Body fat

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muffintopteri
muffintopteri Posts: 83
in Health and Weight Loss
My scale tells me I am 35% body fat which seems astronomical to me! I am 5'6" and I weight (as of moments ago!) 148.2 pounds. How else do you calculate body fat? What should it be? And how do I get it where it should be? :huh:

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  • smuehlbauer
    smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
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    I'm 5'9" and 142 - right around 20%
    And I'm pretty lean
    Not sure what you're expecting....?
    I'm sure if you google bodyfat percentage it will give you a chart.
  • Goal_Seeker_1988
    Goal_Seeker_1988 Posts: 1,619 Member
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    last year I had a bmi reading of 23% 2 days ago @ the gym I tried their reading machine figurations thingie and it said my bmi is now 25.5% and that I have 37lbs of fat. I am 5'7" and weigh 145. My weight should remain between 135 & 155 to be considered healthy. Idk, I don't know how accurate any of them things are. The owner of the gym told me just go by what your clothes say.
  • muffintopteri
    muffintopteri Posts: 83
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    Well I guess I don't know what I'm expecting, I don't know what it's "supposed" to be. I don't usually pay any attention to that number so yeah maybe I'll go online and search what the "experts" say :happy: There are just so many brainiacs right here on mfp I thought someone would whip out a formula or give me a goal number. Thanx so much ladies!
  • sammys1girly
    sammys1girly Posts: 1,045 Member
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    I don't know what to think about those body fat calculators. I lift and do cardio usually five days a week and have an active lifestyle and the online body fat calulators have me as almost 37% bf and I'm 135lbs. I do have a big butt and a stretched out tummy from having three kids but my arms and legs are pretty toned and if the calculator is correct, I am in the "obese" range. I'm thinking that's not right...
  • monky13grl
    monky13grl Posts: 55 Member
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    Athletic women should be around 15% body fat. Regular women are ususally ok below 25% body fat. Men are significantly less. There are two scales though (one is a navy one and I think it is a little ridiculous personally), but if you google it and do some research you can see where your body should be.
  • lulusmom
    lulusmom Posts: 71
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    The American Council on Exercise lists Women's body fat ranges as follows:

    Essentail 10-13%
    Athletes 14-20%
    Fitness 21-24%
    Average 25-31%
    Obese 32% +

    http://www.acefitness.org/blog/112/what-are-the-guidelines-for-percentage-of-body-fat/

    ETA -- The most accurate way to test body fat is water-submersion (costs money, not easily accessible). The second most reliable (IMO) is caliper measurements on various points of your body (can be done at a gym for free). I think those scales are the least accuratee measurement.
  • jenomaha
    jenomaha Posts: 631 Member
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    If you belong to a gym, a trainer should be able to do it for free. They should use the calipers (pinch ya) in a few places and get a percentage from that. One way to decrease bodyfat is through building lean muscle, i.e. lifting weights. Another way, of course is nutrition.

    To add to the above stats, here is a chart based on age of the avg population courtesy of -
    http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/bodyfatpercentage.html

    Body Fat Percentage for The Average Population

    Females

    up to 30 yrs of age 14-21%
    30-50 yrs of age 15-23%
    50+ yrs of age 16-25%

    Males
    up to 30 yrs of age 9-15%
    30-50 yrs of age 11-17%
    50+ yrs of age 12-19%

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