Body fat, schmody fat
My question to you, Dutchie, how do you feel & look in your clothing? I'm 5'6" and weigh 145. I have used calipers & the measuring method to get my percentage of body fat & it has always been around 25-26%. Punky is right the calipers are one of the better ways of measuring body fat.
That said, I think you might be heading in the right direction with your thinking. So, why care what our body fat percentage is as long as you look & feel good in your clothes!
Something to keep in mind is that when a body builder or fitness competitor gets down to say a 15% body fat level, she doesn't do it for an extended period of time. She does it for just a few weeks before and only days after competition. When the competition season is over they generally gain a little body fat back. The reason? Because keeping your body fat levels that low can kill your thyroid!
There is a woman that used to post here, CompetitionBound also known as AmyFit30, who can attest to what I am saying. She competed one time & actually came in 2nd place. When she was preparing to do another competition, she decided to have a physical just to be safe. Her doc ran blood tests & found that her thyroid was messed up. He advised she not diet the way she would need to for competion because he felt that was the cause of her problems.
I can also tell you from visiting Cathe a few times, even she doesn't look like she does in her videos! When I went to see her this summer before she got into her routine for pre-filming, she looked INCREDIBLE but no where near as cut as she does in the videos. We talked about filming preparation & she said she does loose body fat just prior to filming.
So, my advice to anyone that is "obsessed" with what percentage their body fat is--GET OVER IT! (that's said with humor!) Be more concerned with how you look in your clothes, or even how you look naked! If you are happy with the look, don't go crazy trying to find out what your body fat percentage is.