So- last week, April 12th to be exact I had a weigh in at the gym. I didnt look at the numbers then- why I have no idea.. I kept trying to remember to look at them, and kept forgetting.

Well, today I looked at them.. Let me tell you first that I have been on my weight loss journey since July 2010. My weight in July was 186. I was consistant in calorie counting and excercise until November..I was about 170ish then. The holiday's came and as an italian family does, we ate..and ate.. and well, I gained all the weight back.. minus 3 pounds, weighing 183lbs.

January I decided I wasnt going to live this life anymore. I have hypothyroidism, so along with being over weight, I hated my life. I had trouble waking up in the morning, trouble staying awake in the evening. I didnt want to do anything, not even play with my son. I hated going out, could never find anything to wear.. and the list goes on and on..

I started going to Zumba 3 times a week, a strength training 2 times a week and either yoga or yoga chi once a week. I was doing pretty good.. got back down to about 175lbs.. on February 15th I started a "bootcamp" that practices tabata style training. We do circuit every mon-wed-fri with strength training mixed with cardio, and kickboxing tue-thu-sat. I currently weigh about 168.. bouncing around a bit..up to 174. And I am okay with that..

What I am NOT okay with is my numbers. 42.2% body fat (20%-30% is acceptable 10%-20%- athletic) and my body age is 42... FOURTY-TWO?!?!?! I am 23 years old! I do not by any means feel 42. I actually feel very fit.. and young. I have been doing 2X a days for a month for goodness sake!!! At first I was mad, then I felt like giving up.. why work so hard when it doesnt show anything.. then I cried.. Literally Big crocadile tears.. and now I am just angry that I let myself get here... This is it. Game over...This is unacceptable and I need to get it figured out ASAP. Im so angry its motivating and has completely lit a fire in my belly.. my 42.2% body fat belly... I wish you could see me as i type this... GRRRRR...

Annnnnnnnnnd Vent is done..
Have a goodnight everyone...

There is no way you are 42 percent body fat. I'm just about the same height as you. Weigh 220 pounds and I'm not 42 percent body fat and I have a LOT more flab on me than you.

Who did the test? was it a caliper test? or a scale? If it was a scale - it's wrong and they are known to be TERRIBLY inaccurate - especially for women.

Don't beat yourself up... something is just amiss here.

You really need to let go of the numbers, hugs.

First, 10% is not athletic body fat for a female. It is practically essential body fat levels, long after you would lose your period and cannot be sustained for more than a few days. A woman on a competitive (high level) body building stage may be 10% - and that's not bikini, not figure, but full on body building.

So right there, the numbers are confusing you. A body age is not very scientific - remember, gym numbers are frequently fudged to keep you as a client too.

You are feeling better, working out harder, and feel younger - AND YOU ARE IMPROVING!. Then THAT is all that matters.

You're on the right track. Now take a breath and make a commitment. Track, journal, count your cals, food choices, and your exercise. And then use what you learn from that to help you out.

It may take awhile to get it all figured out, patience is the key. I know you can do it!

Oops! I didn't check your stats. No way are you 42% body fat.

It's great to get motivated. You are already doing some really challenging workouts. Just remember, hydrostatic weighing is the only true way to test body density so try to put that 42.2% into a +/- perspective. I honestly don't know where they got that number. That's higher than mine by the regular calculator and the Navy calculators so I think it's skewed. There's just no way you're in good enough shape to exercise that much are at a 42% body fat comp...just don't see it...but if you can use it for your benefit, go for it!

Try this and see what body fat number you get.

http://www.healthcentral.com/cholest...-2774-143.html

I'm confused, did you do a body fat assessment AND a body-age assessment?

Second, how did they conduct the body fat test? Do you have a "before" to compare it to?

It sounds like my scale... And I stopped using it as every time it gave me something radically different.

So please ignore the body fat calculating scale. It's WRONG. See if someone at your gym is qualified to give a caliper test. And even then,.... Have them recheck as those can be done wrong too.

Something smells fishy here ... I agree with everyone else, there is no way you're 42% body fat. Have that rechecked before you get too hard on yourself.

there is no way you are 42% body fat! whatever method they were using to gauge that is seriously wrong. i'm 26% body fat according to calipers and you look a whole lot skinnier and toned then me. who ever told you you had that much body fat obviously doesn't know what they are doing.

Sweetie, you will not get an accurate body fat number from a website.

You've listed your height at 5'6" and your weight at 168. I'm 5'5" and 150. According to the 42% fat thing you have stuck in your head, you are carrying 70#'s of fat. No way!

I'm 5'5" and 150. And I'm 51! OMG! 42% of my current weight is 63#'s. There is now way I"m carrying 63 pounds of fat around. That leaves me with 87 pounds of actual body. The percentage leaves you with 98 pounds of actual body weight. These figures do NOT compute.

I picked a random site through a google search. It says I"m 25% and you are 27.2%.

As far as internet links go, the internet is a great thing, but it's a tool and only a tool. And you have to be selective, when you are searching for data, and remember to take it with a grain of salt.

I pulled the figures I mentioned from the AARP site, just random.

I work for a veterinarian, anytime we need to research new pet care info, we go to veterinary college websites, or the AVMA, or JAVMA, or sites we know are supported by the data they are spewing. For instance, Pheizer, Hills Pet Nutrition, Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. These places have good web sites, and staff we can call and talk to.

I do business on the web, and it's way easy to suck people into what ever it is you are selling. It's up to the searcher, to sort out what is real and what is a bunch of hooey, that is just trying to sell something.

The link you mentioned is littered with affiliate ads, surveys, etc, that are trying to lure you into buying something that isn't worth diddlysquat. It's nothing more than an affiliate web site, making money every time someone clicks on an ad and buys something. Plus it makes you wade through pages and pages of click here, info there, ads, ads, and more ads.

In short, you are no more 42% body fat than I am.

HOwever, I would not give up tracking, having a journal, and sticking with it. It will be worth it in the end.

i'm going to agree with everyone else on the 42% body fat thing -- no freaking way is that accurate.

Milmin2043- I did that website.. put in my measurments and this was my answer (MUCH better than the thingymajig at the gym)
"You have 23.1% body fat.

You have 39.3 Pounds of fat and 130.7 Pounds of lean (muscle, bone, body water)."

They used something that looks like a scale, but it has a thing you hold out in front of you. It send the electrical currents through your body or something.. I am trying not to be upset, but I just dont understand how this can be true... I am wondering what I can do to check it.. cross referrence. Maybe go to another gym and ask for a free consult? Lol.. I dunno.

You guys are right though, I look better, and I feel better, and thats very important..

I dont have the numbers from before I started working out and such, I didnt do a weigh in until I had been there for almost 2 months.. but I have only lost 5-8 pounds since I started. I have progress pics where you can see my body and here are a few from yesterday..




So who knows, gals!

I did not mention a website... websites say that I am less.. This was an ACTUAL test at my gym. The kind you stand on and hold these bars out in front of you.. it looks like a scale, with a cord that connects to "handle bars" you hold out in front of you. Apparently it sends electrical currants through your body or some jazz... So I am not sure what site you are referring to?