Body fat percentage? What's yours?

ExistingAsAMemory
ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21
in Health and Weight Loss
According to this body fat percentage calculator, my BF% is 15.9%.
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

Body Mass Index: 17.2 kg/m2
Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.37
Percent Body Fat: 15.9%
Lean Body Mass: 81.6 lb

I'm 97 pounds, 5'3", anorexic trying to recover.
This is horribly unhealthy.
I'm wondering what's a healthy BF% and weight for someone my height?
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Replies

  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    Your body fat percent is actually not unhealthy, you just need more lean mass so that percent is a healthier body weight. A perfect candidate for strength training and eating as much as you can make yourself. I've heard that most female body builders are former anorexics who trade the compulsion to not eat for gaining as much muscle as possible, so I guess the best thing is to seek help for the issues underlying the compulsion
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Take a look at the chart here and it should help you answer your question.
    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/body-fat-chart.php

    If your % is correct, it is not exceptionally low and close to a heatlhy level depending on your fitness.
  • Melzicious
    Melzicious Posts: 19
    15% body fat is low for a female, if you were fit you'd be characterized as an athlete. But since you are recovering from an eating disorder, I'm guessing that your low body fat percent is just due to being under weight, not fitness. I definitely congratulate you on trying to become more healthy, are you working with a counselor or anything?
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
    I'm 6'2, 220 lbs, and am currently sitting at 24% body fat. A long road left to go still I must.
  • cydonian
    cydonian Posts: 361 Member
    15% is low for a sexually mature female. We need at least 18-19% to have proper reproductive health and make sure everything is working in that area. I am currently about 23-24% depending on the calculator I use. I am upping my exercise and am hoping to get down to 21% and lower my hip measurement by 2 inches.
  • watboy
    watboy Posts: 380 Member
    22% currently. When I first started I was above 37% lol. But i'm told I should be between 18-20% . I'm 6 '1
  • ExistingAsAMemory
    ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21
    Thank you so much for the helpful replies. I can't spend a day without exercising for at least 30 minutes now, so I'd say I'm pretty active most of the week. I think it would be better to raise the % of muscle and decrease the fat, correct?
  • LiddyBit
    LiddyBit Posts: 447 Member
    What does your doctor and recovery team advise?
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    According to this body fat percentage calculator, my BF% is 15.9%.
    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

    Body Mass Index: 17.2 kg/m2
    Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.37
    Percent Body Fat: 15.9%
    Lean Body Mass: 81.6 lb

    I'm 97 pounds, 5'3", anorexic trying to recover.
    This is horribly unhealthy.
    I'm wondering what's a healthy BF% and weight for someone my height?

    I'm not trying to dismiss your ED, but your weight and body fat percentage are within the healthy range, especially if you don't have an enormous frame. I'm only an inch shorter -- 5'2" -- and weighed a lot less than 97 pounds at one point in my life. I don't know what my body fat percentage was because I didn't have a scale that measured it.

    Work on developing healthy eating and fitness habits.
  • ExistingAsAMemory
    ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21
    At this point I've refused to go to the doctor, but I'm working with a psychiatrist, a councilor and my doctor parents. They recommend a weight gain of around 10 pounds right now, and that's in addition to the other 9 I had gained since beginning recovery.
  • Cinh1
    Cinh1 Posts: 2 Member
    Good luck my dear :)
  • ExistingAsAMemory
    ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21

    I'm not trying to dismiss your ED, but your weight and body fat percentage are within the healthy range, especially if you don't have an enormous frame. I'm only an inch shorter -- 5'2" -- and weighed a lot less than 97 pounds at one point in my life. I don't know what my body fat percentage was because I didn't have a scale that measured it.

    Work on developing healthy eating and fitness habits.

    An ED is more mental than physical. 97 lbs is my latest weight in recovery right now. But I would get weak just by climbing a few steps, run out of breath doing simple tasks and faint sometimes. I was almost always dizzy and developed anemia. Also, I had severe vitamin D deficiency and other deficiencies in calcium and other vitamins.

    So yeah, purging kind of came with the territory too. I really am trying to become better though, so I understand why it would be difficult to believe my ED with my current weight.
  • ExistingAsAMemory
    ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21
    Good luck my dear :)

    Thank you! :smile:
  • 4my2jays
    4my2jays Posts: 168 Member
    Good Luck to you on your road to recovery. Take it a day at a time. :)
  • ExistingAsAMemory
    ExistingAsAMemory Posts: 21
    Good Luck to you on your road to recovery. Take it a day at a time. :)

    Thank you and will do! :smile:
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
    I'm 5'2 115 and at 19%, I am healthy and working on muscle mass. Being below 15% for a female is what they consider risky and it's at THIS point that it effects your menstrusl cycles etc, not 18-19%. I applaud you for seeking help and wish you the best on your road to recovery!!!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Do you need a specific goal number to work towards? When you talk about working out for at least 30 minutes, I assume that's cardio? Can you swap some of that for strength training?

    Getting strong enough and giving yourself enough cals so you aren't getting weak/faint so quickly should be your first goal. After that it's probably going to come down to finding a balance between being happy with your body/self image and being healthy. I can't really put a number on that (body fat or weight or whatever other measurable you want to talk about), but it sounds like you are making progress... keep at it.

