Discouraged Body fat %

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  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
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    http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages

    Pictures of body fat %, scroll down for the women.

    interesting site.
  • brit49
    brit49 Posts: 462 Member
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    I dont get it either, I'm a size 6 147 5ft 5ins and my body fat I dont want to say but it up there, it just on my stomach, makes me sick I have lost inches around the middle but I would have to lose about another 5 to 6 ins
  • mikihainesy
    mikihainesy Posts: 98
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    I don't want to discourage you but you have to keep in mind that body fat is not JUST on the surface (subcutaneous) but also is in between muscle fibers and around our internal organs. There is such a thing as skinny fat. A person can be thin but have very little muscle mass which in turn results in a higher percentage of body fat. However, I wouldn't trust the online body fat calculators. I would suggest you find someone who has the BOD POD and get your body fat measured accurately. I too was surprised that my body fat was 30%...however that is pretty much normal for the average woman. Good luck in your journey.
    Exactly what I was going to say. Don't take it for granted that just because you're skinny that the body is healthy. When I was in my 20s and training hard my body fat was low and it slowly crept up to 30 when I hit 30 and carried on with my age. I have been back doing alot of exercise and hence my muscle mass increasing and my body fat decreasing.
  • georgiag111
    georgiag111 Posts: 424
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    Thanks everyone - Yes I am discouraged I guess we all hit that point at some point during this I just need to stay motivated which is really hard lately

    More I look at all the calculators its probably 30-33% which makes me a Skinnier fat person which just is down right depressing
  • liftingbro
    liftingbro Posts: 2,029 Member
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    Thanks everyone - Yes I am discouraged I guess we all hit that point at some point during this I just need to stay motivated which is really hard lately

    More I look at all the calculators its probably 30-33% which makes me a Skinnier fat person which just is down right depressing

    Lift some weights, I will help a lot.
  • georgiag111
    georgiag111 Posts: 424
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    I try I am finally up to 5lb weights for a short time ( I have a ligament/ Joint disorder) and a torn ligament in my wrist for life no surgery can fix it since it is a decayed torn ligament
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    Fat calculators, BMI, % calculators that send current through your body.... all complete bollocks.
    And doing exercise and lifting weights, getting fitter, these will throw these calculations off even further and make them seem worse.

    From the exasperation you show when talking about your size not being consistend with the numbers (which are normal for a women by the way), you know yourself it's not accurate.

    Keep doing what you're doing, and be happy in your clothes. Those are about the only indicator you can go off of.

    I gauge myself on how far/fast I can run, what I can lift, how long I can swing my kettlebells for.

    If I were you, I'd get some personal fitness goals lined up, and throw those calculations in the bin
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
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    I try I am finally up to 5lb weights for a short time ( I have a ligament/ Joint disorder) and a torn ligament in my wrist for life no surgery can fix it since it is a decayed torn ligament

    wonder if what you have is like (or same) as my cousins have
  • georgiag111
    georgiag111 Posts: 424
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    I try I am finally up to 5lb weights for a short time ( I have a ligament/ Joint disorder) and a torn ligament in my wrist for life no surgery can fix it since it is a decayed torn ligament

    wonder if what you have is like (or same) as my cousins have

    you can read my profile of what I have - basically I am VERY double jointed - 80% of my body if not more so i "tear" VERY easy my last tear was in my wrist which I tore almost 5 years ago but I didnt know it was torn just was hurting since i let it go for so long it decayed over time. My knee I have had several knee surgerys due to my ligaments getting lose - this next one they want to do is a complete open knee surgery ( been putting that one off) They said over time I will wind up in a wheelchair just because of the way my ligaments and joints are ..
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    I'm hypermobile, too, but not to the extent you are. I have noticed that I hurt myself a lot less since I became an exercise nut. Now that my muscles are stronger, I don't pop out of joint as much. When I first started running, I was terrified to run outside because I was sure my ankle, knees or hip joints would give out on me and I'd have to crawl home.

    I hope it helps you as much as it helps me. *HUGS*
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    People completely underestimate the importance of strengthening problem areas instead of just avoiding them
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
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    Keep in mind, weight and size don't determine body fat %. So you can't say I want XX lbs and am size XX so I should be XX body fat %. 30% isn't bad for a woman so please don't discourage yourself. The only thing to do is lift weights to strengthen your muscles. Now since you have a health issue, i would just talk to your doctor to see if there is a way around it. Now, I will say, I have tendinitus in both my wrist and tore my MCL but since I started doing more lifting, the muscles take the strain off my joints and ligaments.
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    don't be too discouraged! i am 5 one, 120 pounds. i started around 26% bf (124 pounds) and i've been run/walking for about 2-3 months and doing jillian's 30 day shred for close to 20 days now. when i stepped on the bf scale last week it said 18.5! it's amazing how well our bodies respond to exercise and healthier eating habits.

    you can do it!

    (oh, i forgot to mention, i've carried and birthed five children!!!)
  • georgiag111
    georgiag111 Posts: 424
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    People completely underestimate the importance of strengthening problem areas instead of just avoiding them

    trust me I do alot of strength started 45 days ago with my wrist brace only able to do 3 lb weights and now at 5 lb weights with no brace that is HUGE for me
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
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    girl that cant be right i weigh 135 and my body fat % is 19.6


    Lol, that doesn't mean anything.....
  • pkpzp228
    pkpzp228 Posts: 146 Member
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    Thanks everyone - Yes I am discouraged I guess we all hit that point at some point during this I just need to stay motivated which is really hard lately

    More I look at all the calculators its probably 30-33% which makes me a Skinnier fat person which just is down right depressing

    We're all here because we want to nurture a positive lifestyle. There's no magic tick mark on the scale that says "Yep, congratulations! You're healthy." Weight, BMI, fat percentages, these are all tools for helping you understand where you are and how choices and behaviours effect you and your goals. Observe them and move on.

    Discouragement is natural but it doesn't make you thinner, lighter, stronger nor faster, and certainly not healthier. Making the effort is the only thing you can do and as long as you are doing so you are living a healthy lifestyle. Keep doing what's good for you and let your body find it's balance.
  • HaleyAlli
    HaleyAlli Posts: 911 Member
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    I would invest in some calipers or a good body fat scale. These online calculators cannot see the actual fat that is in your body, all they know is your circumference, which means nothing for a lot of people. I also noticed you're a fellow shorty (5' 2" here) and BMI, Body Fat calculators, etc. are notoriously inaccurate for shorter people. At this point I would investigate more and most of all, DON'T PANIC!! :wink:
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
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    I would invest in some calipers or a good body fat scale. These online calculators cannot see the actual fat that is in your body, all they know is your circumference, which means nothing for a lot of people. I also noticed you're a fellow shorty (5' 2" here) and BMI, Body Fat calculators, etc. are notoriously inaccurate for shorter people. At this point I would investigate more and most of all, DON'T PANIC!! :wink:
    Some of the best advice....


    To put it in perspective, I use body calipers to measure 10 different area's of my body and used multiple formulas to capture my total body fat and came up with 11.75%. When I use the navy calculator or another one, it comes up with 18%. I blame it on the fact that my hips and ribs are a bit wider. So dont go by the calculators or even a scale. Scales go off your inputs. If I don't set my to althetic, it puts me around 18%. When i have it set to athletic, it puts me at 10%. So it does matter how your set up your scale.

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