Percent body fat for women
onematch
Posts: 241 Member
My diet is being supervised by my physician. I've been very successful so far and have reach a healthy BMI, and surpassed the weight goals I had set for myself. I'm 5'4" and currently weigh 144. My doctor uses a special medical equipment thing (like a bod pod, but different) to measure my percent body fat, lean muscle, and water weight. My current body fat is 29.8%. I was ecstatic to be under 30! She wants me to get it under 28%. This seems kind of random to me. I think I can do it, but it will be slow going. I'm slowing still losing fat while maintaining muscle.
My question is, if you measure and track body fat, what is your goal? Is 28% the ideal?
Thanks!
My question is, if you measure and track body fat, what is your goal? Is 28% the ideal?
Thanks!
1
Replies
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I believe 25-30% is considered average. Maybe she just wants you below the middle of "normal"?4
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That is random. Did you ask her why? I just googled it and what I'm looking at says "healthy/acceptable" is 25-32%
I don't keep track of my body fat. I have no idea what it is.0 -
My guess would be that it's because you're on the high end of average...and given that obese starts at 32%, the high end of average would still be over fat. BMI doesn't tell the whole story...one can be in the healthy BMI range but still have unhealthy levels of fat...I would think that's where your Dr. is going with this.
For men, this chart shows 18-24% as "average"...but a healthy BF% for men is generally cited as below 19% or 20%.11 -
I "feel" (haven't measured), compared with images on the net, that I'm around 25%, and I'm personally very happy with that.1
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Hmmmm. Now I'm thinking she wants me to have a cushion before I start maintenance, which makes sense.
Thanks everyone!1 -
the charts also change with age which I think is somewhat BS. But one of my personal goals was to be under 20% BF and fall in the athletic range. I use one of those little hand held machines and while it may not be totally accurate it does probably show deltas on a week to week basis fairly competently. But I think you have to be careful with any #s on a chart because it's all very personal. BMI, BF%, Weight etc are just #s. Your goals should be based on your own body and health - age, fitness etc and not on a chart - use that for guidelines of population averages.9
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SummerSkier wrote: »the charts also change with age which I think is somewhat BS. But one of my personal goals was to be under 20% BF and fall in the athletic range. I use one of those little hand held machines and while it may not be totally accurate it does probably show deltas on a week to week basis fairly competently. But I think you have to be careful with any #s on a chart because it's all very personal. BMI, BF%, Weight etc are just #s. Your goals should be based on your own body and health - age, fitness etc and not on a chart - use that for guidelines of population averages.
I agree! I have relatively high bf% (~25), but that's considered lean for my age, and its recommended I don't get any leaner. Except all my fat is draped around my middle, and I'm doing a slow recomp for vanity reasons, and I just don't see a problem with that.2 -
I have a woo follower. Every post. Talk to me. Don’t hide behind the woo button.
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SummerSkier wrote: »I have a woo follower. Every post. Talk to me. Don’t hide behind the woo button.
I wouldn't worry. Many of us do
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SummerSkier wrote: »I have a woo follower. Every post. Talk to me. Don’t hide behind the woo button.
Lol, I have one that goes back and looks up posts from a year or more ago. They must have a pretty sad life if that's how they get thier fun....15 -
At 5'5 I have always been 145 (bmi 24.1) pounds, until I got pregnant 6 years ago and got up to 220 (bmi 36.6) lol I know I couldn't believe I was already 175 pounds the appointment I got tested to confirm pregnancy.
But years later I'm down to 157 (bmi 26.1) and still losing. I want to be 150 (bmi 25.0) . I will not be comfortable being under 145 unless I'm weight training. Which I did when I was younger and it only lasted a year. I was down to 135 (bmi 22.5) .
My extra fat makes me feel secure in the case of a famine I want to live a while
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SummerSkier wrote: »I have a woo follower. Every post. Talk to me. Don’t hide behind the woo button.
I have one too but it is easy to work out who it is. I haven't had the consistant woo's in the few weeks that one particular poster has been absent from the boards.
