Body Fat %

S

sunnyside

Cathlete
I'm just curious as to what body fat %...say some one in as good as shape as Cathe, would have.

I would also put her in the catagory as the women in a Ms. Fitness competition. What avereage body fat % do they have.

I got my body fat % done by one of those higher quality Tanita scales(not sure the accuracy).
It came out as 16.2 %. (I'm 5'5", 116lbs) They tell me that is low. I'm confused as I have alot more fat draping my body then say, someone like Cathe. I'm not over weight, but I'm definitly not as firm as I want to be.

I would like to know what a safe low body fat %, for an athletic female is.



Thanks, sunnyside
 
Sunnyside,
This is just what I have seen. Most fitness competitors get down to about 10-12% when competing. When off-season they are a little higher, maybe around 15%. I know some will go lower and some will stay low all year. That is low for most women to keep but remember they do this as their business so looking lean and cut makes them the money.
Not sure where Cathe is but she is pretty lean.

Hope this helps some, and please if I am wrong, someone correct me.

Rhonda
 
Hi Sunnyside,
I wanted to reply to your post. Though I don't have the answer, I have one of those tanita scales too and I have always wondered if they really are acurate. Your body fat seems low to me because mine says I'm at about 23 to 24% I'm 5'7" and I weigh 120. I wonder where I'm at on the fat percentage.
Would love to get some other posts on this subject.

Michelle:)
 
Hi Michelle. I wonder how those scales really work. Do they just work by the info. you punch in. Or when you put your bare feet on it, is it really detecting your fat%? I did have them put in "Athletic" did you do that? You should have gotten lower with how tall you are and your weight compared to mine. How old are you? I'm 40, so maybe age is the difference. My daughter told me that getting your fat% tested in water is the most accuate.
 
Yeah, I agree that Michelle seems to be measuring higher than her height and weight. I am 5' 51/2" and I weigh 115. On my Tanita scale my body fat % varies - so I don't see how they can be accurate - I think its just a rough estimate.

On mine it goes between 14% and 17% - My body fat is at the lowest at night when my weight is higher, but first thing in the morning my body fat is at its highest, while my weight is at its lowest.

So, I already know they are inaccurate - I really do not see how, by standing on this scale in bare feet can really truly measure your body fat anyway - even knowing I am female and my height. I read in the Fitness magazine they have one that is much more accurate now - but it is $200. It isn't worth it to me.

Cheryl
 
Thanks Deborah. I'm going to try that and see how close it comes to the Tanita scale info. I got. At the bottom it says "Women's body fat targets - 12%-17%", intersetsing. The way I've eaten in the last few days might put me over the top! LOL!:+
 
Wow...the target is 12%-17%!! Man, they sure keep putting the pressure on us women!!!LOL!! I guess I am a big fatty!!:)

Actually, Sunnyside, I think your body fat is very good and you have very little to worry about. I know these scales are very confusing and I wouldn't even own one if it weren't given to me as a gift (or a curse!). I have had fat measured by calipers, water, bioelectical impedence via a Taylor body fat scale and also some other had held device at LA Fitness. I have gotten all different kinds of readings! I now use the "pinch" test to tell whether I am leaner or fatter. I can see it, so there is no need to measure. I find I only want to "measure" when I fall into a rut and my workout motivation is low..I start wanting a motivator of some kind so I get my BF done.
I bow to you all though. Working full time I can't seem to get my BF under the 20's. The lowest it has ever been was 12% when I ate nothing and worked out all day. Seriously. Realistically, to be really fit, I could probably get down to 20. I would most likely look pretty good there given my musculature. Sunnyside, you must be doing something right..
Also, the reason the scale measures you BF lower at night is because you are more hydrated. In the AM, you weigh less, but are dehydrated and therefore will get an innacurrate reading. Just FYI...
Janice
 
Thanks Deb for sending in the site and thanks everyone else for the feedback about this. I used it and it came out to be about the same as the scales said. It says I'm at 25% fat. Compared to some of the others readings,I'm like Janice, I also feel like a real fatty. I weighed myself this morning on my Tanita scales and it said I weighed 119 (5'7") and by body fat was 27%. This is what I don't understand. I'm not fat, to look at me anyway. I have a flat stomach and I workout 6 days a week. I don't eat the cleanest, but lately I have really been working hard on that. My arms are fairly defined and my legs are by any means not even chubby so whats wrong here? Oh, I will be 34 next month, someone asked me that.
Anyway, I'm really confused about this body fat thing.

