Fat weight vs Lean body Mass

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firmbug
firmbug Posts: 57 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Okay, I have this formula to help determine how much fat you are carrying in weight vs your lean body mass (muscle). I'm gonna share this method. current weight x body fat % (in decimal form) = how much fat you are carrying in pounds. I will use my stats. I weight 173, right now my body fat is at 37, so 173 x .37 = 64 # of fat (scary...I'm really putting myself out here, but it's good to know these numbers). So....now I subtract my fat weight from my current weight and that tells me my lean body mass (LBM). You don't want your lean body mass to go down, because that means you are losing muscle and your metabolism is getting slower. Again, I will use my numbers for the lean body mass calculations. 173 - 64 = 109 (LBM)

Before I started my fitness journey and began eating healthy, my lean body mass was 102 pounds, so I've increased my metabolism and muscle mass from my fitness program (which should be everyone's objective!)

I want to encourage people to track your lean body mass! Remember....muscle burns fat!!!

Lets all become fat burning machines! Who's with me?! Track your info and post here!

My fat weight: 64# (I have a ways to go, but I'm getting there :wink:
My Lean Body Mass: 109

Replies

  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
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    Yes Ma'am, I am all for burning fat---all day long. Getting ready to do my CE right now.
  • DRager68
    DRager68 Posts: 28 Member
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    How are you getting your body fat percentage?
  • kimballtracy
    kimballtracy Posts: 94
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    i dont know how to figure my fat lb...i must sound stupid for not knowing.. my current weight is 194..how do i get my fat percentage?
  • Sherri71
    Sherri71 Posts: 208 Member
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    Ok, I tried your calcuation. Thanks for posting. But taking those numbers, how do I figure out how much I should lose?

    I am currently 135 and 30% BF. So, if I take 135 x .30 = 40.5lbs of fat OUCH. My ultimate goal is to get down to 115, but if I find that too hard to maintain, would like stay between 120-125. Based on Fat weight vs. lean body weight, what would my "ideal" body weight be? 30% seems very high at my 135 weight.
  • WhiteStar2351
    WhiteStar2351 Posts: 87
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    How are you getting your body fat percentage?

    The best and cheapest method is to buy yourself a cheap pair of 'body fat callipers' (get them online - about £10 on ebay) and there's some simple instructions to follow to estimate your own body fat. Usually this involves 'pinching an inch' of fat above the hip bone and checking a chart for an estimation. The more measurement sites you can use, the more accurate the reading will be - in my professional line of work I take a 7-site reading, but 3 is fine.

    A lot of scales include 'body fat' monitors on them as well these days but you should ignore them as electrical impedance measuring is highly inaccurate (the closest it can get is an error margin of +-3.5% which is terrible! I have a very expensive set of Tanita ones which place me somedays anywhere up to 10% above or below my actual BF%). E.I. measurement is also easily knocked out by room temperature, body temperature, humidity, hydration, etc.
  • WhiteStar2351
    WhiteStar2351 Posts: 87
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    Ok, I tried your calcuation. Thanks for posting. But taking those numbers, how do I figure out how much I should lose?

    I am currently 135 and 30% BF. So, if I take 135 x .30 = 40.5lbs of fat OUCH. My ultimate goal is to get down to 115, but if I find that too hard to maintain, would like stay between 120-125. Based on Fat weight vs. lean body weight, what would my "ideal" body weight be? 30% seems very high at my 135 weight.


    Thats the second part of the calculation - Take your LBM and multiply it by 1. the body fat percentage you'd like to be.

    If you have an LBM of 94.5lbs and would like a BF% of 20% then multiply 94.5 by 1.20. That gives you a goal weight of 113lbs (provided you maintain an LBM of 94.5lbs).
  • rockabyesarojane
    rockabyesarojane Posts: 471
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    dear GOD! i find my results more upsetting than i anticipated. but i'm glad to know this so that i can keep a good watch on everything as i continue my journey.

    fat= 49.8#
    LBM= 105.7
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member
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    @WhiteStar: Do you trust people to be able to do calliper method body fat measurements by themselves? A lot of trainers advise against it and argue it should be done by someone who is suitably qualified to undertake skinfold tests and can interpret the data accurately? What do you think?
  • tbranch3634
    tbranch3634 Posts: 32
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    To calculate your body fat percentage, write down how much you weigh and multiply your weight by 703.
  • amycal
    amycal Posts: 646 Member
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    Thats the second part of the calculation - Take your LBM and multiply it by 1. the body fat percentage you'd like to be.