Back on topic, I wish there was a cheap and easy way of getting an accurate body fat measure......6 -
I bought this about 6 years ago and altho it may not be totally accurate as say a full immersion test, I think it is good to compare week to week. Not for folks with pacemakers of course. it was as good an investment as the measurement tape imo. Easy to use also.
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I’m 24% at 5-7” and 135#. I still legitimately have a good amount of fat on my thighs and stomach.
My goal is 20%, which I would prefer to hit via recomp, even if it takes years.
My alternative (guesstimate) is to drop to 120, which is the very lowest “normal” BMI.5 -
Before putting on the excess weight, I was in the 13-18% range, and that was what looked best on me. My body immediately stores fat straight to my middle, which has it's own implications and potential issues. Besides vanity, that's another reason for me to be at the lower end. I am a competitor as well, so there would be plenty of other benefits from getting myself back to that weight and fitness level - fitness is getting there, now I'm attacking the weight issue.
I haven't had my BF measured beyond my scale (which we all know is about as inaccurate as you can get), but there's no doubt that it's WAY to high for my frame. Big blobs of fat just above my illiac crest that stick out further than my hips do - current #s are 5' 7", ~154 lbs, and actually carrying a decent muscle mass under the fat.
Every person and body is different, unless someone is clearly in the unhealthy category, I don't see the need to worry about it. Bodies carry weight differently from one individual to another.0 -
Hope I'm on topic here. This is my first post/question... I am having trouble reading my dexa scan results. Can anyone help? I'm 57, 5 foot 5.5, 120 lbs. I don't understand the following: patient mass 54.4kg , fat mass 9.787, lean mass 6.114kg, tissue fat 18.8%
Is fat mass my body fat? Thanks in advance!1 -
Hope I'm on topic here. This is my first post/question... I am having trouble reading my dexa scan results. Can anyone help? I'm 57, 5 foot 5.5, 120 lbs. I don't understand the following: patient mass 54.4kg , fat mass 9.787, lean mass 6.114kg, tissue fat 18.8%
Is fat mass my body fat? Thanks in advance!
Did they not give you the summary sheet? Typically it’s spelled out pretty clearly0 -
Hope I'm on topic here. This is my first post/question... I am having trouble reading my dexa scan results. Can anyone help? I'm 57, 5 foot 5.5, 120 lbs. I don't understand the following: patient mass 54.4kg , fat mass 9.787, lean mass 6.114kg, tissue fat 18.8%
Is fat mass my body fat? Thanks in advance!
Yes. You have about 21 lbs of fat, giving you about 18% body fat.
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Thanks so much!0
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Lillymoo01 wrote: »SummerSkier wrote: »I have a woo follower. Every post. Talk to me. Don’t hide behind the woo button.
I have one too but it is easy to work out who it is. I haven't had the consistant woo's in the few weeks that one particular poster has been absent from the boards.
Back on topic, I wish there was a cheap and easy way of getting an accurate body fat measure......
My last one did the same, I knew who it was. Confirmed when she disappeared and the woo count increase stopped. I have a new one now. I'm pretty sure I know who it is. It's entertaining. I almost never use it myself. Although it's tempting to revenge woo.
OP, my scale has the body fat percentage. I know It's got a pretty big margin for error. As for goal, not really. Just less than it was today.
You seem close enough that the 28% should be doable. Although if does seem a bit random, at least it isn't a harmful recommendation.5 -
Yeah. I am not sure the whole woo thing accomplishes much. I can see people disagree with what I write but no idea why? And of course there are the ones who think it means hurrah! I used to think everyone here tried to be generally supportive, but apparently there is an entire crew who are judgemental. I would think if someone feels strongly enough about a post to woo it they would take the time to quote it and present their own viewpoints. That would actually be a learning thing and more informative for everyone to see. I think I picked up my woo club in the too skinny post a while back. 2
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SummerSkier wrote: »Yeah. I am not sure the whole woo thing accomplishes much. I can see people disagree with what I write but no idea why? And of course there are the ones who think it means hurrah! I used to think everyone here tried to be generally supportive, but apparently there is an entire crew who are judgemental. I would think if someone feels strongly enough about a post to woo it they would take the time to quote it and present their own viewpoints. That would actually be a learning thing and more informative for everyone to see. I think I picked up my woo club in the too skinny post a while back.
