BMI of 23 and 31% body fat?? Possible?

[kfisherx]

Is this even possible? I started a training program yesterday am 5'5" and weigh in at 134.5 pounds. He measured me at 31% body fat. I do have a pudge at my gut but other than that am pretty lean. He measured my biceps, triceps, back and gut area. It seems counter intuitive that I would be in this fat category given my body weight. I feel like getting a second measurement somewhere.

[Alcoholiday]

are you a male or female?

if male, most likely not possible.

if female, not probable, but i suppose it's possible.

BF% is a stupid form of measurement, because there's so much error in taking it. It should just be taken the same by the same person, etc, and just use it for a way to track progress.

Chicks aren't going to be impressed by you telling them you have 10%bf. they're going to be impressed by the fact that you're lean. Or, that you have muscle, and you're not a twig. It's just a tool like anything else.

[Lisa~]

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Is this even possible? I started a training program yesterday am 5'5" and weigh in at 134.5 pounds. He measured me at 31% body fat. I do have a pudge at my gut but other than that am pretty lean. He measured my biceps, triceps, back and gut area. It seems counter intuitive that I would be in this fat category given my body weight. I feel like getting a second measurement somewhere.

Based on your other post where you said you were 44 and have focused mostly on cardio, I don't find the 31% bf surprising. You can have a normal or low total body weight and still have a body composition that's higher in fat.

Your tester used the Durnin/Womersley four-site test, which tests the same four sites on males or females. I prefer the Jackson/Pollock three-site test for general fitness clients, which uses different sites for males (chest, abdomen, thigh) and females (triceps, iliac, thigh). If you choose to get another bf test done, you might want to use the three-site test for comparison.

On the other hand, it doesn't really matter if the number is accurate or not. It can still be used as a gauge of progress; if the number comes down then you're reducing bodyfat. No bodyfat test is ever 100% accurate.

Here's a page with some bodyfat testing information you might find interesting (be sure to scroll down to the female section):
Body Fat Calculator

Here's Krista Scott-Dixon's excellent article on bodyfat. It's long but definitely worth reading:
Body fat part 1

[kfisherx]

Thank you both very much for your replies to my "newbie" questions. It is very hard to wade through the amazing amounts of mis-information to get to truth in this field of study. Yes, I am a chick so perhaps it is possible and maybe even probable given my cardio lifestyle.

Lisa, I came to the conclusion last night that I was not going to stress about the accuracy of the test but rather the relative accuracy. If he tests me the same way each month and there is improvement that really is all I care about. It was a pretty big blow though to see that result. I have worked pretty hard the past year and a half and have lost 40 pounds in that time despite a chronic hamstring injury. I knew my BMI was well within the normal range and am quite proud of that. I just figured my body fat would be in range too. It looks like I still have a long journey ahead of me

[Lisa~]

Adding muscle is the best way to improve your bodyfat percentage. More muscle at the same total bodyweight would give you a lower percentage of bodyfat and a much better look. Muscle is firm and curvy. Don't focus only on fat loss. Focus on improved body composition overall.

[Chris Correia]

Originally Posted by kfisherx

It looks like I still have a long journey ahead of me

It's a never ending journey. Just consider it an ongoing, pleasant stroll in in the park (with an occasional sprint thrown in).

[Alcoholiday]

Originally Posted by Lisa~

Adding muscle is the best way to improve your bodyfat percentage. More muscle at the same total bodyweight would give you a lower percentage of bodyfat and a much better look. Muscle is firm and curvy. Don't focus only on fat loss. Focus on improved body composition overall.

what lisa said.

women naturally have higher bf% than guys, so yea, it is possible.

adding muscle is the best way to lower bf%, i think. plus, it's the most fun. i don't know why more women don't do it.

[Lost Dog]

Originally Posted by Alcoholiday

what lisa said.

women naturally have higher bf% than guys, so yea, it is possible.

adding muscle is the best way to lower bf%, i think. plus, it's the most fun. i don't know why more women don't do it.

Zach, this really only works when you're looking to hook up with a guy or girl that IS impressed by the bf% number.

Because if you're flabby or have a belly and add 10lbs of muscle, your bf% does go down, but you're still just as flabby and still have the same belly.

But your one lean spot, like your calf or forearm, is totally jacked!

[kfisherx]

Thanks again to all of you for the replies and encouragement.

Today was my second session with my trainer. He poured through my diet log last time and took away all my fun foods that were loaded with fat (like pizza) and replace them with healthier foods like cottage cheese and yogurts and lean meats, etc. Then he had me increase my protein intake. He has me at 150 grams a day. I started that on Tuesday but the result of that was that I wasn't hungry so I was getting less than 1K of cals in the past two days. Today he flipped out about that and said I needed to learn to eat. So eating is on my list of homework. I am with Victoria in that I hate to eat and would rather just take a pill. My trainer says that is probably the root cause of how I got myself into this mess I am in and he also asked me if I had heard of the term "skinny fat" I had heard of it before but did not really know what it meant. Now I totally know what that means and also understand that I wear that label. I am in acceptence of that fact now.

