Weigh in - week of Nov. 6

[Veronica]

I have 20%. Or at least that's what I had 3 years ago. So I can dream that now it's a little less than that.

I had mine done as part of a whole series of tests at a sports medicine facility. I'd like to go back and do teh testing again now.

V.

[Bikingmomof3]

I've seen those scales and wondered how accurate they are. Maybe I'll get one. What % body fat does an athlete have? How about a 46 year old, athlete wanna-be?

If you were to do a search you would see a wide variation, of course.
23-34 is roughly what is recommended as healthy in your age range.

Mine is 22, which is in a healthy range for my age. Now if I went by my BMI, I would be overweight. So I stear clear of scales, occassionally have my body fat % professionally checked to make certain my scale matches, and I go by how I feel and my clothing fits.

[emily_in_nc]

According to the BMI calculator, I am underweight and have a BMI of 18 point something (forgotten already). However, I can pinch large chunks of fat on my belly, upper thighs, hips, and I even have back fat. I am blessed (???) with teeny, tiny bird bones, though (you should see my wrists!!), so I am quite sure I have *more* fat than the calculator figures....so it can err in both directions!

On the plus side, motivated by Veronica's man push-up post, and never having done anything but girl push-ups in my life, I decided to give man push-ups a try in the gym yesterday. I did 10, and with pretty decent form if I do say so myself! I guess all the working out (including upper-body weight training) is paying off. Even if I am "underweight" but overfat!

Emily

[DeniseGoldberg]

The BMI calculator that was posted earlier in this thread seems to give the wrong answer from an underweight, normal weight, overweight standpoint. That is, the calculation is correct, but the words are wrong. I've seen several comments about this, plus on my own calculation it showed me as underweight but well within the normal weight standpoint from a BMI standpoint.

I've found this calculator from the CDC to give the correct verbal answer based on the BMI:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/index.htm

And in spite of the fact that this calculator is hosted on a US government site, it does allow you to select English or metric measurements.

[Veronica]

Thanks Denise! That calculator puts me in the overweight category.

V.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Thanks Denise! That calculator puts me in the overweight category.

V.

Oops! Sorry...

The two calculators come up with the same BMI for me - but one says normal, and one says underweight. Based on the weight range for my height and weight, both should say normal.

And as said elsewhere in this discussion, BMI is just one factor of many - I don't think that you can go by this as the sole indicator of weight "status". Certainly having body fat measured by a reputable and trained individual is a better indicator anyway.

[Veronica]

The first says 25 is normal. The second says 25 is overweight. I don't worry about BMI. I have lots of muscle. It does drive me nuts when I go for my yearly physical and the doctor doesn't really look at me and suggests I need to lose weight just from my chart. That's usually when I kick them.

V.

[jobob]

Ah, not to worry, V. From the website Denise provided:

--------

How reliable is BMI as an indicator of body fatness?
The correlation between the BMI number and body fatness is fairly strong; however the correlation varies by sex, race, and age. These variations include the following examples:

• At the same BMI, women tend to have more body fat than men.
• At the same BMI, older people, on average, tend to have more body fat than younger adults.
• Highly trained athletes may have a high BMI because of increased muscularity rather than increased body fatness

----------

so there


(body "fatness"? m'kay.)

[btchance]

Oh, those BMI and weight charts drive me nuts. The ideal body weight for me ranges from where I'm at right now, down to 20lbs less. Yikes, I look extremely scary and anorexic at that weight - that's where I used to be at when I danced alot. Right now, I would like to lose about 10lbs and see if I can maintain the same amount of strength I have right now. If I feel like I'm losing it, believe me I'll put back on a few pounds. Because of this, I'm adding weights back to my routine, and am looking to lose 10lbs by the end of March, only 2lbs per month. We'll see if it works.

[HipGnosis6]

The charts are all.... hm. I guess for some folks the ranges on all the charts and BMI listings etc etc are OK, but they're a really bad indicator for me. I used to box and got my body fat percentage down to 20%. I had TONS of muscle but still had a nice healthy amount of body fat - I still had boobs, and wasn't showing a six-pack. I weighed 189 pounds, which according to those BMI calculators, made me overweight and not far from obese.

