Body fat % very high but BMI not obese/overweight

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  • jenglish712
    jenglish712 Posts: 497 Member
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    Yeah, if there's poor accuracy in scales, calipers and other instruments I wouldn't put much faith in an internet calculator.
  • SR_86
    SR_86 Posts: 58 Member
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    Hello! I am 5'4 and 124lbs and my body fat on January 27th was 34.5%.
    Since I found this out I have started lifting weights 3x a week (I got a trainer to do me a programme) and I do bodyattack 2x a week too.
    I have lost NO weight since I started MFP a few weeks ago (eating maintenance cals), but my body has shrunk :)
    My next DEXA is on March 2nd and I can't wait to see what my % is now, because I just KNOW it's way less! :)
    I love hearing body fat success stories!
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    JAT74 wrote: »
    Sorry but the body fat test via this link is way out! Is has me at 22% and I'm actually 32%!!!!!

    Thank you. I will not put my faith into these things ever again.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Asher_Ethan wrote: »
    I did this test and it says I'm 28% BF. I don't know how accurate it is though.

    http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/body-fat-percentage-calculator

    it says i'm 22.33 based on my measurements at this moment. no idea if it's accurate. I'm slightly underweight based on bmi and not muscular at all based on sight. Taking any measurements myself is going to be off though. I also think that my stomach is bigger at this time of day than early in the morning.

    guessing it might be close to accurate actually in thinking about it and looking at pictures of that body fat percentage in women. I had to round down or up for a lot of the measurements that were exactly in the middle of two numbers. not sure how that changes things.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited February 2015
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    what is the point of getting a fancy dexa scan to determine some random number anyway? seems like a good way to shame someone, but not much else. you can look in the mirror or take pictures to determine if you need to lose weight, lose fat, or build muscle. no dexa scan necessary.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Annanna91 wrote: »
    This is something I'm struggling with also. I'm 5'5 and 117lbs, so my bmi is at the low end of normal, but my body fat % is around 24 according to the analyser I use. My aim is to get it to around 18% so I'm currently eating at a deficit and lifting heavy (well heavy for me anyway!)

    There is absolutely no way your body fat is 24%.
  • AllyLalax
    AllyLalax Posts: 17
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    Body fat calculators are utter rubbish, Im 5ft8 and weigh 123lbs. Some body fat calculators said my body fat was 14.5%, another said 19% and one said 31%! Better to go with how you feel personally.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    AllyLalax wrote: »
    Body fat calculators are utter rubbish, Im 5ft8 and weigh 123lbs. Some body fat calculators said my body fat was 14.5%, another said 19% and one said 31%! Better to go with how you feel personally.

    yep!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    If the BF scale suddenly said 15%, would that change how you feel about your appearance?

    The numbers are just there to guide us - what matters is what we see and how we feel.
    -
  • SR_86
    SR_86 Posts: 58 Member
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    Aviva92 wrote: »
    what is the point of getting a fancy dexa scan to determine some random number anyway? seems like a good way to shame someone, but not much else. you can look in the mirror or take pictures to determine if you need to lose weight, lose fat, or build muscle. no dexa scan necessary.

    I get a DEXA because of my bone density, for medical reasons. Not to check body fat. The body fat result is a bonus for me. :)
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    SR_86 wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    what is the point of getting a fancy dexa scan to determine some random number anyway? seems like a good way to shame someone, but not much else. you can look in the mirror or take pictures to determine if you need to lose weight, lose fat, or build muscle. no dexa scan necessary.

    I get a DEXA because of my bone density, for medical reasons. Not to check body fat. The body fat result is a bonus for me. :)

    yeah, that sounds like a good reason.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    I would suggest starting by reading this post stickied at the top of the General Diet and Weight Loss Help forum. I am currently 5'7 and 134 lbs and consider myself skinny fat. I just started eating at maintenance and lifting weights, as I don't really want to drop my weight below 129, but I do want to lose some of the fat still around my middle!
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    AllyLalax wrote: »
    Body fat calculators are utter rubbish, Im 5ft8 and weigh 123lbs. Some body fat calculators said my body fat was 14.5%, another said 19% and one said 31%! Better to go with how you feel personally.

    Only online body fat calculators are utter rubbish.

    DEXA and hydrostatic are very reliable tests.
  • Annanna91
    Annanna91 Posts: 54 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    There is absolutely no way your body fat is 24%.

    That's kind of you to say, but if you saw my body, stomach in particular, you would appreciate why my body fat % is that high. I carry an awful lot of fat around my stomach and hips.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    Annanna91 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    There is absolutely no way your body fat is 24%.

    That's kind of you to say, but if you saw my body, stomach in particular, you would appreciate why my body fat % is that high. I carry an awful lot of fat around my stomach and hips.

    i'm pretty sure that 24% body fat for a woman is considered healthy.
  • Rashanti1
    Rashanti1 Posts: 108 Member
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    Don't put too much stock into what a BMI chart tells you. It only takes two things into consideration, your height and weight. No body structure, muscle mass, BF, etc. This is what I look like and a BMI chart says I'm "obese"...

    3u8h13s63ag5.jpg

  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »
    AllyLalax wrote: »
    Body fat calculators are utter rubbish, Im 5ft8 and weigh 123lbs. Some body fat calculators said my body fat was 14.5%, another said 19% and one said 31%! Better to go with how you feel personally.

    Only online body fat calculators are utter rubbish.

    DEXA and hydrostatic are very reliable tests.

    So is the bod pod and less expensive than underwater weighing.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Aviva92 wrote: »
    Annanna91 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    There is absolutely no way your body fat is 24%.

    That's kind of you to say, but if you saw my body, stomach in particular, you would appreciate why my body fat % is that high. I carry an awful lot of fat around my stomach and hips.

    i'm pretty sure that 24% body fat for a woman is considered healthy.

    Yes but I'm still kind of sure that there's no way at 5'5" and 114 pounds to have 24% body fat, but she's not saying how she got that number, so... I mean it doesn't matter if you have an 'awful lot of fat' around your stomach, if the rest of your limbs don't have much fat on them (and assuming your picture is recent, it seems to be the case), your total body fat % will still be lower.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited February 2015
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    FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »
    AllyLalax wrote: »
    Body fat calculators are utter rubbish, Im 5ft8 and weigh 123lbs. Some body fat calculators said my body fat was 14.5%, another said 19% and one said 31%! Better to go with how you feel personally.

    Only online body fat calculators are utter rubbish.

    DEXA and hydrostatic are very reliable tests.

    DEXA has significant error and repeatability issues, because it, too, is essentially a calculator.

    EDIT: Ditto for Bod Pod, which also suffers from large error bars.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,711 Member
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    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »
    AllyLalax wrote: »
    Body fat calculators are utter rubbish, Im 5ft8 and weigh 123lbs. Some body fat calculators said my body fat was 14.5%, another said 19% and one said 31%! Better to go with how you feel personally.

    Only online body fat calculators are utter rubbish.

    DEXA and hydrostatic are very reliable tests.

    DEXA has significant error and repeatability issues, because it, too, is essentially a calculator.

    EDIT: Ditto for Bod Pod, which also suffers from large error bars.

    Is there any accurate way to measure then? Just curious. I've never had it done because I haven't found a method I really trusted.

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