Michelle :)
 
Now I'm depressed. x(
I did the body fat% test on that site and it shot me clean up to 26%!!
So roughly I'm in between 16% and 26%. This does not help me at all.
*crying and feeling sorry for myself* back to the basement for more workouts.;-)

Note to self - No more body fat testing...EVER!:D
 
Thanks Deborah! I printed that out. A friend of mine gave me one of those scales to try out for a while and I wonder about it also. The body fat percentage seems to just parallel the weight. Then because it came from Japan, I have to subtract 8 from the total. It said my body fat is 22%. I'm 5 feet 113 lbs.I don't like to worry about body fat, but I'm going to try this new method. Where do they get all those different number factors, I wonder??? :D

Donna M
 
Ok, I didn't notice Deborah's link, but I just did it now. It is kinda cool, but I don't really get how they get the factors. It MUST be wrong though cuz it spit me out at 17.5% and there is NO WAY in this godly world that that is my BF %!!!! Not with putting in a 31 inch waist!!! Maybe I forgot my sex???

I am just going to play stupid for now and choose to believe that number!!LOL!!!

Janice
 
Michelle..not to say you are fat or anything..but...

You can appear thin and have a high body fat percentage. This is especially true if you are just beginning exercise. You probably do have high BF. But if you have been working out six times per week and have a flat belly, it is probably lower. But maybe not much. Unless your diet is squeaky clean, you should not be suprised if you are at 25%. Even if you are athletic. That is why I made my initial comment on the range being so low. Last I heard, a "healthy" white female body fat percentage was 22%, wanting no higher than 25%. I would rather be fit and fat than unfit and skinny anyday....

Janice
 
Hi all, I have had my percent body fat done at the Y before and it came out at 27% I did it on the link site and it was 26% so that tells me that it is pretty accurate(at least in comparison to the Y's method). Actually I was pleased to see that I came down some even though I am not sure I did the forearm thing right. I bookmarked the site so I can do it periodically and see if I am making progress or not. Btw I am 39, workout 6 days a week and by most charts I am overweight. According to the Y's chart for % body fat I am right where a woman my age should be, which is a little high if you ask me.

Thanks for the link.
 
Hey Everyone i just recently had my body fat checked by a personal trainer using these electric things that she hooked up to my body and it sent electrical currents through my body to check my whole body composition...including how much muscle i have and how much water....my body fat percent was 12% which is pretty low but i am very thin...i would like to get it down to 10% even though that may not be possible....i would not mind gaining muscle...i had 98.6 pounds of muscle which she said was a lot for someone my size ( i am 5ft 3 in and 112 pounds) but i would like more i love the way strong muscles look on women :)
 
Michelle,

I agree with you on this method of figuring ones's body fat %. I did the test and it said that I was 23% fat. On my scale it says I an between 14 1nd 17% fat. I am 5' 5 1/2" tall and I weighed 113.8 pounds at the doctor last month. Did anyone notice that this test never even asked for your height? I thought height had as much to do with it as what one weighs.

I eat a very clean diet - so I know for a fact I am less than that test says. My BMI is at 19.

My measurements are: Bust - 32 1/2", Waist - 23 1/2", Abdomen 25 1/2", Hips - 32 1/2" ( at the widest point) Thighs - 18 1/2", so tell me I am above normal in the fat level.

Does anyone know why height didn't play a role in this test?

Cheryl - oh yeah, I am 47 years old.
 
Don't worry so much if you can't get below 20 and you are healthy. From what I've read, you may have the last laugh: women with super-low body fat don't live as long as women with more moderate fat. If you don't have a specific reason to be so low (for example, competition) and you don't have unlimited time for working out, wouldn't you be better off (happier & more relaxed) concentrating on how you feel (good energy/stamina/strength, not short of breath) rather than concentrating on numbers? What is your reason for getting below 20% fat? Is it more important than longevity? Everything has trade-offs.
juliee
 
I would rather be fit and fat than unfit and skinny anyday....

Me, too! And that was what I was getting at with my previous reply. Rather than body fat percentage numbers, I think we should concentrate on function: Can we do what we need to do (including working out hard)? Is our blood pressure/heartrate/cholesterol healthy?
juliee
 
Hi everyone. I just wanted to comment here. Women need body fat in order for our bodies to function properly. Some body fat on women is good. Just because someone is very slim, with "no" body fat does not make them healthy. My sister-in-law is very thin, hardly any body fat and she is so sickly all the time. Keep this in mind also, our body type is like 90% hereditary. Cathe does have a great body and she certainly works for it, but she also has great genetics as well. Having a low body fat count may just simply not be possible if your genetics does not support this (unless you practically kill yourself to get it). I have my mom's body type and I have to face the fact that I am never going to be "Cathe" thin.....never...my genetics will not let it happen. I am very fortunate in that my DH doesn't like the way Cathe looks....he likes some wiggle to a woman...although I wish I didn't wiggle as much as I do, but he seems to like it.

Kim
 
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