It's one of the stupidest, most passive-aggressive reaction buttons ever. Especially because initially it was intended to be used as both "this is a bunch of woo" and "whoohoo!", making it completely useless. Now it's supposed to mean only "this is a bunch of woo", but of course people don't realize it's been updated and use it as a complement, or they woo everything they disagree with instead of stating their point of view, or they follow people around the boards wooing everything they post, like you're experiencing.
I wish they would just drop it and implement agree/disagree buttons - those are neutral and address the content of the post, not the poster. When someone's first post racks up 17 woo's in the first half hour and they are intimidated into never posting again, you have to question the reasoning of a site that advocates for respectful conversation and penalizes posters who attack others.
<steps off soapbox>12 -
SummerSkier wrote: »I bought this about 6 years ago and altho it may not be totally accurate as say a full immersion test, I think it is good to compare week to week. Not for folks with pacemakers of course. it was as good an investment as the measurement tape imo. Easy to use also.
I remember these were used at Curves when they were popular!1 -
SummerSkier wrote: »Yeah. I am not sure the whole woo thing accomplishes much. I can see people disagree with what I write but no idea why? And of course there are the ones who think it means hurrah! I used to think everyone here tried to be generally supportive, but apparently there is an entire crew who are judgemental. I would think if someone feels strongly enough about a post to woo it they would take the time to quote it and present their own viewpoints. That would actually be a learning thing and more informative for everyone to see. I think I picked up my woo club in the too skinny post a while back.
It's one of the stupidest, most passive-aggressive reaction buttons ever. Especially because initially it was intended to be used as both "this is a bunch of woo" and "whoohoo!", making it completely useless. Now it's supposed to mean only "this is a bunch of woo", but of course people don't realize it's been updated and use it as a complement, or they woo everything they disagree with instead of stating their point of view, or they follow people around the boards wooing everything they post, like you're experiencing.
I wish they would just drop it and implement agree/disagree buttons - those are neutral and address the content of the post, not the poster. When someone's first post racks up 17 woo's in the first half hour and they are intimidated into never posting again, you have to question the reasoning of a site that advocates for respectful conversation and penalizes posters who attack others.
<steps off soapbox>
When I first joined MFP, I thought Woo was supposed to be a good thing. I woo'ed someone's progress picture as a means of showing celebration, as in whoo hoo!. I quickly learned afterwards that it meant something totally different. I agree that there's really no good use for it if all it shows is disagreement.7 -
SummerSkier wrote: »Yeah. I am not sure the whole woo thing accomplishes much. I can see people disagree with what I write but no idea why? And of course there are the ones who think it means hurrah! I used to think everyone here tried to be generally supportive, but apparently there is an entire crew who are judgemental. I would think if someone feels strongly enough about a post to woo it they would take the time to quote it and present their own viewpoints. That would actually be a learning thing and more informative for everyone to see. I think I picked up my woo club in the too skinny post a while back.
It's one of the stupidest, most passive-aggressive reaction buttons ever. Especially because initially it was intended to be used as both "this is a bunch of woo" and "whoohoo!", making it completely useless. Now it's supposed to mean only "this is a bunch of woo", but of course people don't realize it's been updated and use it as a complement, or they woo everything they disagree with instead of stating their point of view, or they follow people around the boards wooing everything they post, like you're experiencing.
I wish they would just drop it and implement agree/disagree buttons - those are neutral and address the content of the post, not the poster. When someone's first post racks up 17 woo's in the first half hour and they are intimidated into never posting again, you have to question the reasoning of a site that advocates for respectful conversation and penalizes posters who attack others.
<steps off soapbox>
I agree with this 100% I hate the woo button4
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