    If you have an LBM of 94.5lbs and would like a BF% of 20% then multiply 94.5 by 1.20. That gives you a goal weight of 113lbs (provided you maintain an LBM of 94.5lbs).

    YES - you will always have some fat you can't burn it all up! Women can have up to 24% body fat and be within the fitness zone. Lower than 10% is not recommended.

    But my body fat is nearly double what it should be yikes! I was 36% the other day when measured at the scale in my club. I lost 2% body fat in the past 4 weeks, I hope I can continue at this pace.

    Here is an interesting website I found when I was looking for information on healthy limits of body fat
    http://www.healthchecksystems.com/bodyfat.htm

    Tons of good information here!
  • WhiteStar2351
    WhiteStar2351 Posts: 87
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    @WhiteStar: Do you trust people to be able to do calliper method body fat measurements by themselves? A lot of trainers advise against it and argue it should be done by someone who is suitably qualified to undertake skinfold tests and can interpret the data accurately? What do you think?

    I would obviously suggest getting somebody professionally trained to do it as a preference - but lets face it, who genuinely listens to professional advice? :smile: Nobody listens to hair dressers who tell you not to dye your own hair, or to electricians/plumbers/mechanics/etc who tell you not to attempt your own repairs - so why would they listen to a personal trainer who says don't calliper yourself? ;o)

    At the end of the day people will always seek out the cheaper option, and usually the one that they can do themselves. I'd rather suggest getting some callipers for a general reading that may be of assistance as opposed to leaving them to their own devices and becoming demotivated by the grossly overestimated numbers provided by the useless electrical impedance scales that most 'health clubs' install these days (and charge for!)!

    As a side note, I know my body fat lies between 15-20% but one set of EI scales put me at 37%(!!??) and another at 28% (taken 30 seconds later). This is how inaccurate they are!
  • rahkahhome
    rahkahhome Posts: 3
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    There are several "at home" methods to try. Accumeasure has a calliper to use at home, and if you google how to measure body fat, there is a tape measure method also. There are things to factor in there: age, ethnicity (most "calculators" are based on caucasians), body frame type, etc. I've used multiple methods at home and they all come out the same, about 30% body fat. I am a small-framed (my wrists are less than 6 inches around) late-30s female at 5'4". I only weigh about 125 lbs, but my ideal weight is closer to 110 lbs. LBM is about 90 lbs. I'd say if you are using an at home measure, even a body fat scale, you are still only approximating your %.
  • firmbug
    firmbug Posts: 57 Member
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    How are you getting your body fat percentage?

    The quickest way is to google body fat percentages and plug in the numbers they are asking, also calipers work in a pinch to.
  • firmbug
    firmbug Posts: 57 Member
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    Ok, I tried your calcuation. Thanks for posting. But taking those numbers, how do I figure out how much I should lose?

    I am currently 135 and 30% BF. So, if I take 135 x .30 = 40.5lbs of fat OUCH. My ultimate goal is to get down to 115, but if I find that too hard to maintain, would like stay between 120-125. Based on Fat weight vs. lean body weight, what would my "ideal" body weight be? 30% seems very high at my 135 weight.

    30% is high. Depending on age women should average between 20-25% body fat. I have a calculation for that too, I need to dig it out, so I will get back with you and that, there is a healthy weight range for this method, for instance mine is 125-130.
  • firmbug
    firmbug Posts: 57 Member
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    Ok, I tried your calcuation. Thanks for posting. But taking those numbers, how do I figure out how much I should lose?

    I am currently 135 and 30% BF. So, if I take 135 x .30 = 40.5lbs of fat OUCH. My ultimate goal is to get down to 115, but if I find that too hard to maintain, would like stay between 120-125. Based on Fat weight vs. lean body weight, what would my "ideal" body weight be? 30% seems very high at my 135 weight.

    Your fat percentage should be around 21-27% for a woman between the age of 31-40. You are not too far off. Here is a formula for you ideal body weight range. subtract each of the ideal range from 100

    You mentioned you weigh 135, so... (Step 1)100% -21% = 79% and 100%-27% =73% (step 2): divide lean body weight by these numbers. 96/79=1.22 and 96/73= 1.32 (step 3) remove the decimal and there ya go. Your ideal body weight will be between 122 and 132. You are not far from that at all!!
  • firmbug
    firmbug Posts: 57 Member
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    To calculate your body fat percentage, write down how much you weigh and multiply your weight by 703.

    Well if I do that for my numbers I get 121,619. So how does this determine ones body fat %??????? It's no where near my actual numbers.?

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