Am I big or is it muscle?
cladinose
Posts: 19 Member
I am 5'4 and weigh 145 pounds. I don't know if I weigh that much because I have high fat content or if I have muscles that weigh down the scale. (I know that muscle weigh more thatnfat) I play gym/beach volleyball roughly 4-5 times a week and I have somewhat muscular thighs and my calves are very muscular. So I'm wondering if I weigh this much because of my muscles or if I need to ignore this factor and continuing on my weightloss journey. Is there a system to find this out? Or do I have to judge this on my own?
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Replies
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Its hard to tell without a picture. When you look in the mirror, how do you feel you look? The question you asked is hard to answer cause it's almost like saying a BMI index is a good way to determine bf....
A picture would help0 -
Dexa scan
Bod pod
Calipers in the hand of an expert
In that order for a decent estimate of your body fat
Never bio-Impedence scales
Or my preferred method, jump up and down naked in front of a mirror, if it jiggles and isn't boobs or genitals it's fat0 -
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Without spending a ton of money to figure this out, either
post pictures (or self evaluate)
or
get out the tape measure and/or calipers and take some measurements. The first few may not be super accurate, but with practice it'll get better and on top of that even if it is off a few % points you'll still have an idea. You have to realize, a 15% error with calipers (studies show error up to 10-15%, so I'm taking worst case) just means that I'm anywhere from 11.9-16.1% BF (reading of 14%), but I know that I'm not at 12% BF since I still don't have abs, and my eye also says I'm close to 15%.
Based on that I believe I'm in the 14-15% range, I have ~25-26lb of fat on me, and I could stand to lose another 8-10lb.0 -
Here is a site with some example body fat photos, you can compare to yourself and estimate where you fall:
http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/
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Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Pinch yourself in a few places (waist, butt, etc.) Are you finding excess fat? Jump up and down. See too much wiggly jiggly? IMO those are the easiest ways to figure out if you need to lose fat. (Barring body dysmorphic tendencies, of course.)0
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If you're not doing resistance work and/or a physically demanding job most likely higher fat content.0
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Packerjohn wrote: »If you're not doing resistance work and/or a physically demanding job most likely higher fat content.
Yes. I can't imagine that volleyball a few times a week would develop all that much muscle.0 -
Having muscles means lifting heavy, eating a lot protein for a consistent period of time. Playing volleyball not so much so I would go with fat.0
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I am 5'4 and weigh 145 pounds. I don't know if I weigh that much because I have high fat content or if I have muscles that weigh down the scale. (I know that muscle weigh more thatnfat) I play gym/beach volleyball roughly 4-5 times a week and I have somewhat muscular thighs and my calves are very muscular. So I'm wondering if I weigh this much because of my muscles or if I need to ignore this factor and continuing on my weightloss journey. Is there a system to find this out? Or do I have to judge this on my own?
What's the diameter of your wrist?0 -
Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.0
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jayliospecky wrote: »Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.
:laugh:0 -
PikaKnight wrote: »jayliospecky wrote: »Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.
:laugh:
I hope these guys don't get on your nerves and make you leaf. But I think you should branch out and do things for your physical and emotional health instead. That may sound a little sappy but I think concentrating on those types of questions is the root of all evil. But I may be thinking a little binary...tree0 -
PikaKnight wrote: »jayliospecky wrote: »Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.
:laugh:
I hope these guys don't get on your nerves and make you leaf. But I think you should branch out and do things for your physical and emotional health instead. That may sound a little sappy but I think concentrating on those types of questions is the root of all evil. But I may be thinking a little binary...tree
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Be a happy little Betula papyrifera.0
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PikaKnight wrote: »jayliospecky wrote: »Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.
:laugh:
I hope these guys don't get on your nerves and make you leaf. But I think you should branch out and do things for your physical and emotional health instead. That may sound a little sappy but I think concentrating on those types of questions is the root of all evil. But I may be thinking a little binary...tree
What are you talking about?
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FIFYPikaKnight wrote: »jayliospecky wrote: »Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.
:laugh:
I hope these guys don't get on your nerves and make you leaf. But I think you should branch out and do things for your physical and emotional health instead. That may sound a little sappy but I think concentrating on those types of questions is the root of all evil. But I may be thinking a little binary...tree
What are you talking barking about?
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PikaKnight wrote: »jayliospecky wrote: »Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.
:laugh:
I hope these guys don't get on your nerves and make you leaf. But I think you should branch out and do things for your physical and emotional health instead. That may sound a little sappy but I think concentrating on those types of questions is the root of all evil. But I may be thinking a little binary...tree
What are you talking about?
Cedar above the whole convo.0 -
PikaKnight wrote: »PikaKnight wrote: »jayliospecky wrote: »Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.
:laugh:
I hope these guys don't get on your nerves and make you leaf. But I think you should branch out and do things for your physical and emotional health instead. That may sound a little sappy but I think concentrating on those types of questions is the root of all evil. But I may be thinking a little binary...tree
What are you talking about?
Cedar above the whole convo.
I think he's barking up the wrong tree.0 -
3dogsrunning wrote: »PikaKnight wrote: »PikaKnight wrote: »jayliospecky wrote: »Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.
