[PowerManDL]

This would be a good point to add that most methods of assessing body fat have a lot more error than people seem to realize.

The +/-3% given to calipers is the *minimum* error that can occur. This means well-trained operator, *same* operator for each measurement, with measurements done as consistently as possible (same day of week, time of day, same diet, etc).

If those conditions aren't met, calipers are all but worthless as anything but a means of tracking progress. If you see skinfolds dropping or increasing, you can be sure you're losing or gaining fat. Otherwise, I wouldn't put much stock in them.

Even DEXA has a significant margin of error. When my wife had it done last year (her brother's a researcher w/ access to a machine) in January and August, she came out at 27% and 17%, respectively. It curiously showed that she'd gained 1kg of LBM, but we later found out that even with the same machine and same operator, that 1kg gain was still inside the machine's margin of error.

Simple lesson from this is that you really have no idea how much fat you carry until you start to drop it off. For awhile I'd assumed I was 14-15% ish; after some hard lessons, I had to re-evaluate that and consider that I'm more 18-20% in my current state. It's humbling when you actually start to diet, see the weight drop off, and realize just how much you're holding.

I think that's the problem with you guys. You just assume you're holding X% fat, but there's no accurate or reliable assessment going on. Actually work on dieting down to a legitimate <10%, and you'll start to realize you don't have as much LBM as you think.