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Desperate, PLEASE HELP!!!! 30% BF, BMI 19.7. Health history, injuries, confused how to proceed

Ariiiibar1021
Ariiiibar1021 Posts: 7 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
This will be long so please bare with me, the history is important.

2010: 5'9, 134 lbs. Lost weight to get to 124 lbs, and grew to 5'10. body fat measured using handheld BIA thing at gym, ranged from 16-17% depending on the day (I know they're inaccurate). Wasn't menstruating anymore, BMI 17.6, border line disordered eating. Work outs= gym, weights, zumba, dance (jazz, ballet, hip hop), pilates, and weight lifitng.
2011-2012: 5'10, 134 lbs, got my period back. Body fat measured 20.5-21.5%. Workouts same as ^, but eventually I started figure skating again, daily . (jumps & spins-regretted quitting). Noticed leg and glute muscle development, lost the cellutlite I had in my butt since age 14!!! Very happy. End of 2012 I was only figure skating and lifting weights & doing body weight/abs, & plyometrics. Felt strongest I've ever been.

2013: labral tear (cartilage) in BOTH HIPS . Started swimming 1-2x a week and non-irritating ab exercises, and arms. Long road to recovery. July 2013- Also labral tear in shoulders, from fall in January. Graduated HS.

The injuries meant I stopped skating and working out. Started college. Walked everywhere. I DON"T DRINK! finally found a good physical therapist to address the many issues I had and started the road to recovery summer 2014.

April-June 2014: diagnosed hypothyroid, gained 15 lbs. Now 151 lbs. From Jan-2013 till April 2014 stayed 134 lbs despite not exercising due to injury.

December 2014: Lost all the weight ^^. Started skating again, but not jumping yet. Still can't lift weights but getting stronger, and hopeflly soon I can lift properly. For now, body weight and band resistance exercises only, as well as the leg press and light arm weights. Lots of neruomuscular re-education being done with physical therapy.

Today: same as above^. had a set back and stopped skating, will start in 3 weeks again.

Anyways, I'm beyond upset and here's why. Yesterday I had an inbody scan done (supposedly as accurate as the bodpod). I'm 5'10. He entered me as 5'9. I had eaten a big meal and had jeans on, the scale read me as 140. I'm 137, but I do get to 140 with food/clothes. Don't know how much this affects measurements. It said my body fat % was 29.9%!!!! I'm beyond freaked out.

I know I've lost muscle, and I have some cellulite on my lower butt, which I had starting age 14 and went away when I started skating. 5'10, 137. I HAVE A THIGH GAP. this gap went away when I gained 15 lbs due to hypothyroidism, and now is back-just saying it's not only my bone structure. CAN I REALLY BE 29.9% body fat???

This is really upsetting partially because a lot of it is out of my control. I am very into fitness and would work out daily, and the past 2 yrs I couldn't do hardly anything because of my injury. When I lost the 15 lbs, could I have lost all muscle? again unfair because I gained it due to a medical condition, and then I lost it-but it should never have been gained!!!

I don't know how soon i'll be able to lift legit weights and intensely jump/skate...obviously I don't want to get hurt again. I'm focusing on building strength now because I'm hypermobile and vulnerable to injury. My hips often click with exercise if I'm fatigued or doing too much...which is bad for the labrum...so it's important I don't push too hard....which is what I used to always do.



QUESTIONS: can i REALLY be 29.9% body fat? I've obviously lost muscle but did I really lose that much and gain that much fat?!?! How do I go about changing this? I'm currently counting calories (weighing everything) and eating 1580, doing 25 minutes elliptical, and then 1.5ish hrs doing physical therapy exercises (resistance bands and body weight, balance stuff, and some pilates exercises). To lose the 15 lbs I ate 1480, but I upped it to 1580 because I'm doing cardio now. Tracking calories because I'm actually 137 now (slight blimp and they upped my meds, but still need to lose what was gained before they increased the dose) and want to be back to 134.
So currently 5'10, 134-137 lbs, BMI 19.2-19.7
How do I go about losing body fat? Gaining my muscle back I know will take time. But it seems like losing 10% body fat will take forever! I'm just extremely upset and can't believe that this is true. I feel very out of control with the injury holding me back and preventing me from looking my best. Looking at the back of my legs I felt hideous seeing the cellulite. My butt was so good when skating, I want it back.