They all say they're "guidelines", but the charts aren't very good guidelines for most of us. Even body fat percentage can lead us astray. I guess what I'm getting at is that we shouldn't let ourselves get too bound up on what some chart is telling us. Set your weight goals on what will make you comfortable.

I'm fat and admit it. I've gained back every ounce of the weight I lost in training and want to get some of my fitness back. I weighed myself for the first time in weeks today. I'm not shy about my weight - I weighed in today at 254 lbs. So what to do? I made a list of resolutions:

I will select the light option when one is available. (Read as: The salad bar isn't a healthy choice if you ladle on the blue chesse dressing!)
One slice of pizza at the work cafeteria is OK, two or three is not.
I cannot rely on the vending machines at work and school for healthy eating.
On any day I don't have both work and school I will find some time for excercise.
I will wear my pedometer daily.
If I find myself feeling hungry between meals I will drink a glass of water; if I still feel hungry 15 minutes later, then a REASONABLE snack is OK.
I will not substitute sodas or sugary juice drinks for water.
I will not abuse caffinated beverages - one or two cups of coffee in the morning is one thing, but drinking two 24 oz. cans of Rock Star daily is horrible even if it is the sugar free kind.
I will take a multivitamin (at very least) daily.

Wish me luck, girls....

[Bikingmomof3]

HipGnosis6,
You do not need luck, you have a very reasonable plan and a very healthy body image. You are ahead of a lot of people! I will wish you luck though, since you did ask.

[emily_in_nc]

I've found this calculator from the CDC to give the correct verbal answer based on the BMI:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/index.htm

Okay, cool, that one allows me to put in my 5'2 and a HALF" (5' 2.5"), which the other did not. My BMI came out 18.5, which is "NORMAL" (albeit the very lowest end of normal).

But I still have more body fat than it would seem to indicate. I'm petite, small-boned, and curvy -- not ectomorphic at all. And it sure is hard to get rid of the flab -- if I lose more weight I'd look anorexic. I guess the fat around the middle is just part of being 45....I had a lot less belly fat even when I weighed more at ages 25 and 35! Sigh...

Emily

[Offthegrid]

Hip,

You can do this! We're all here behind you and with you to lend a hand -- or a shoulder to cry on -- when you need it.

I know for me the key has been to know what I'm eating each and every day before the day begins. Because I work out some mornings, I have to plan and take with me breakfast, lunch and snacks virtually every day, but if you are working and in school you may have to do this, too.

Best of luck. I know you'll succeed.

[tygab]

ok, I'll start by saying, I am not trying to lose weight, as I weigh anywhere between 114-118 these days, which is about as low as someone my height should be (5'3" n change), and around what I weighed when I was once a very fit college kid. I eat a lot but I try to eat mostly good for me things that my husband or I have made at home.

However, after a summer of exercising and feeling like I was getting much fitter I wanted to see what my body fat% was, so I got a scale that measures that.

On some days it says I am like 25%. I have a hard time believing this since my legs and arms have turned to muscle (though not like Veronica's, wow!). I do have a little soft area around my tummy still but I used to be soft well all over.

There are settings on the scale for 3 activity levels, and an 'athlete' designation, and I am just not sure which to use. I forget the specifics but I can rule out the couch potato one. So, there's moderate, active, and then athelete. I actually think I fit their athelete description (basically several longer high intensity sessions per week), and I've tried that too, but didn't see that it made a difference.

I have gotten one reading at 21% and that would seem to make more sense to me. Should I just pick a setting and do a running average every other day or something?

The instruction book said also I should not do it right after exercise or when I am dehydrated. That may be my real problem... I doubt I drink enough.

Anyway if any of you have help on how to get the most out of these measurements I'd appreciate it.

[Bikingmomof3]

Yes, keep a running average and measure at the samwe time each day. If you are dehydrated the body fat % increases.