37% to 23% body fat in 3 months - accurate or not?

saanjana
saanjana Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started my weight loss journey aggressively when my trainer measured me back in April and I was 37% body fat though my BMI was low. I am 5'8, started at 148 pounds, and now I weight 135 pounds, and my body fat percentage is 23%.

During the past few months I started watching my diet closely, limiting my calories from 1600 a day to about 1000-1200. I also started training with my trainer (weights) mostly 1-2 times a week.

What surprises me is that these measurements don't seem consistent. Even when I was measured t 37% I was quite shocked. I was also told by my trainer it is not possible to lose more than 2% body fat in a month. So the 14% drop makes me a little skeptical. Does anybody have any input for me?

Also, though I have lost weight, I still have a lot of fat around my belly. My thighs have really become lean. What should my targets be?

Replies

  • luckypony71
    luckypony71 Posts: 399 Member
    I don't know what calculations he used. I just used my BMI sliding scale and put your numbers in. We all know this is not the most accurate way of calculating body fat. Now with that being said at 5'8" and 135 the BMI scale puts you at just above 20% body fat. At 5'8" and 148lbs I got a reading of 23% body fat.
    So I think his beginning number may have been off.

    I think you are at an excellent body fat percentage. Lift weights and tone up. You will notice a decrease in the body fat.
  • SpecialKH
    SpecialKH Posts: 70 Member
    edited October 2014
    Hm. At 148 you'd have to have a pretty dainty frame if you only have 93 pounds of lean mass and 5'8". I'm 5'6" and my lean mass is 103 - well, 105 now - it took me 5 months to gain 2 pounds of muscle while loosing fat. At 135 at 23% your lean mass is now 104 meaning you gained 11 pounds of muscle. That doesn't seem possible. One of the measurements is likely wrong. (Could be my math, too!)

    And 1000 calories is too few. Eating less than your Basic Metabolic Rate puts your body into calorie conservation mode. My BMR is around 1300 calories. I burn a little less than a calorie per minute while at rest. An average day without the gym I burn 2000. I'm 46 years old BTW...


  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    I'm a little skeptical about the %bf numbers. How did they measure you?

    Here is why - to do what you said, that means you lost 23.7lbs of fat and gained 10lbs of muscle in a 6 month period. While eating at a deficit to lose fat, I don't think you really gained that much muscle.

    It could also be a water issue, too, but the numbers don't seem terribly accurate.
  • Jesssamesssa
    Jesssamesssa Posts: 116 Member
    saanjana wrote: »
    I started my weight loss journey aggressively when my trainer measured me back in April and I was 37% body fat though my BMI was low. I am 5'8, started at 148 pounds, and now I weight 135 pounds, and my body fat percentage is 23%.

    During the past few months I started watching my diet closely, limiting my calories from 1600 a day to about 1000-1200. I also started training with my trainer (weights) mostly 1-2 times a week.

    What surprises me is that these measurements don't seem consistent. Even when I was measured t 37% I was quite shocked. I was also told by my trainer it is not possible to lose more than 2% body fat in a month. So the 14% drop makes me a little skeptical. Does anybody have any input for me?

    Also, though I have lost weight, I still have a lot of fat around my belly. My thighs have really become lean. What should my targets be?

    I did it.........I started out at 34.3% bf Aug 1. Today Oct 21 (11 weeks later) I am 22.8% bf. A 11.5% bf loss in two and a half months. I have lost 13.2 lbs.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    edited October 2014
    I'm going to go with the PP: your starting number is not correct. I'm your height, but I weigh in in the 170s. Since I started tracking my BF%, the highest I've been is in the 28-29% range (a year ago when I started working out with my trainer).

    How did your trainer measure you? Those handheld electronic devices are inaccurate. The BF% scales are also inaccurate. Calipers have like a 5% margin of error (meaning your BF could be 23% +/- 5%). The most accurate methods are hydrostatic weighing and DEXA scans.
  • saanjana
    saanjana Posts: 20 Member
    My trainer measured me using calipers. He basically tugged at fat in different areas of body (I don't remember all to be exact, but I think this seems to be a standard process, and I was told its quite accurate), and then put them in a calculator. I had a separate trainer measure me when I started and I was 35%.

    I do have a very small frame, and had gained 30 lbs within a one year period after I started my job - very poor eating, and stress.

    I am not sure what my goals should be. I am certainly trying to tone up, and exercise diligently. am quite sure I underestimate my calories. I eat extremely healthy as I cook everything at home, so I have very good control. My diet is very rich in dairy, eggs (I eat whole eggs, boiled), vegetables, fruits, and lots of lentils/beans. I eat chicken breast, fish often as well, maybe 4-5 meals a week.

    To give you some idea, though I have lost lots of weight, I still have quite a bit of belly fat. It has come off quite a bit but still quite disproportionate to the rest of my body. I was told that belly fat basically means that I am still overweight in terms of body fat.

    I am now not sure how much weight I should lose.
  • CarlsbergLewis
    CarlsbergLewis Posts: 186 Member
    if youre on the right diet and doing the appropriate training, its actually very easy to strip pure fat!
    alot of people who do dvd programs like insanity or p90x tend to lose alot of body fat as its targeted
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    saanjana wrote: »
    My trainer measured me using calipers. He basically tugged at fat in different areas of body (I don't remember all to be exact, but I think this seems to be a standard process, and I was told its quite accurate), and then put them in a calculator. I had a separate trainer measure me when I started and I was 35%.

    I do have a very small frame, and had gained 30 lbs within a one year period after I started my job - very poor eating, and stress.

    I am not sure what my goals should be. I am certainly trying to tone up, and exercise diligently. am quite sure I underestimate my calories. I eat extremely healthy as I cook everything at home, so I have very good control. My diet is very rich in dairy, eggs (I eat whole eggs, boiled), vegetables, fruits, and lots of lentils/beans. I eat chicken breast, fish often as well, maybe 4-5 meals a week.

    To give you some idea, though I have lost lots of weight, I still have quite a bit of belly fat. It has come off quite a bit but still quite disproportionate to the rest of my body. I was told that belly fat basically means that I am still overweight in terms of body fat.

    I am now not sure how much weight I should lose.

    Calipers are only as good as the guy that measures you. Take a look at these pictures.
    http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

    If you are 23% right now, I don't think you would describe yourself as "still have a lot of belly fat". For a female, 23% is pretty darn lean.

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