I feel like I've been posting here non stop! I hope you guys don't get completely sick of me.

But I was reading one of the posts earlier about how one should not just rely on BMI so I wandered over to the other sites and decided to see what it was all about. To be honest, I've not taken my own measurements in about two years (I've taken a kajillion other people's however) so I was kind of wary about it, but I whipped out my kit and grabbed my measuring tape to use on myself for the first time so I could figure out my waist-to-hip and my body fat %...

What I'm confused about is my body fat % I don't see how it can possibly be right. With correct measurements (I know how to measure, and I remeasured about 4 times) it says my body fat is 31.53% which is.. '.5%' above acceptable? Uh, I don't know what "acceptable" is but I'm surely confused. This would mean that my "Lean Body Mass" 182......

Update: I've now used a different calculator that required different types of measurements... but its still saying my body fat is only 36%. I'm not saying that this is BAD, just very confusing, because again this would leave me at something like 168 for lean body mass.... I'm so lost.

I personally think the measurements are really subjective, and just like BMI - still don't take into account body shape. The one I did a few weeks ago also put me at 31% body fat or something like that, which would leave me at 164 with zero body fat. I can't believe this is true. In high school, I was very fluffy with hardly any muscle honestly, and I weighed about 180.

But for me, I am really a pear shaped person, and I have huge legs. I just do I can fit size 16 pants everywhere but the legs - not just the thighs, the knees, the calves, etc. I still need 18s for that part of my body, and even then - they're snug. So when I measure waist (small) and hips (12 inches larger than my waist!), and my arm parts (large frame, so they're large, but not huge), it doesn't tell them that I have big thighs, large calves, a lot of fat on my thighs, etc. I just doubt their accuracy. I think if you really want to know, go to a trainer or a dr. and have them measure your body fat, either electronically or with the pinchy meter thing.

I'm really pear shaped too, so maybe thats it!!!!!!!

My waist is 38in whereas my hips are 52in. And then both my thighs are at 31in circumference! LOL.

I should be going to get a bodyscan done by a trainer in like two weeks to get my actual body fat and all that good stuff checked out. But I totally did not even consider that body shape might factor into why I was getting all these crazy results. Thanks for your reply, it makes a lot more sense now (well not the answers, but why they're probably wrong!)

Yeah, we are totally similar sized. My waist is 36, hips are 49, thigh is 29! I know when I was 260ish? My doc did a digital body fat, and it was around 50% body fat, and that (although mortifying) I did believe. I could believe my lean mass is 130, and that 20% body fat would put me around 160 - that I can buy

Now THAT makes sense. THAT I can totally buy. And my goal is 160, so I'd be a happy camper.

And I don't mind being pear shaped, I actually prefer it. I want to be fit and healthy, but I don't want to lose being "thick" in my thighs and booty... and maybe its because I'm from the South or maybe its just people I'm around and what I find attractive, but a healthy weight woman who is still thick is the most attractive thing in the world to me. Squats and lunges here I come! (sorry, went WAYYY off topic )