Any advice or words of encouragement are GREATLY appreciated. Sorry this is so long. Also I eat very clean. Used to eat greek yogurt and cheese, allergic to all nuts, but since August 2014 cut out gluten and dairy to test for suspected allergy, so all I eat are salmon, chicken, eggs, fruit, vegetables, avocado-basically autoimmune paleo protocol (hashimotos thyroiditis is autoimmune). Hard to get enough protein. Again...I do not drink alcohol. Not at all.

Replies

  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
    Most of us on here are not doctors. The ones of us who are, aren't your doctor. I think you need to speak with your doctor about this, and quite possibly an eating disorder specialist.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    It doesn't seem likely that you have 30% body fat. If you are worried about it, perhaps you should have someone else measure your body fat.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member

    I would seriously talk to my doctor.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    30% bf is in the "average" range for a woman. Yes it can take some time to lower that number. As everyone else has said, only your doctor can tell you what activities you can do.

    You are already on the low end of a normal weight. If you are feeling out of control and desperate about your body, you should discuss these feelings with your doctor, and hopefully get referred to a therapist.
  • uvi5
    uvi5 Posts: 710 Member
    This is way intense. If your wanting encouragement, all I can say is slow down, learn to love yourself for who you are. Your alive and young with many opportunities for joy in your future and Now, but slow it down. Weight does not seem like the problem from what I read in your OP. It seems your expectations of your self are through the roof and could lead you down a road of continuous disappointment and chaos in your life. Breathe and be happy you can. Bless you and I hope for peace and calm in your present and future. Good Luck to you OP. You are fine. You just have to believe it yourself. I'm nobody, but somebody to me and you asked a public forum for advice on this, so this, in my heart was what came first to my mind after reading your post. Peace to you.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,651 Member
    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    PeachyPlum wrote: »
    Most of us on here are not doctors. The ones of us who are, aren't your doctor. I think you need to speak with your doctor about this, and quite possibly an eating disorder specialist.
    Yes.

    Please do as above so that you can get personalized one on one attention from a responsible professional.

    Body fat estimations are just that, estimations. They have errors and are not necessarily valid for any one individual. Google two, three, and four compartment models.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    I would seek out a therapist. You seems like you have disordered thinking.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    Lift heavy weights and be super patient.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    PeachyPlum wrote: »
    Most of us on here are not doctors. The ones of us who are, aren't your doctor. I think you need to speak with your doctor about this, and quite possibly an eating disorder specialist.

    This
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,487 Member
    edited April 2015
    I to read all of this. This is over the top intense. You have unrealistic expectations, you are continually disappointed, your are highly prone to injury and lack the understanding or even do not accept your limitations due to medical issues and physical injuries.

    You seem to be highly focused on the body fat number, how much muscle loss you have and this issue with cellulite. You say you feel way out control, you stay upset, disappointed, desperate, etc.. See the correlation in your words?

    You have disordered thinking (seems to fit with BDD). I wish we all could be more helpful.. but it seems where you need to start is getting your mind pointed in the right direction. Get some help from a doctor and or therapist.
  • BodyByBex
    BodyByBex Posts: 3,685 Member
    PeachyPlum wrote: »
    Most of us on here are not doctors. The ones of us who are, aren't your doctor. I think you need to speak with your doctor about this, and quite possibly an eating disorder specialist.

    This.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,487 Member
    edited April 2015
    The OP, has a doctor setup you nutrition for you? What's up with your food diary? Are you on a fruit diet? Looks like The 80-10-10 Diet

    I looked at about a week of your diary and you consume from 1200, 1300 to 1400 of 1500 calories for the day in fruit. There is no protein or fats in your diet.

    Just ??????????????????????????????
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    gia07 wrote: »
    The OP, has a doctor setup you nutrition for you? What's up with your food diary? Are you on a fruit diet? Looks like The 80-10-10 Diet

    I looked at about a week of your diary and you consume from 1200, 1300 to 1400 of 1500 calories for the day in fruit. There is no protein or fats in your diet.

