29% body fat

If you are looking for a specific BF% target, it really varies individual by individual (where you store your fat and your personal preference). However - the following are some recommended ranges for women:

Women

Age Underfat Healthy Range Overweight Obese
20-40 yrs Under 21% 21-33% 33-39% Over 39%
41-60 yrs Under 23% 23-35% 35-40% Over 40%
61-79 yrs Under 24% 24-36% 36-42% Over 42%

So at your age you should be between 21% and 33%,

However, I should note these are general guidelines and that there are a lot of very healthy women are under 20%. WIth some exceptions, It is not recommended to go under 15%.

If you are looking for a specific BF% target, it really varies individual by individual (where you store your fat and your personal preference). However - the following are some recommended ranges for women:

Women

Age Underfat Healthy Range Overweight Obese
20-40 yrs Under 21% 21-33% 33-39% Over 39%
41-60 yrs Under 23% 23-35% 35-40% Over 40%
61-79 yrs Under 24% 24-36% 36-42% Over 42%

So at your age you should be between 21% and 33%,

However, I should note these are general guidelines and that there are a lot of very healthy women are under 20%. WIth some exceptions, It is not recommended to go under 15%.

Woot! I guess I'm technically underfat, since I'm middle-aged! See! It's not bad to be an oldie!!!

Cardio to burn fat and strength training to build muscle. Eat strong protein for muscle building and eat a caloric deficit (eat less than you burn)..> Now, that being said, you did not indicate how your weight responds to your height... What is your BMI ... While I agree that this is only part of the equation it will let you know about how many fewer calories than you burn that you need to consume... If you have a BMI of lets say.... 35 ... that is obesity stage. and a larger (1 or 2 lb loss per week goal) is appropriate.. If however, you are at BMI 25 with a large fat store then you are within normal BMI but are what is called a "Fat-thin".... In that case, I would focus more on building muscle mass and exercise while eating a mild deficit (.5 lbs loss per week or so)

How to eat in calorie deficit and have the energy for workout?

Eating in a deficit does not mean not having enough fuel to energize your body. The deficit is from your TDEE and is built into the net calorie goal MFP provides when you use this site for weight loss. You can then eat back some or all of the calories burned exercising to refuel your body and you still maintain the deficit to lose weight. Effectively, exercise is purely for fitness and weight loss comes from eating at that maintained deficit.

Woot! I guess I'm technically underfat, since I'm middle-aged! See! It's not bad to be an oldie!!!

LOL - :drinker: :laugh:

Oh - and good for you

you're looking pretty underfat yourself (in a good way).

Unfortunely I am at the top end of the healthy category (its all behind me so you can't see it in the pic) - but thanks. :flowerforyou:

Edited - misread my own chart.

Question: where did you get your body fat percentage measured at? I don mine on iPhone apps that require measurement but i'm not sure they are correct. Therefore, i've been wanting to actually get it measured but i don't know where to go.

Question: where did you get your body fat percentage measured at? I don mine on iPhone apps that require measurement but i'm not sure they are correct. Therefore, i've been wanting to actually get it measured but i don't know where to go.

There are many many ways, Hydrostatic being the accurate one. Calipers and skin folds being popular. Here's an example of a few

Hydrostatic (Underwater) Weighing - This is the most accurate way of measuring since it doesn't predict body density. There is a error margin for residual volume (lung capacity). Remember, the density (mass/volume) of water changes with temperature (water becomes larger when it freezes into ice cubes for example).
density_body/density_water = density_body/(~1g/cm^3) = weight_body/(weight_body - weight_immersed)

Skin Fold Methods - A pair of calipers/callipers can be used to pinch standardized parts of the body such as your bicep and belly, determining the subcutaneous fat layer thickness. These sites are measured several times and averaged, and an average is taken of the averages to determine body fat percentage. The calculations some people use seem to vary and consist of body mass index rating scales so I will not list them here. There's also the problem where these readings can flux a lot day to day, and it will differ depending on who does them allot of the time. It's better for one person to do the test over a long period of time to give you an idea if you are loosing fat. Many fitness professionals do this kind of test. If you are part of a gym they can probably do it for you. Depending on the person who does it it can be inaccurate (I've seen some boobs).

