Confused about body fat

Calamitycazza
Calamitycazza Posts: 87 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just weighed myself recently and found that I was 10st 8lbs, my body fat was measured at 19.5%. I am a 5'6 female and still have a few more pounds to lose, I don't think I want to lower my body fat any more. Is there anyway I can stop this? I know this sounds like a silly question, but I'm so confused about it!

Replies

  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    Eat at maintenance to maintain your current weight. If you would like to gain a bit, eat a bit more than maintenance.
  • Calamitycazza
    Calamitycazza Posts: 87 Member
    but what can I do to continue losing weight but not body fat? if its possible that is
  • HereWeGoAgain7
    HereWeGoAgain7 Posts: 163 Member
    To lose pounds it has to come from somewhere:

    1. Body fat
    2. Muscles

    If you really don't want to lose anymore body fat, then throw your scale away and forget the pounds.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    BF scales are notoriously inaccurate due to hydration levels...

    But that being said if you are good with where you are as far as looks maintain...

    by your ticker you want to lose another 13lbs...your bf will go down with 13lbs lost...but again...I wouldn't trust that scale...
  • Calamitycazza
    Calamitycazza Posts: 87 Member
    ah right, it basically, losing body fat comes in the package of losing pounds! Thank you for clearing that up for me! I was just browsing online and read that if you body fat is too low it can make you pretty ill and that healthy body fat for a woman is 21% - 23%! Mine is 19.5% and I still have weight to lose as I still have a bit of a stomach and my butt could do with a bit less fat on it lol

    Thanks for helping :)
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    Eat at maintenance and get yourself on a good lifting program.

    Also, I didn't ask where you got the 19.5% from? That is very lean for a woman and it's possible that it's incorrect.
  • rebalee8
    rebalee8 Posts: 161 Member
    Yeah, I would agree with what others are saying about the scale being really off. According to my scale, my body fat % has supposedly gone UP with my last 15 pounds of weight loss. And that's with me exercising - including weights. Visually, and based on what's happening with my measurements and how my clothes are fitting... pretty sure that's not what's happening.
  • Calamitycazza
    Calamitycazza Posts: 87 Member
    I weigh myself on the scales at my local boots, I weighed my self there previously when I was 4 pounds heavier (10st 12) and my body fat apparently was 24%. I agree with you, I think they are incorrect as I still have quite a pudgy belly ( it looks alright if i suck it in lol) and butt! It's just confused me so much. I don't want to have too little body fat, but I would like to get a flatter stomach and smaller bum.

    I work out 5 days a week, mon, wed, fri is half an hour cardio and half an hour resistance
    tues and thurs are 30 min - 1hr cardio.
    I eat 1580 calories a day and drink between 2 - 3 litres of water daily
  • rikracer61
    rikracer61 Posts: 208
    If you are serious about you BF% don't bother with the scales of hand hel devices. All of them have accuracy levels of ±8% which is worthless. If you are really interested in your BF% contact a crossfit gym in your area andthey probably have a hydrostatic tester in a mobile truck show up every 3 months or so. They can tell you who to contact. This is the gold standard for BF% testing and is the only reliable numbers. I think there may be some ultrasonic testing that is accurate too but testing with this method is not common yet.
  • rikracer61
    rikracer61 Posts: 208
    BTW, plenty of athletes live year round at 8-12% BF levels with no negative effect so don't stress about your numbers. One article about BF% should not make you change your life.
  • Calamitycazza
    Calamitycazza Posts: 87 Member
    Thank you :) like i said, I still need to lose weight and don't understand how my body fat could be that low as I still have pudgy belly, butt and thighs lol I was just worried it would get too low
  • maggieparks1
    maggieparks1 Posts: 8
    Im confused as well I go to Curves ladies gym my last weigh in was when I had been doing 5.2 for 3 weeks I lost 5.5 lbs but my body fat ( on their analyzer had gone up I just understand!!
  • Calamitycazza
    Calamitycazza Posts: 87 Member
    Body fat is just very confusing lol but congrats on the weight loss :)
  • greypilgrimess
    greypilgrimess Posts: 353 Member
    My scales say I'm 20% bf, I'm pretty sure I'm closer to 35%! Like others have said, ignore the number on your scale regarding bf%, it's most likely a long way out.

    Here are some pictures and information that you can use to compare yourself with and see what an unhealthy bf% looks like: http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/
  • Calamitycazza
    Calamitycazza Posts: 87 Member
    After looking at that, I think I am definitely between 30% and 35% :)
  • BigAndBeautifulTIFFANY
    BigAndBeautifulTIFFANY Posts: 2
    body fat also goes by height and age..
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    body fat also goes by height and age..

    I may be misunderstanding you, how so?
  • dont_tap_my_aces
    dont_tap_my_aces Posts: 125 Member
    BTW, plenty of athletes live year round at 8-12% BF levels with no negative effect so don't stress about your numbers. One article about BF% should not make you change your life.

    Yeah MEN can live at 8-12% no issues... Women need to stay ~13% or higher as their essential fat level is much higher than mens! do not take this advice it could seriously hurt you!

    You will stop having menstrual cycles if you get too low, usually sub 15% in women.

    also don't trust your scales BF tester, its crap. only use it to track your progress over time. Don't believe it's crap? go get a full glass of water and slam it, then test yourself again. you will probably shoot up 2-3%
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
    body fat also goes by height and age..
    Incorrect. Body fat is measured as a proportion, a percentage number. That is relative to the rest of one's body.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    BTW, plenty of athletes live year round at 8-12% BF levels with no negative effect so don't stress about your numbers. One article about BF% should not make you change your life.

    Yeah MEN can live at 8-12% no issues... Women need to stay ~13% or higher as their essential fat level is much higher than mens! do not take this advice it could seriously hurt you!

    You will stop having menstrual cycles if you get too low, usually sub 15% in women.

    also don't trust your scales BF tester, its crap. only use it to track your progress over time. Don't believe it's crap? go get a full glass of water and slam it, then test yourself again. you will probably shoot up 2-3%

    I missed this but exactly this! Women's essential bodyfat is higher than a man's. I believe 12% is essential for women.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    ah right, it basically, losing body fat comes in the package of losing pounds! Thank you for clearing that up for me! I was just browsing online and read that if you body fat is too low it can make you pretty ill and that healthy body fat for a woman is 21% - 23%! Mine is 19.5% and I still have weight to lose as I still have a bit of a stomach and my butt could do with a bit less fat on it lol

    Thanks for helping :)

    I don't really understand this. The goal of weight loss, unless you have a specific weight to make for some sports competition, is to lose fat since it is excess fat that is unhealthy. Wanting to lose weight without losing fat because you are satisfied with the amount of fat means losing things like muscle or bone, neither of which you want to lose as the weight they provide is not detrimental to your health, and in fact is beneficial in terms of living life well as muscle lets you be active and strong, and bone well you want to maintain your bone mass so you don't break them easily. That leads to me wondering if you are too focused on a number on the scale.

    Realize this, other than you and your doctor, unless you are telling people what you weigh, they have no idea. They see how you look. If you are happy with that, switch to maintain weight. If you are not happy with how you look, then you have to decide if you need to lose more fat or put fat or muscle on. Simply focusing on a number for the numbers sake is not taking into account health both short and long term.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/830595-body-fat-estimation-methods

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