Body Fat % (a question)

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appleseeds
appleseeds Posts: 212 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondering - the body fat percentage table I was looking at has an ¨obese¨ range and an ¨average¨ range and a ¨fitness¨ range.

Does this basically mean that if you are falling into the ¨average¨ range of body fat, you can still be very much overweight?

Because I need to lose like 35 pounds to have a normal BMI
But I only need to lose 3% body fat to be ¨average¨

Replies

  • sm_4ever17
    sm_4ever17 Posts: 128 Member
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    if you are muscular thn u myt nt need to lose weight bt if u arnt thn u must* lose
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    The BMI is only the height to weight ratio. I will always be overweight according to my BMI.
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Body builders are obese according to BMI. It's totally bogus. Go by the body fat % instead.
  • chubiD
    chubiD Posts: 260
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    BMI doesn't take your body composition into account... I wouldn't use it as a guide. The waist to height ratio is a better idea, body composition is probably the best one (but it is also the hardest one to measure)
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
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    Just ignore the BMI. A decent bodyfat reading is a lot more credible, as are measuements of your body, and overall health.
  • bstamps12
    bstamps12 Posts: 1,184
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    Losing 3% BF can be harder than you think depending on your weight now. Every time you lose weight, it isn't just fat, it's muscle too (yes, even if you strength training) so for some people, losing 35 lbs might be in the same range as losing 3% BF. I lost 20 lbs and only about 3.5% BF.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    To get an eye for what different bf% looks like... http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    You might want to look for a new body fat % table if those are the only categories. Mine lists these categories: essential fat, athletic fitness, fitness, healthy/average, over fat, obese.

    I think when it is split up more like that, you can get a better idea of where you are and where you want to be. I started out "obese" a few years ago, was "over fat" last year as I was suffering from skinny fatness, and I am currently "healthy/average." I have a goal of 16% body fat which is at the high end of "athletic fitness" according to the chart that I use.

    And I also agree that you should not go by BMI. It's at best a way to show progression, but nothing more. Even though I am wearing a size 8 currently and am pretty fit compared to a lot of people I know, I am still on the verge of "obese" according to BMI because I have a fair bit of muscle. Surely I can't be on the border of "obese" at the same time that I am "healthy/average." It doesn't make sense.
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    You might want to look for a new body fat % table if those are the only categories. Mine lists these categories: essential fat, athletic fitness, fitness, healthy/average, over fat, obese.

    I think when it is split up more like that, you can get a better idea of where you are and where you want to be. I started out "obese" a few years ago, was "over fat" last year as I was suffering from skinny fatness, and I am currently "healthy/average." I have a goal of 16% body fat which is at the high end of "athletic fitness" according to the chart that I use.

    And I also agree that you should not go by BMI. It's at best a way to show progression, but nothing more. Even though I am wearing a size 8 currently and am pretty fit compared to a lot of people I know, I am still on the verge of "obese" according to BMI because I have a fair bit of muscle. Surely I can't be on the border of "obese" at the same time that I am "healthy/average." It doesn't make sense.

    any webpage you can find that shows these percentages? i see so many, i have no idea what is accurate and what isn't.
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    You might want to look for a new body fat % table if those are the only categories. Mine lists these categories: essential fat, athletic fitness, fitness, healthy/average, over fat, obese.

    I think when it is split up more like that, you can get a better idea of where you are and where you want to be. I started out "obese" a few years ago, was "over fat" last year as I was suffering from skinny fatness, and I am currently "healthy/average." I have a goal of 16% body fat which is at the high end of "athletic fitness" according to the chart that I use.

    And I also agree that you should not go by BMI. It's at best a way to show progression, but nothing more. Even though I am wearing a size 8 currently and am pretty fit compared to a lot of people I know, I am still on the verge of "obese" according to BMI because I have a fair bit of muscle. Surely I can't be on the border of "obese" at the same time that I am "healthy/average." It doesn't make sense.

    any webpage you can find that shows these percentages? i see so many, i have no idea what is accurate and what isn't.

    Go with the table that comes with your method of body fat measurement. There are different tables based on the accuracy of the device or formula being used
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    The chart that I use comes from my AFAA CPT manual. There are lots of websites that show the chart, or something similar though.

    This one is fairly similar to the one that I use:

    http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

    Mine lists "overfat" as being 30-32% with "obese" being 33% and up, and the others are different by 1-2%, but it's still similar. I'm right in the middle of "average" on this chart.
  • EuroDriver12
    EuroDriver12 Posts: 805 Member
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    Body builders are obese according to BMI. It's totally bogus. Go by the body fat % instead.

    This 100%!!! Bmi=bs bf%=success
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    The chart that I use comes from my AFAA CPT manual. There are lots of websites that show the chart, or something similar though.

    This one is fairly similar to the one that I use:

    http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

    Mine lists "overfat" as being 30-32% with "obese" being 33% and up, and the others are different by 1-2%, but it's still similar. I'm right in the middle of "average" on this chart.

    thanks so much!
  • appleseeds
    appleseeds Posts: 212 Member
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    Hm. So with the AFF(insert following letters here) they seperate obese and overfat - but that average percentages are still the same. So I´m still only looking to lose 3% body fat to be ¨normal¨.

    I guess this is kind of a relief because I´ve always sort of felt that I had a lot of muscle, but I´ve always been like this, so I was also always very paranoid that I was only telling myself I had a lot of muscle in order to justify not dieting.

    On that note - someone posted earlier that it might be a lot harder to reduce my body fat % than I realised.

    I´m 5¨2 and weigh 169 pounds btw.

    EDIT: Also I presume my waist-to-hip ratio would be pretty good. My waist is about 29inches and my hips 44inches I think. Ill going to look it up now :D.



    EDIT EDIT: By the way guys, I´m asking because I´m trying to set a realistic goal
  • live4turns
    live4turns Posts: 314 Member
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    Just wondering - the body fat percentage table I was looking at has an ¨obese¨ range and an ¨average¨ range and a ¨fitness¨ range.

    Does this basically mean that if you are falling into the ¨average¨ range of body fat, you can still be very much overweight?

    Because I need to lose like 35 pounds to have a normal BMI
    But I only need to lose 3% body fat to be ¨average¨

    BMI is terribly flawed and doesn't take into consideration lots of variables. Stick with the body fat data. However, body fat can be tricky to accurately measure and understand. Use fat calipers to measure and you have to consistently measure in order to get the hang of it and improve your accuracy.
  • appleseeds
    appleseeds Posts: 212 Member
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    Use fat calipers to measure and you have to consistently measure in order to get the hang of it and improve your accuracy.

    My scales give me a body fat percentage. I used it for the first time today.

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