He has me backing off the intensity of my cardio work until I can get my cals and protein stabalized. He wants my HR no higher than 160 (I usually workout at 178 or higher 5-6 times a week for 60 or more minutes) He said that intense cardio will do nothing but eat muscle if I am starving myself. He thinks I am starving myself. Huh... I have so much to learn. I thought I was doing well with my diet.

I am not doing any sort of weights yet but our goal is to build muscle. Right now I am doing pushups and pull ups and hanging ab workouts and balance exercises. Those are pretty challenging for me. I am sore in my upper body and abs but able to function so he is probably doing a good level of intensity for my fitness level.

[BjsAust]

Sounds like you're in the hands of a good trainer. Nice!

I was thinking about this thread earlier and was going to post a response about how runners often develop this 'skinny-fat' physique.

Learning to eat is really important for most people use to dieting traditionally. Often people eating properly for the first time will find themselves eating a lot more each day, to reach their goal amounts.

One of the tricks you'll need to learn is to eat lots of times per day. Think of it this way, eating 6 meals a day means only eating half as much each meal as eating 3 meals a day would. In general you should never find yourself feeling hungry because it should be time to eat again before you get to that point.

Pushups and pullups might not be considered 'weights', but they're definately resistance exercise, and thats what builds muscle, whether you're using additional resistance or not. They can also be very challenging even for experienced lifters.

Sounds like you're squarely on a good path, good luck with it .

[diamondpete]

Ditto on what Ben said. It sounds like your trainer knows what they are talking about.

Good luck and welcome to the boards.

[kfisherx]

Thank you both so much for the confirmation that I chose wisely and for the warm welcome. It is a daunting task to find a good trainer especially if you come from a place of ignorance (as I apparently am) on a subject. It is great to hear that what he is telling me sounds like the right thing especially since the advice is so counter-intuitive.

Fortunately for me during the past 1.5 years I have learned to eat 5-6 times a day. That part will be easy to incorporate (it was really hard when I first started). I just need to increase now the calories I get in those meals and make sure they are protein rich. I managed to get both cals and protein today as he requested but am a bit short on water (he has me doing 1 gal a day of that too). He said not to sweat everything all at once and that it might take a few days for me to get it right so I feel like I am doing okay with what I have done today. He also told me that a cal increase was forthcoming so I am preparing myself mentally for that possibility in the next couple of weeks. I most certainly will have to take in some form of supliment then. (yuk)

You know the other side affect to this protein thing is that I am not shivering all the time any more. This is the first time for weeks and weeks (since the cool weather came) that I can remember not freezing to death. I am actually pleased as can be about that part of it. Everyone said it was because I lost so much weight. Obviously that wasn't the only reason.

[Lisa~]

Sounds like you've found a great trainer. Good for you! The extra food and activity will keep your metabolism revved up and keep you warmer. You'll feel better and have lots more energy too. Protein supplements don't have to be yuk. You may have tasted some bad ones in the past, but there are lots of good choices (see some of the threads in the Nutrition section for other people's opinions on what's tasty) and there are also lots of yummy recipes using protein powders.

The push-ups and pull-ups are an excellent place to create resistance for you. I'm sure they're hard enough to be your work loads for a while. You're off to a great start!

[diamondpete]

Originally Posted by kfisherx

(he has me doing 1 gal a day of that too). He said not to sweat everything all at once and that it might take a few days for me to get it right so I feel like I am doing okay with what I have done today.

Hate to repeat myself, though actually I like the sound of my own voice, trainer sounds like "winner"! ALso it sounds like you have the right attitude to reach your goals. You may want to consider starting a training log (in the cleverly named Training Log section) to keep track of your progress with your new friends here.

Best of luck

[kfisherx]

Lisa you are brilliant!! On your advice and on a friend's recommendation I went into this store in town called MAX MUSCLE. This place is unique in that you can taste anything before you buy it. I was met upon entering by a retail person who is also a CPT at one of the local private facilities. I told him my situation and he smiled knowingly of my issue nd then showed me around the pickings.

I figured out that I don't like the powder drinks so much because I really don't like many dairy products. I won't drink milk or eat ice cream and all these drinks reminded me of milk or milk shakes. One even claimed it tasted like ice cream. YUK. So he directed me to this one product that has 30 grams of protein and 143 cals per serving and it tastes like either berry or tropical juice. I tried the berry one and bought it on the spot. I can double up the serving and make that a meal. One question though can I O.D. on protein? I have been getting over 200 grams of it the past two days.

Peter thanks a million for the warm welcome and the invite. I would love to start a training log here. I have already begun documenting my journey and have also done photos (before). I am a Math major and a software engineer so collecting data is great with me. My trainer loved my diet logs. They were extremely easy to read and detailed. I looked at the training log section and don't feel at all like I am ready to join that yet. All I do right now is push ups and mountain climbers and squats without weights and that sort of thing. In fact I am not even sure what all the things are called that I am doing. Once I feel like I have some sort of handle on what it is that I am doing I will most certainly log the 12-week adventure. I am actually excited to see what pops out at the end of it.

[Aoife]

Make a training log. All you have to do is be training. Noone cares *what* you're doing. You're doing something...

Hell, at the moment all I seem to be training for is a donut eating contest, and I have a log. (just nothing to put in it a.t.m.)

[L'ilJ]

Yes! You should start a log! C'mon...start a log!