Took body measurements/ fat percentage.. can someone explain to me the results?!!

I can use a similar commercial standard unit at my gym and if my hydration and other conditions are consistent generally it gives a "reasonable" number and a "reasonable" trend over time. Generally.....

But last time I used it my numbers were weight up 1lb (yep, true) fat down 6lbs and muscle up 7lbs - in a week!!
Clearly that's ludicrous and impossible to be a true massive change in body composition.

As I'm familiar with my trend and my approximate levels I know with some certainty that scan was the anomaly and I should simply discard that data as being a false reading.

Think you should regard a single reading as poor quality data unless you have some corroboration that it might be within the realms of reasonable. BIA devices need care in their usage (did the clinic offer any advice in how you should have prepared for the test?) and even when used with care you can still get weird and wonderful results for no apparent reason.

At 5' 4.5" and 145 pounds, 43% BF does sound high. Would you mind posting a picture?

Also, what sort of clinic is this?

kshama2001 wrote: »

At 5' 4.5" and 145 pounds, 43% BF does sound high. Would you mind posting a picture?

Also, what sort of clinic is this?

Yeah. I'm female, 5'5", and last I weighed in the lower 140s, I was in the upper 20s BF% - maybe 28%-ish or so? . . . but I'm possibly a little more muscular than average, having been pretty active for a couple of decades now (far short of bodybuilder, though). While 43% is theoretically possible, the 35% sounds more probable, without seeing you - more like what I'd expect from an average woman of fairly average activity (noting that average activity is not super high).

There are sites with photos of people (female as well as male) at varying body fat percents. I don't have a link (maybe someone does, or do a web search), but that might give you some visual comparison. Each individual's fat distribution is different, but it should give you some additional indication of whether 35% or 43% is more probable for you.

Either way, it's just data. It's not a measure of your worth as a human! Any of us starts from where we are (even though that may be different from where we wish we could start). You can make progress in a positive direction, if you choose, no matter how you define "positive". Deciding to work toward your goals, consistently, persistently, thoughtfully, starting wherever you start - that's a good trait.

You are 5’4” and 145 lbs.

When I lost 70, and reached 150 at 5’7”, I treated myself to a DEXA scan.

I was sure I was rocking it and couldn’t wait to get the scan results. They were going to be my golden diploma of You Go Girl.

My BF% was about 30%. I burst into tears. It felt as if all my hard work had been negated, like a soulless machine was thumbing it’s nose at me. Forget I’d lost seventy pounds. I felt fat and failed.

My husband comforted me all evening, pretty much the only time he’s said anything about my weight to my face. (Poor guy is too smart to fall into the trap of “does this dress/weight/whatever make my *kitten* look too big”.)

A year later, ten more pounds down, still a glutton for punishment, a second DEXA reported I was “only” down to 23%’ish. Still disappointing.

You know what? It’s a year later again. Those numbers that meant so so so much to me in that moment? I can’t even remember them now. Thats how important they are in the great scheme of things.

What matters is how you and I feel. Healthy? Slim? Confident? Bad *kitten*?

I dropped another fifteen or twenty pounds. I no longer felt any of the above. I would probably have trounced a third DEXA scan, but to what point? I was tired, too thin, lost muscle. I made a decision to add a few pounds back to return to healthy.

We can get too invested in artificial milestones.

Recognize that those devices aren’t a whole lot more accurate than your electronic bathroom scale or that handheld jobbie at the gym that read electrical impulses or some such other black magic. If you’re OCD like me and got to know an exact number to salve your (meaning, my) ego, throw down the money for a DEXA or the other arcane and expensively accurate test.

If you’re genuinely worried about your BF% or know in your heart of hearts that a little toning (call off the toning dogs, fellow MFPers, ok?) might do you a bit of good, check into weightlifting/recomp.

I think the drawings on the built lean page are more accurate than the photos, tbh. Look at the 25% and 30% female photos, for example. Frankly, they look like they are reversed. But the drawings above the photos seem about right.

Greg Doucette on YT has a series of videos where he analyzes photos and estimates body fat percentages. It's a good way to get a sense of what different BF% really look like.

Well, there is the one guaranteed precise method to determine body fat, but you can only do it once, an autopsy. 😜

I have found those In Body scans dramatically overestimate body fat percentage. It doesn’t sound accurate based on your other measurements/numbers.