    If you need numbers to work towards (I'm a numbers guy, so I totally get it if you do), I'd look at something around 110-115lbs and a body fat % in the high teens. Then you can re-evaluate once you get there. Obviously I don't know you or your goals or your struggles, and I'm not an expert on any of this, so take it for what it's worth.

    Good luck!


    .
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    I have no idea what mine is, but I know it's too high!
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    Thank you so much for the helpful replies. I can't spend a day without exercising for at least 30 minutes now, so I'd say I'm pretty active most of the week. I think it would be better to raise the % of muscle and decrease the fat, correct?
    you probably don't need to decrease your fat at all, it's already very little. I'd work on just gaining muscle and upping your weight a little!
  • sara1923
    sara1923 Posts: 53
    5'4 and weigh 130.. body fat is 18%.... (I hate the scale) I will always recommend strength training
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member

    I'm not trying to dismiss your ED, but your weight and body fat percentage are within the healthy range, especially if you don't have an enormous frame. I'm only an inch shorter -- 5'2" -- and weighed a lot less than 97 pounds at one point in my life. I don't know what my body fat percentage was because I didn't have a scale that measured it.

    Work on developing healthy eating and fitness habits.

    An ED is more mental than physical. 97 lbs is my latest weight in recovery right now. But I would get weak just by climbing a few steps, run out of breath doing simple tasks and faint sometimes. I was almost always dizzy and developed anemia. Also, I had severe vitamin D deficiency and other deficiencies in calcium and other vitamins.

    So yeah, purging kind of came with the territory too. I really am trying to become better though, so I understand why it would be difficult to believe my ED with my current weight.

    I wasn't doubting that you have an ED if you say you have. I was only pointing out the objective fact that your weight and body fat percentage are not "horribly unhealthy," although they are lower than average.
  • nomena
    nomena Posts: 165
    According to our scale, mine is around 22% and I'm 5'6' . No idea how accurate that scale is though!

    According to wikipedia, this is in the "fitness" range.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage
  • ouandi
    ouandi Posts: 135 Member
    I am at 30% doing the pinch test at two different gyms. My body fat scale says 36% for some reason but it's incorrect. My goal is to lose 6% body fat or 10lbs of pure fat.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    5' 2" : In recent months, 18 to 23. 22 today. The numbers are from my scale, which I believe tends to under report a bit.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Good Luck to you on your road to recovery. Take it a day at a time. :)

    ^ ^ ^ This. :)
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    I'm 5'1", and my BF is around 19%.



    Good luck on your recovery. Remember that it's a journey, not a destination. It'll be hard work, but worth it.
  • CrazyGraciegirl
    CrazyGraciegirl Posts: 227
    28.5% D: I'm "acceptable." :frown: I will work at it. I hope you do well recovering! It is tough. :heart:
  • nightsrainfall
    nightsrainfall Posts: 244 Member
    Mine is 30% fat. Women with high fitness levels (runners, lifters, rock climbers, very active / strong) are 21-24% fat, and then average is 24-31%, and over 31% is unhealthy, as is under 21% unless you are an althete (but many althete's have people watching their bodies for them very closely). Women tend to need/have a higher body fat percent than men, mostly due to hormones and ability to have children.

    I wouldn't worry about decreasing your percent fat but in gaining muscle and just eating healthy to support that muscle. This, in turn will cause you to gain weight.I am trying to lose weight, but for me I tend to gain muscle first when doing a new routine. For example the scale will go up, but my inches will go down and my ability (weight, speed, etc) will increase.

    One of my close college friends had an eating disorder back in high school and she was still struggling with it when I met her in college (4 years ago), however now she's not only fit, but very healthy. So I wish you the best.
  • DMarkSwan
    DMarkSwan Posts: 56 Member
    You need to add body fat. Eat good nutritious food, but run a bit of a calorie surplus to add some body fat slowly. If you lose fat or gain muscle alone, your body fat % will slide back down when it needs to come up about another percentage point. Good luck and make sure you only listen to people with your best interest at heart, not people who earn their living convincing you that you're not good enough. They lie. I was with a female friend when a gym trainer measured her at 18% body fat and told her she should trim that down a bit. No matter what I said, she let this jerk convince her she was overweight!

    Not comparable because I'm male, but mine is 17.6% based on a skin fold test in 3 places, but my scale says 27%.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    According to this body fat percentage calculator, my BF% is 15.9%.
    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

    Body Mass Index: 17.2 kg/m2
    Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.37
    Percent Body Fat: 15.9%
    Lean Body Mass: 81.6 lb

    I'm 97 pounds, 5'3", anorexic trying to recover.
    This is horribly unhealthy.
    I'm wondering what's a healthy BF% and weight for someone my height?

    I'm not trying to dismiss your ED, but your weight and body fat percentage are within the healthy range, especially if you don't have an enormous frame. I'm only an inch shorter -- 5'2" -- and weighed a lot less than 97 pounds at one point in my life. I don't know what my body fat percentage was because I didn't have a scale that measured it.

    Work on developing healthy eating and fitness habits.

    no it isn't a healthy weight for someone her height. just because you were also underweight doesn't excuse it. sorry. OP. you need to gain and please do not let this comment dissuade you. I know it can be difficult to come to terms with gaining and regaining your health/life. please continue along the path to weight gain!

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