[Ashmarie484]

So I measured all over my body last night as accurate as I could. I put all that information into the body fat calculator. First off today I am 223.8 , I used yesterdays weight of 225.4 and I am 5'9". The calculator said that my lean muscle, bones, and weight make up 146lbs of my total weight and that I had 78lbs of fat. I know you have to have some body fat on your body so I could never actually weigh 146. I am trying to figure out according to this calculator how much I should weigh or how many lbs of fat do I need to lose. I multiplied 146 by 22% which is suppose to be a healthy body weight and got 178lbs that I should weigh. This to me seems like an unhealthy weight and that my bmi at 178lbs would still be considered overweight. So now I am confused, Ive never been 178 to know. Thanks for any insight, advice, and help

[LockItUp]

You gotta remember when you lose weight you don't just lose body fat. You may just have to take you body fat periodically to see where you are at if that's how you are measuring your goal.

[Ashmarie484]

Thanks that makes since. I forgot that you do loose some muscle.

[pixelllate]

Try a body fat caliper. They sell them on Amazon. Or some fitness/medical centers may be able to measure your body fat percentage.

[AlmostMe]

I think that for some those BMI cut-offs are pretty unreasonable....i.e. large framed, heavily muscled women.

Even the body fat calipers can be a bit misleading...I put on more weight in my arms than almost anyone I've ever seen (as in tried on a sleeveless dress in one size - fit beautifully, but couldn't get my arms in the jacket of the same line of clothing that was 3 SIZES higher) It's at a freaky level. But I have a very slim waist and good waist hip proportion. I think we can get a bit fixated on a weight number. I've already realised that maybe my goal isn't what I really want to achieve (I still need to lose A LOT of weight though). But it's hard to know what will look good and feel good until I get closer! It's OK to re-evaluate as you get closer. It may be that 160 isn't where you should be, but something higher. It may be that 160 is exactly where you want to hit....but at your current weight - (and mine) it's too hard to judge.

My goal is also fitness and I'm working on that a lot harder than the calorie control....people have already remarked on my weight loss. But I have actually gained 2lbs (I think right now I might be back where I started). I'm fitter and smaller, but the scales say gain.

[JohnP]

The problem is you don't have 146 lbs of LBM and your body fat percentage is higher right now than you think.

Just throwing out a reasonable guess ... you might have 110 to 115 lbs of lean body mass. Yes - this means your body fat percentage is much higher than you think. Don't worry about it. Just keep going.

[Ashmarie484]

I did my waist to hip ratio and it was 0.76. I wear a size 14 at this time, Im hoping to get to a 8/9 or something like that. Ill just keep working at it and see where I end up. Thanks for all your advice