Weight Scales/Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) - This functionality is built into many weight scales and other devices (such as Omron hand grippers/body pod) these days. The values can vary greatly, even if you have 2 of the same scale (according to my scale manual). Scales that can do this are actually reading your electrical impedance, so it requires skin to metal contacts (this is why you do not receive a % value if you are wearing socks). These scales can figure out your total body water (TBW), which can help calculate LBM, BF and bone mass. Since this depends on your TBW, the values can vary greatly depending on if it's that time of the month, you're hydrated, your hot (related to damp skin), you're loosing weight etc etc. It can also be inaccurate depending on where your carrying your fat. For example, if you carry your weight in the top half of your body and use a scale that sends the current through the bottom half.
V=Voltage=IR=Current*Resistance=Current*|Impedance|^(Imaginary#*phase)=Complicated=you have as much equipment then me in your house.
Example (me): Thinner Glass Body Analysis Scale reading BF% = 17.0% fat

Body Mass Index (BMI) - Your BF can be calculated from your BMI (sex=1 if male, 0 if female).
Child body fat % = (1.51*BMI) - (0.70 * Age) - (3.6 * sex) + 1.4
Adult body fat % = (1.20*BMI) + (0.23 * Age) - (10.8 * sex) - 5.4
Example (me): BF% = (1.20*18.8) + (0.23*29) - (10.8*0) - 5.4 = 23.83% fat

Anthropometric/Height and Circumference Methods - The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army (Department of Defense) use this method along with Covert Bailey and fat2fit's body fat calculator. They make calculations based on mass, and the circumference of various body parts such as waist, hip, bicep, forearm and wrist.
U.S. Army (Department of Defense) Military BF Calculator: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/
Example (me, from calculator): BF% = 19.1% fat
Covert Bailey BF Calculator: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/cbbf/
Example (me, from calculator): BF% = 19% fat
Fat 2 Fit BF Calculator: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bf/
Example (me, from calculator): BF% = 25.2% fat

As you can see, the fat calculators can vary a lot, and so can everything else. The underwater test is the most accurate, the only error I can think of is breathing.

Question: where did you get your body fat percentage measured at? I don mine on iPhone apps that require measurement but i'm not sure they are correct. Therefore, i've been wanting to actually get it measured but i don't know where to go.

There are many many ways, Hydrostatic being the accurate one. Calipers and skin folds being popular. Here's an example of a few

Hydrostatic (Underwater) Weighing - This is the most accurate way of measuring since it doesn't predict body density. There is a error margin for residual volume (lung capacity). Remember, the density (mass/volume) of water changes with temperature (water becomes larger when it freezes into ice cubes for example).
density_body/density_water = density_body/(~1g/cm^3) = weight_body/(weight_body - weight_immersed)

Skin Fold Methods - A pair of calipers/callipers can be used to pinch standardized parts of the body such as your bicep and belly, determining the subcutaneous fat layer thickness. These sites are measured several times and averaged, and an average is taken of the averages to determine body fat percentage. The calculations some people use seem to vary and consist of body mass index rating scales so I will not list them here. There's also the problem where these readings can flux a lot day to day, and it will differ depending on who does them allot of the time. It's better for one person to do the test over a long period of time to give you an idea if you are loosing fat. Many fitness professionals do this kind of test. If you are part of a gym they can probably do it for you. Depending on the person who does it it can be inaccurate (I've seen some boobs).

Weight Scales/Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) - This functionality is built into many weight scales and other devices (such as Omron hand grippers/body pod) these days. The values can vary greatly, even if you have 2 of the same scale (according to my scale manual). Scales that can do this are actually reading your electrical impedance, so it requires skin to metal contacts (this is why you do not receive a % value if you are wearing socks). These scales can figure out your total body water (TBW), which can help calculate LBM, BF and bone mass. Since this depends on your TBW, the values can vary greatly depending on if it's that time of the month, you're hydrated, your hot (related to damp skin), you're loosing weight etc etc. It can also be inaccurate depending on where your carrying your fat. For example, if you carry your weight in the top half of your body and use a scale that sends the current through the bottom half.
V=Voltage=IR=Current*Resistance=Current*|Impedance|^(Imaginary#*phase)=Complicated=you have as much equipment then me in your house.
Example (me): Thinner Glass Body Analysis Scale reading BF% = 17.0% fat

Body Mass Index (BMI) - Your BF can be calculated from your BMI (sex=1 if male, 0 if female).
Child body fat % = (1.51*BMI) - (0.70 * Age) - (3.6 * sex) + 1.4
Adult body fat % = (1.20*BMI) + (0.23 * Age) - (10.8 * sex) - 5.4
Example (me): BF% = (1.20*18.8) + (0.23*29) - (10.8*0) - 5.4 = 23.83% fat

Anthropometric/Height and Circumference Methods - The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army (Department of Defense) use this method along with Covert Bailey and fat2fit's body fat calculator. They make calculations based on mass, and the circumference of various body parts such as waist, hip, bicep, forearm and wrist.
U.S. Army (Department of Defense) Military BF Calculator: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/
Example (me, from calculator): BF% = 19.1% fat
Covert Bailey BF Calculator: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/cbbf/
Example (me, from calculator): BF% = 19% fat
Fat 2 Fit BF Calculator: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bf/
Example (me, from calculator): BF% = 25.2% fat

As you can see, the fat calculators can vary a lot, and so can everything else. The underwater test is the most accurate, the only error I can think of is breathing.

Great information!!