Help please-body fat percentage

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bunny_lover8
bunny_lover8 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,

This is my first post on here so any advice is much appreciated.

In a nutshell, I am 5 foot 7 and 10 stone 6, or 66kg. My usual weight hovers around 9 stone 5 to 10 stone, which I am happy with. I recently came off some medication which suppressed my appetite and have put on a stone in the space of 2 months, which I am very unhappy with. I have been doing Pilates for approx 3 months, twice a week which I was enjoying and presumed would help build muscle (it feels like it has anyway) and I attributed some of this weight gain to muscle gain.

I just went to the gym to use scales to calculate my body fat and it has come out at 35.5%, which I understand is in the morbidly obese category! Is it likely this is accurate? If this is relevant I am a size 10 (UK), pear shaped with a 10 inch waist to hip ratio who would usually describe herself as slim.

Please be honest, if this is desperately unhealthy I would like to know about it so I can deal with the problem. I am wondering if the Pilates is actually doing me no favours by fooling me into thinking I am doing exercise. I am just finding it a bit hard to believe (from what I think I look like) that my stats are so unhealthy. I can always give more information if that helps.

Thank you very much x


Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    scales aren't a good way to measure bodyfat. I doubt you're 35% fat given your stats.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Body fat % is not BMI. 66 kg at 5'-7" is a BMI of 22.8 which is the middle of healthy. Panic over.
  • ElisaJtsu
    ElisaJtsu Posts: 97 Member
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    The scales found in gyms aren't correct most of the time. Unless your fat percentage is measured properly, I wouldn't rely on it! I'm not a fan of the BMI either, as it does not distinguish between muscle & fat weight. The hip waist ratio isn't too bad as it gives a good indication of abdominal fat - pear shaped is supposed to be 'healthier'.
    Overall I wouldn't be concerned about all these numbers...if you feel good & enjoy your exercise, who cares about numbers??
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Most scales are pretty inaccurate. They are bioimpadence machines and water weight alone can affect the results. So I wouldn't stress it too much.

    Pilates, will not build muscle (maybe strength/muscular endurance) but then again, if you are trying to lose weight, you won't really be gaining new muscle. If you want to concentrate on lowering body fat, continue to have a calorie deficit and get a good lifting program (progressive overload). Additionally, you should aim for around .8-1g of protein per lb of lean body mass (about 100-115g) of protein. Protein is the building blocks for your muscle and it can help preserve the muscle you have, in conjunction with a resistance training program.

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