Hi everyone!!

(Sorry for re-posting. I'm new to 3FC and MISTAKENLY POSTED THIS AME POST IN THE WRONG FORUM)

Today, to get a better idea of where I officially stand before I lose huge amounts of weight, I decided to take my body measurements.

A little info...
I'm 27

5'5
225lbs

Measurements
Chest: 40.5 in (measured across the top of my breast slightly under armpits)
Waist: 35.5 in (smallest area on torso, between navel, right under rib cage)
Lower Part of Abdomen: 42 in (little pooch area)
Waist (Around navel): 37in
Hips: 47.5 in

Thighs: 30in (left and right) (YESSS, they are HUGE!!!)
Arms 16in (right and left)
Calves: 17.5in (right and left)

Neck: 14.5in
Wrists: 7in (left and right)
Forearms: 12.5in (left and right)

So when I plugged this information into different body fat percentage calculators I got several percentages:
1. 25.93%
2. 27.14% (Body Fat Weight is: 61.06 lbs Muscle Mass is: 163.94 lbs)
3. 23% (simple Body fat % calculator)

So, I don't understand. I am pretty big. But my body fat percentage is with a health range. (Fitness 21-24% Acceptable 25-31%). And according to my BMI (height and weight), I am considered severely obese.

So is there a better way to calculate body fat percentage or make sense of this?
I included a DISGUSTING picture to give you a better ideal. PLUS to put myself out there for accountability , because I am and will lose the WEIGHT!

What calculator did you use? According to this one you can be anywhere from 43.65 % to 25.93 % !

Crazy, right?

I've found that the online calculators are pretty crazy (and not always very accurate!). If you want something closer to accurate try and find someone that knows how to use calipers. There are scales that will measure your body fat too but they're highly inaccurate.

If you're wondering about health effects... well, we have similar starting weights and my measurements were comparable to yours at that weight. I definitely have seen changes in my health since then:

- no longer deal with ovarian cysts
- more energy
- not as tired
- less insomnia
- less back pain
- less stress on my joints/ligaments

So while some of your stats might be OK (for instance, for females you're at a lower risk for obesity related diseases if your waist is under 35") that are a lot of other health related issues that can improve with weight loss.

I've found for me the best way to check my progress is track measurements (keeping in mind that you should take online body fat percentages with a large grain of salt), watch my weight, and also see how I feel while exercising etc.

Just curious why are you looking at body fat percentage? Is it to judge your current health or to help pick a goal weight?

I dont know about calculating anything differently but your measurements are almost the exact same as mine ... besides our heights im 4'11" were pretty close and im considered severely obese... i would say just from your picture... maybe work on your arms and your lower area like your legs cause your stomach in all honesty dont look bad at all... kinda looks flat to me... and you dont have a fat face so thats really good

But if it was me I would go with what the BMI is telling you.... because Id rather be healthy by those standards then by what the body fat calculator is telling you.

I know how you feel when you look at yourself and think you're disgusting, but I'd like to take a moment to say you're a beautiful girl and don't forget it .

To answer your question, online tools aren't reliable. Try and go somewhere official where a human can take your measurements and use fancy tools to figure out how much body fat you have. Personally my goals are set by BMI "lines" for example, what weight I would be at to be on the borderline of healthy/overweight (which for us is 150 lbs considering we're the same height!) It's not really accurate since BMI is a bit more sophisticated, but it gives me an idea of where I want to get to.

Good luck on your journey, you can do it!

Sorry for late response everyone...

I kinda wanted to get a better perspective of where I stand. I've noticed that When I gain or lose weight I am still in a size 14. And I've noticed that some women who weigh around the same weight as me... They are in a larger size and even women who weigh less than me are in a size 14. So I kinda figured that it had to do with body fat maybe. But really didn't make to much sense to me. So I was just curious about the whole body fat thing. I guess...lol.
Thanks for response and helpful advice. Glad that you are on your way to your goal weight. Can't weight until some of my health issues lessen up.

Candice... Thank you for response. I most definitely will be going by my BMI because I feel severely obese at times. And those are my problem areas... when I lose weight, I lose first in my stomach. and eventually see it in my face. but my lower half and arms seems to never bulge much. Which sucks, because those are the areas that absolutely needs to go. And because I have my leggings pulled up towards heaven its hard to notice my lil pooch. lol But thank you.

Thank you Riestrella. I really appreciate that more than you may know.

And good luck and blessings to everyone on your weight loss journeys!!!

I took a look at that picture and wished I had your stomach. I don't know if it's because my skin is a little loose from weight loss (but it's really always been this way, even at my high weight) but I get lumps and rolls and weird saggy bits. So pre-congratulations on your tummy. :P

I find that it can help to work backwards. Find out what the average lean body weight for your height is and go from there (unless you've been doing strength training for a while your lean mass should still be about average)

with that your lean body mass is around 126Lb (leaving 100Lb which works out to 44% body fat percentage).
You don't want to go below 10% (140Lb) and 25% is considered healthy (168Lb)

I've very nearly the same measurements as you (1" shorter) and I'm 180lbs! You probably do have a higher Lean body mass then average. Looking at your pic you certainly don't look 225lbs. But I would still take any calculators you do online with a pinch of salt. I did one yesterday that told me I only had to lose 25lbs of fat to be in "athlete" body fat %. This seems quite innacurate and when compared to my sis who's 120lbs we were actually both in the "acceptable" body fat % category, which just seems wrong.
If I were you i'd stick with BMI as a rough guide but be aware that you do likely have a higher LBM.

Ugh, I had a nice long response typed out to you and then our lights went out, arg!!!

I've also been someone who wears smaller sizes than most people my height/weight. I think it comes down to a number of things: frame size, muscle mass, and how you carry your weight. I made some posts on my blog awhile back (here and here) about how dismally size charts work for me too.

Part of it is definitely how you carry your weight. If you you carry more weight on top (even just in your arms/breasts, not necessarily your waist) then you can probably fit into smaller pants than others at the same height/weight. Another thing too is that certain body parts are squishier (so you can normally fit a larger butt into smaller pants whereas large hips make it more difficult even if you where to have the same circumference as someone with a large butt).

Anyway, good luck with your journey and if you keep at it those health issues certainly will get better!!!!