BF % seems strange

ydyms
ydyms Posts: 266 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I'm trying to focus on lifting now that I'm in maintenance so I decided to measure my body fat percentage with one of the online calculators recommended here on mfp. I do have diastasis recti so my stomach is distended, but it's not fat...
My stats: 109 lbs, 5'3". BF %: 23%???? That makes no sense since I'm really thin.
What am I doing wrong?

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    What you are doing wrong is believing an online calculator.
    They vary wildly.
    How you look and your measurements are much better metrics.

    Tape measure, mirror and progress photos are all you really need.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited December 2015
    That sounds right to me... even though I am with more muscles than I was 8 months ago, I still a have a boat load of body fat.. I use a caliper, measurements, photos and the scale, and even though it is a range number for me, mine is up there too at 5'4" and 113.

    I call this the skinny fat challenge...lol
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,519 Member
    I'm 5'3 and about 125...I'm about 23% BF (last time I had it measured, but not with a DEXA scan). I lift heavy, which might explain the almost 20lb weight difference. I think your BF % estimation could be accurate...just b/c you look "thin" doesn't mean that you don't have body fat, and 23% BF is completely normal.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Look at your mirror and feel your skin. Body fat measurement is very difficult and always an estimate. Even water displacement. My husband does tai chi several hours a day (he teaches it) and is built like a rock. But he's got a lot of 'bacon' - very very dense solid fat - under that muscle. No blub on him anywhere though.

    Measure. Tape measures help.

    Look at those muscles!

    Feel good about what you're doing and don't sweat the numbers.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Buy a scale that actually measures BF.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    What you are doing wrong is believing an online calculator.
    They vary wildly.
    How you look and your measurements are much better metrics.

    Tape measure, mirror and progress photos are all you really need.

    this

    if you want to post pictures we can try to give you an estimate….
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    As a 33 year old female that is a lean bf%

    Whether it's accurate or not is subject to opinion

  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    ydyms wrote: »
    I'm trying to focus on lifting now that I'm in maintenance so I decided to measure my body fat percentage with one of the online calculators recommended here on mfp. I do have diastasis recti so my stomach is distended, but it's not fat...
    My stats: 109 lbs, 5'3". BF %: 23%???? That makes no sense since I'm really thin.
    What am I doing wrong?

    You said you have an issue that causes a measurement point to be swollen, which throws off a calculator which will have some level of error anyways. There is also the issue of if you are measuring accurately? Apply a +15/-20% error margin and you are somewhere in the 18.4-26.45% range. What do your eyes tell you? What does a caliper test tell you (which also has errors)? What is the point of the information? How accurate does it have to be? Unless you are competing in a sport, accuracy typically doesn't matter that much, but monitoring change does.

    Keep taking measurements and If you measure the same way every week you can monitor change relatively accurately.
  • Fatboy2Fitboy
    Fatboy2Fitboy Posts: 44 Member
    Use the online body fat calculator on fat2fitradio. Google em and you will find quite an accurate calculator that takes into account a lot of your measurements to come out with a good result.
  • ericGold15
    ericGold15 Posts: 318 Member
    ydyms wrote: »
    I'm trying to focus on lifting now that I'm in maintenance so I decided to measure my body fat percentage with one of the online calculators recommended here on mfp. I do have diastasis recti so my stomach is distended, but it's not fat...
    My stats: 109 lbs, 5'3". BF %: 23%???? That makes no sense since I'm really thin.
    Matching yourself to pictures of others is pretty accurate.
    E.g, this website

    If you are female then 23% sounds ballpark for your height and weight.

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