[mjchik0906]

So I don't understand...I've been doing so good and yesterday my mood was pretty low and it just felt like an off day and I ate horribly (I think the two relate). Then today comes and my mood still isn't the greatest but I'd say I was trying to make it better and sure trying my darndest not to eat everything under the sun. We had this health fair at work and come to find out I have a terrible cardio reading meaning my heart has to work way too hard to pump blood, then I find out that I have 38% body fat (which I'm finding hard to believe since they didn't even consider my height and weight in the calculation.) So of course finding all that stuff out brought my morale down even more. Hence wanting to eat everything...at least that's what I think is the cause for it today. I just feel like that's what will make me feel better...I just want to eat...but I sit here knowing that it won't make me feel better only worse. *sighs*

just feeling crappy about it all!

[BlueToBlue]

I'm so sorry that you've had a rough couple of days.

The important thing is that you've already started to take steps to correct the problems that you found out about at the health fair. That puts you ahead of probably 90% of the other people there. The folks running the tests probably didn't know about what you are doing in terms of your diet or have grown jaded over the years, so maybe they weren't as encouraging as they could have been. Ignore them--you know that you are trying to make yourself healthier. We all have off days, days when we get on the scale and it doesn't say what we want, or days when we find out our body fat % is higher than we thought ; just put that day behind you and get back on plan.

You are doing great. You've already lost 5 lbs and it sounds like you are really making an effort to change your eating habits. Don't worry about the test results; if you just keep on doing what you are doing and those results will get better. Is this a yearly thing that your company does? Maybe you could set a goal around improving those test results by the time next year's fair rolls around.

[Janie Canuck]

Also, just remember, a thin woman's body fat, unless she is an elite athlete, probably hovers around 20-25%. Keeping that in perspective makes yours look a little more reasonable.

[ariel27]

Ugh, I don't even want to know what my body fat % is. It all comes down to how you feel in your clothes, how you feel when you see your reflection in the store windows as you walk down the street, and how you feel when you see your reflection in the morning.
I count calories, but I barely ever weigh myself (once a week, but not on a planned day ... it's all sort of whimsical and I try to de-emphasize it. Of course I take notice when I GAIN, but if I don't lose, I don't worry). The numbers don't matter nearly as much to me as how I feel when I look in the mirror and how my body looks to me. Some days I catch a glimpse of the muscles in my legs or arms, and I feel so so so proud of myself. For me, it isn't about the literal pounds so much as getting stronger and getting control of my life and eating habits. Just knowing that I lose some weight so far makes me feel better because I have therefore proved to myself that I'm strong enough to keep doing it. If I'm eating well, not binging anymore, and happy with my appearance, then I'll know that I'm at the perfect weight for me ... not because some numbers said so. When I get to that point, I will stop dieting.
So don't worry about the numbers, because the numbers are BS compared to your own goals and standards. If you obsess about numbers and dates you'll forget what's really important, which is how you FEEL in terms of energy, self-confidence, strength, and health.
Heh, then again, what do I know. I'm sure other girls here are really into measurements. I just get too neurotic about that stuff if I think about it too much, so instead I am zen about it.

[3fcuser1058250]

MJ -- Most of us eat for emotional reason, I know I certainly do so you're not alone there... If you are doing cardio, weight training, eating the right foods consistently you WILL eventually see a change... Hang in there, keep posting and be patient

[Whittlin]

Take an online test and see what it says. Just search for "Home Body Fat Test". They take height, measurements and weight into consideration and are just as helpful (you will just need a cheap cloth tape measure and you need to have one of those on hand anyway). It might be nice to compare the two percentages, and you can retest online any time in the future to see if you have made improvement. I agree that 38 seems high considering your weight and height.