weight. If you eat at a large deficit and do lots of cardio you can end up dropping muscle along with fat and the result is actually no change to your body fat percentage. You can weight 138 pounds and have 14% bodyfat with a lot of muscle or you can weight 138 pounds and have 33% bodyfat and have very little muscle. One person is overweight the other is incredibly fit. Scale weight is NOT a good indicator for your health. You will still look small if you weigh little because you don't have a lot of weight to you but what you do have will still appear soft, flabby and you would still be overweight in terms of fat percentage which is actually what matters in health.

I'm not saying this is true of you, calipers are not necessarily accurate... but it is possible. If you were 33% bodyfat at 138 pounds it would mean your lean mass is 92 pounds which is low but possible. If you ate at maintenance and lifted heavy weight and over a year you put on 8 pounds of muscle and lost 8 pounds of fat to bring your lean mass up to 100 pounds and your total weight up to 138 you would be at 27.5% bodyfat which is in the healthy range. If it is true and you approach it by aggressive caloric restriction and more cardio with a lean mass of only 92 will probably do yourself more harm than good.

This is the problem with considering scale weight to be an indicator of health, it really isn't.

33% is teetering on the edge of obese/"risky" category for women. However it's totally possible, people can be fat and skinny at the same time. Just focus on building muscle and you'll get a better body composition.

I got a body composition test done today with calipers and it said my body fat was 33.1%. I weigh 138 pounds and I'm 5'5". 33% body fat puts me in the obese category and this doesn't seem right to me. Is this really accurate? I have been going to the gym 6 times per week and have been lifting and doing cardio.

First for a woman 33% is on the border between healthy and overweight, not obese. The amount of fat on your body, your body composition, is only loosely tied to your weight. If you eat at a large deficit and do lots of cardio you can end up dropping muscle along with fat and the result is actually no change to your body fat percentage. You can weight 138 pounds and have 14% bodyfat with a lot of muscle or you can weight 138 pounds and have 33% bodyfat and have very little muscle. One person is overweight the other is incredibly fit. Scale weight is NOT a good indicator for your health. You will still look small if you weigh little because you don't have a lot of weight to you but what you do have will still appear soft, flabby and you would still be overweight in terms of fat percentage which is actually what matters in health.

I'm not saying this is true of you, calipers are not necessarily accurate... but it is possible. If you were 33% bodyfat at 138 pounds it would mean your lean mass is 92 pounds which is low but possible. If you ate at maintenance and lifted heavy weight and over a year you put on 8 pounds of muscle and lost 8 pounds of fat to bring your lean mass up to 100 pounds and your total weight up to 138 you would be at 27.5% bodyfat which is in the healthy range. If it is true and you approach it by aggressive caloric restriction and more cardio with a lean mass of only 92 will probably do yourself more harm than good.

This is the problem with considering scale weight to be an indicator of health, it really isn't.

^^^ this is a very good explanation

just to add that it's usually a good idea to use more than one method to assess body fat percentage, and also to look in the mirror (naked or nearly naked, i.e. level of muscle definition, how much fat you have on you, etc). Leigh Peele's blog has info on all of this, including pics of men and women at different body fat percentages so you can do comparisons with yourself. visual estimates help you to put measurements into context... if you look like you have 25% body fat and the measurements say 25% body fat then it's probably about right. If you look like you have 20% body fat and the measurements are saying 33% body fat then take the measurements with a big pinch of salt.

So consider all these factors, and if you feel your body fat percentage is higher than you want it to be, then do heavy lifting while eating at a small deficit (and ensuring balanced macros including plenty of protein), because this is the best way to lower body fat percentage.

Get the actual readings in mm's on the calipers.

Track them.

If they are dropping, you are losing fat.

The %'s it gives you are always off in my experience. For some people they are much higher and for some they are much lower. At one stage if I listened to the calipers % apparently I was 4%. Slightly optimistic!

Hah 4%? perhaps if being near death makes you optimistic ;-). Seen pictures of a bodybuilder at 4% and <shudder> yeah.

Get the actual readings in mm's on the calipers.

Track them.

If they are dropping, you are losing fat.

The %'s it gives you are always off in my experience. For some people they are much higher and for some they are much lower. At one stage if I listened to the calipers % apparently I was 4%. Slightly optimistic!

Hah 4%? perhaps if being near death makes you optimistic ;-). Seen pictures of a bodybuilder at 4% and <shudder> yeah.

This was me at the time. Dexa'd at 7%. Calipers said 4%.



P.S your not allowed to body shame around here. (high or low bf%)