    Just ??????????????????????????????

    Poor nutrition can lead to a lot of health issues

    Please get professional help

  • Smallc10
    Smallc10 Posts: 656 Member
    Please talk to a medial dr, a psychologist and a nutritionist - your diary is worrisome. Eat more protein and fats please! If you are losing weight and you aren't eating enough protein you can lose muscle mass.
  • Ariiiibar1021
    Ariiiibar1021 Posts: 7 Member
    I also eat chicken, salmon, eggs and avocado. But I agree. I am hoping to add back in dairy and other food groups asap. After this next blood test, testing for gluten and dairy and grain issues causing bloating and distention. I'm in college and fruit is more convenient than preparing vegetables, but I know that's bad (I also really like it). Also I don't eat it all at breakfast, it's just more convenient to enter that way. This has been since August 2014. I used to eat Greek yogurt, cheese, potatoes, oatmeal, buckwheat, and hopefully can this summer again because this is getting monotonous.

    But thank you all for the replies. You're all right. I have high expectations as to how I want to look. But I used to look that way before the injuries 1.5 yrs ago. I'm very into fitness and the injury has made it hard to look and train how I want. I was just shocked when I saw the 29.9%body fat. I don't see how my weight could have stayed the same but my body fat increased by 10%. It doesn't seem accurate. When I gained then lost the 15 lbs...could I have lost ALL muscle? This was around the time I had to start the new diet and I knew the protein was low!

    Any recommendations as to how to lose the fat? I don't want to lose weight, just fat. To get to how I used to be. I was active my whole life so I've never started from ground zero. And I'm still limited in how much weight I can lift. Don't want to re-injure or slow progress.

    I really really do appreciate all the replies. I have calmed down a bit now :). I'm not happy with it but I do realize there's more to me than body fat.
  • madmoment
    madmoment Posts: 1
    Why not just ignore the fat reading and don't get any more. Machines are only useful if they're useful. If they're freaking you out then stay away from them. If you don't feel fat, then you aren't fat. People come in all different shapes and sizes. You keep saying "can I really be 29.9% fat?" Well, obviously you think the answer is No. So the machine was probably wrong. So ignore it. You said the wrong height was entered. So it was definitely wrong. Ignore it.
  • terar21
    terar21 Posts: 523 Member
    Aside from what others have said, I can't image any scan that didn't have you fasted and you were wearing jeans is accurate. Sounds like this guy got a lot wrong...you even said he put your height incorrectly.
  • ruthtruman
    ruthtruman Posts: 50 Member
    I like the advise that says ignore the body fat test, but if you are fixated on the injustice and illogic of it you can't let this go, you need accurate data to validate what you suspect is an error so try to schedule a fat % test in a pool after they weigh you on land. Once you've received the correct number, whatever it is, you will need to learn how to put it in perspective. If 30% is horrifying! will 25% still be not good enough? Can you live with 20%? Is 15% low enough? If you see where I'm going, you can tell I think this crisis has much more to do with you than it does with fat. Obviously you're not fat, you're lean and fit, but this body fat number is like a Mean Girl whispering in your ear that you're a failure and a fraud. Then, really, you need to talk to a nutritionist/eating disorder therapist and take your discussion points to her.

    I recently read Portia de Rossi's memoir "Incredible Lightness" and your fixation with numbers is aligned with hers; she went down a scary road of body image hell, and it sounds like you're on that path. Injuries will change the past and change has to be processed and finally accepted. I know, I've had injuries that have resulted in 7 foot and ankle surgeries in 7 years plus compressed discs in my spine and while it is possible to work hard enough to regain muscle, stamina and functionality, one can never replicate the pre-injury status quo 100%. To insist to yourself that you must go back to how you were a year and a half ago is too brutal a yardstick to be beating yourself up with. Change is not only part of life, it is the definition of life.