:laugh:
I hope these guys don't get on your nerves and make you leaf. But I think you should branch out and do things for your physical and emotional health instead. That may sound a little sappy but I think concentrating on those types of questions is the root of all evil. But I may be thinking a little binary...tree
What are you talking about?
Cedar above the whole convo.
I think he's barking up the wrong tree.
Would explain why he's stumped0 -
PikaKnight wrote: »jayliospecky wrote: »Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.
:laugh:
I hope these guys don't get on your nerves and make you leaf. But I think you should branch out and do things for your physical and emotional health instead. That may sound a little sappy but I think concentrating on those types of questions is the root of all evil. But I may be thinking a little binary...tree
What are you talking about?
Some people just can't see the forest for the trees.0 -
going back to the question... sounds most likely to be muscle0
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Look at the post. It's been pointed out at least tree times.PikaKnight wrote: »jayliospecky wrote: »Hmm. Well you seem to have a solid trunk, but your branches are a little spindly, to be honest. Are you sure you're only 5'4? You seem taller to me.
:laugh:
I hope these guys don't get on your nerves and make you leaf. But I think you should branch out and do things for your physical and emotional health instead. That may sound a little sappy but I think concentrating on those types of questions is the root of all evil. But I may be thinking a little binary...tree
What are you talking about?
I can say that because of where I'm from. It makes scents...pine is a popular one.
I apologize for my colorful autumn posts. I'm just trying to spruce the place up.0 -
To the OP, unless you are doing a lot of sprinting around the court and jumping to spike/block it is unlikely that you have a huge amount of extra muscle over others who you play volleyball with. Without pictures it is sort of difficult to say since we have nothing to go by except your activity. With others I would suggest if you really want to know find somewhere to get a DEXA scan or Bodpod test. The hand held devices are a waste as they are not in any way accurate. Calipers used by experienced trained people can do ok.0
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Did I miss the forrest for the trees?0
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What did one tree say to the other tree?0
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Shh everything is going to be a-o-k. I mean o-a-k.Liftng4Lis wrote: »Did I miss the forrest for the trees?
In a nutshell, I don't know because I don't have enough info. I'm going to go out on a limb and ask what are their backgrounds?What did one tree say to the other tree?
Math: Gee-Om-A-Tree!
Computer Science: How do you log on?
Business: Is this branch closed?
Police: Elementree my dear Watson.
HKR: Did you bring your swimming trunks?
Farming: Where is the Poultree?
Zoology: They probably just barked at eachother.
Education: School Starts in Septimber!
...To much? :P0 -
Tree puns aside...
I agree with everyone who has said you need to figure out your body fat. You can get a very rough estimate using an online calculator, all you need is a tape measurer to get your measurements. Google 'Navy Circumference Body Fat Calculator," plug in your numbers, and voila.
For comparison though, I'm 5'4" also and when I started losing weight I was 145. I had some muscle but I was definitely pretty flabby. Then I got down to 130 and was happy with that, but I gained the weight back. Now I am 135 but look better than I did when I was 130 because I've gained muscle through lifting. But I think you would have to have a LOT of muscle to be 5'4" and 145 and have it be more muscle than fat.
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Tree puns aside...
I agree with everyone who has said you need to figure out your body fat. You can get a very rough estimate using an online calculator, all you need is a tape measurer to get your measurements. Google 'Navy Circumference Body Fat Calculator," plug in your numbers, and voila.
For comparison though, I'm 5'4" also and when I started losing weight I was 145. I had some muscle but I was definitely pretty flabby. Then I got down to 130 and was happy with that, but I gained the weight back. Now I am 135 but look better than I did when I was 130 because I've gained muscle through lifting. But I think you would have to have a LOT of muscle to be 5'4" and 145 and have it be more muscle than fat.
Those online calculators are extremely inaccurate. As some others have said, get it tested with BodPod or Dexa scans. I'd even suggest calipers over that calculator any day.
There is also a group on MFP called "Eat Train Progress." It's run by two very knowledgable MFPers and they have a thread where you can post pictures to get a body fat % estimation. or you can PM them, but read the sticky so you know what poses/pictures you need to submit.0 -
PikaKnight wrote: »Tree puns aside...
I agree with everyone who has said you need to figure out your body fat. You can get a very rough estimate using an online calculator, all you need is a tape measurer to get your measurements. Google 'Navy Circumference Body Fat Calculator," plug in your numbers, and voila.
For comparison though, I'm 5'4" also and when I started losing weight I was 145. I had some muscle but I was definitely pretty flabby. Then I got down to 130 and was happy with that, but I gained the weight back. Now I am 135 but look better than I did when I was 130 because I've gained muscle through lifting. But I think you would have to have a LOT of muscle to be 5'4" and 145 and have it be more muscle than fat.
Those online calculators are extremely inaccurate. As some others have said, get it tested with BodPod or Dexa scans. I'd even suggest calipers over that calculator any day.
Yes those are all better methods but not everyone wants or is able to go out and get a test or buy calipers just to answer a simple question. The calculators are not exactly accurate but they can give you a starting estimation (that is why I said a "very rough estimate.") I was actually surprised when I got my body fat tested with calipers at my gym it turned out to be within .5% of what the online calculator had told me. So it can be pretty close for some people. Maybe not for everyone, but it's not going to tell you you're obese if you're actually fit, or vice versa, you know? It can give you an idea.0
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