    With a heights of 5'10 and a weight of 137, you are absolutely lovely. With your injuries I would say stay away from jumps entirely and find a good yoga studio. You need to be coached in self acceptance, self worth and self love, and a great yoga teacher can help you go there. This is way too much pressure and mental angst for a young person to be going through; I will pray for you to find peace and purpose in your life so that you can let go of these worries and direct your energies into something you love. You're energy and passion are beautiful to observe and if focused in a different direction, you can accomplish great things and make a big difference in the world. (The world gets absolutely no better, whether you're 30% body fat or 15% body fat; but this poor old world can be a better place if you use your gifts, talents and energies in helping others.)
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    There is a lot of good advice here, but just one note: eating a heavy meal within 1-2 hrs will skew the inBody test results and overestimate body fat %. However that's not likely to make a huge difference. It sounds like you are getting a lot of disconnected pieces of information and reacting to each one.

    Keep in mind that body fat % is a relative number. It can be affected by lower levels of muscle as well as by higher levels of fat. I agree with others that you need to work with someone who can integrate all of your issued into a comprehensive approach.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    I don't have an answer for your issues, but I think that you just have to be patient. Illnesses and injuries are incredibly frustrating, but you just have to deal with them as well as you can and be patient.

    By the way, thigh gap is not an indicator of anything. I am your height and I had thigh gap when I weighed 250 pounds.
  • Ariiiibar1021
    Ariiiibar1021 Posts: 7 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    There is a lot of good advice here, but just one note: eating a heavy meal within 1-2 hrs will skew the inBody test results and overestimate body fat %. However that's not likely to make a huge difference. It sounds like you are getting a lot of disconnected pieces of information and reacting to each one.

    Keep in mind that body fat % is a relative number. It can be affected by lower levels of muscle as well as by higher levels of fat. I agree with others that you need to work with someone who can integrate all of your issued into a comprehensive approach.


    First of all I really appreciate all the comments and advice, as well as the reality checks. I have calmed down and realize that I have to do what I can with what I have.

    But I wanted to ask you, what kind of person do you suggest I work with? Like a personal trainer? Currently I'm with a physical therapist, but that should end soon.

    Side note: any opinions on Kayla itsines bikini body guides? Her transformation pictures look amazing and I've heard good things but this is all via instagram.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,651 Member
    Instead of obsessing with your body's perceived flaws and looking to people who want to sell you things for advice and validation why don't you use your school's resources to research measurement errors and to evaluate whether the test you did as performed is accurate, reliable, and valid especially as it relates to an individual female in her 20s (hint: I don't think it is)

    And if you cannot do that, if you are unable to function because you are obsessing over your perceived body flaws, **if all your quick add calories are there to make it look as if you are actually eating food when you aren't**, maybe it is time to see a doctor and ask for some help.

    And yes, a very low calorie diet will result in muscle loss especially if you don't have substantial amounts of available fat present. If that actually happened, do you really think that either a panic, or more of the same will fix it?

    Get some help IRL, not the internet. If I gave you a long list of injuries like you did, would you advise me to continue training the same way?
  • Ariiiibar1021
    Ariiiibar1021 Posts: 7 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Instead of obsessing with your body's perceived flaws and looking to people who want to sell you things for advice and validation why don't you use your school's resources to research measurement errors and to evaluate whether the test you did as performed is accurate, reliable, and valid especially as it relates to an individual female in her 20s (hint: I don't think it is)

    And if you cannot do that, if you are unable to function because you are obsessing over your perceived body flaws, **if all your quick add calories are there to make it look as if you are actually eating food when you aren't**, maybe it is time to see a doctor and ask for some help.

    And yes, a very low calorie diet will result in muscle loss especially if you don't have substantial amounts of available fat present. If that actually happened, do you really think that either a panic, or more of the same will fix it?

    Get some help IRL, not the internet. If I gave you a long list of injuries like you did, would you advise me to continue training the same way?

    The quick adds are actually "binges" and I usually weigh those, but those days I got fed up and estimated based on each piece of fruit is about 100 calories. I found it a lot easier to lose the 15 lbs from the hypothyroid gain than these last 2 lbs from the setback gain, so I think I should stop because my body seems to be fighting it too much...aka I'm fine where I am.

    And the inbody is supposedly as accurate as a bodpod, although like I said my height was entered wrong.
    But I think I just have to continue with physical therapy and take it one day at a time, and take it slow. Doing too much too soon and not resting enough was my issue in the first place.
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