[FB]

I hope I'm posting this in the right place and that someone can help me to understand the results of this test I had today.

I went to the local gym to have my body fat measured. They placed electrodes on my wrists and ankles and measured my body fat. I was thinking this would be more accurate than a BMI chart. My results were:
~149.14 pounds of lean body mass (I assume that's my muscles, skeleton and other necessary parts and pieces).
~A WHOPPING 81.86 pounds of body fat which is 35.4%.
~My body water is 45.3 liters.

They were incredibly busy and I couldn't jeopardize any more of their time (free test, my neighbors own the gym and I was trying not to be a pest) with a lengthy question and answer session.

SooooooOOOooo...

Is that 35.4% result my BMI?
Are these tests accurate in your opinion?
How often do you take them?
Is that a dehydrated amount of water?
Am I going to lose that lean muscle mass as well as fat? I do eat plenty o' protein, work out every day and don't starve myself. I'm also beginning weight lifting with a personal trainer to ensure I don't lose a ton of muscle mass.

I was considering 145 as a goal weight as I have been there before, and at 5'10" I looked great. But what I don't fully understand is that currently I have 149.14 pounds of muscle and skeletal pieces. As I lose fat do I lose muscle in proportion? Do heavier people have more muscle? 145 wouldn't be a good goal weight because I would sacrifice muscle as well?

I started my new ways on January 1st, (how typical right?) and don't want to work so hard just to become skinny fat. I also want my metabolism revved up nicely with lotsa muscle mass for when I maintain.

I feel like a pesky 3 year old with these questions and thank everyone for their time.

PS: Why is the sky blue

[Ottoette]

BMI is body mass index - what you're saying is your body was 35.4% fat - your body fat percentage. They are 2 different things. Your BMI is a calculation of just your height and weight.
I can't answer your other questions, but I thought this would help.

[JayEll]

Hey!

That wasn't a BMI test. Body-Mass Index (BMI) is simply a value based on your weight and your height. If you do a search on "bmi calculator" you'll find many online calculators.

What you had measured was your body fat percentage. There are many ways to measure it, and most of them are not too accurate. The best body fat percent test is done by immersion in a pool. The kind of test you had is called an impedence test.

The important thing, though, is to have the same test done each time--because what you're interested in is the difference from one measurement to the next.

So, 35.4% is NOT your BMI.

A body fact percentage of 35.4% is overweight or obese, depending on the source you consult. But, there is a range of values, and there is some disagreement about what is "normal" or "average." It depends on the individual, their level of fitness, etc.

Are you sure that your body water was 45.3 LITERS, or was it 45.3 PERCENT? Usually percent water is measured in this way.

As to your other questions--everyone loses both fat and muscle, and other body tissues as well, as they lose weight. Exercising, including resistance (weight) training, and eating enough protein, helps reduce the amount of muscle loss. For example, my body fat % went from 44 to 33 when I lost weight. That means I lost more fat than muscle. If I had lost fat and muscle at the same rate, then my body fat % would not have changed as much.

I hope that helps! I'm not an expert, but this may give you a starting point.

Jay

[mandalinn82]

1. You lose muscle as you lose fat (even if you are strength training and being diligent, it is very hard to maintain all of your muscle while losing weight). In addition, the amount of water you need to hold reduces when you lose fat. So when you lose weight, you're not losing ONLY fat...you're losing lean mass and water as well. Because of this, you can't really know what goal weight is going to be right for you, because you can't predict how much of your lean mass and water you'll lose in addition to the fat.

2. The absolute minimum fat percentage considered healthy for women is 12%...bodybuilders and other athletes may go lower, but it is considered unhealthy. You need some fat to function, so you can't get to a point where you're only your "lean mass weight". You need at least 12% on top of that at a bare minimum to support a healthy body.

3. As said above, this is NOT your BMI. This is a body fat percentage. BMI comes from a chart (everyone with a certain height and certain weight will have the same BMI). Bioelectrical impedence testing measures specific to you...10 people with the same height and weight could all have different body fat percentages. The test in a setting such as you had it is considered fairly accurate, though less so than some other methods like hydrostatic (underwater) weighing. These tests can be done at regular intervals to measure your progress, but probably won't show much of a difference if you do them regularly. Every 6 weeks might be a good starting place.

[FB]

Thank you both very much! This helps me out- taking this test raised more questions than it answered.

Jay- Yes, the paper says Total Body Water: 45.3 liters.

Although it's inaccurate, is it like how scales offer different weights from brand to brand, floor type to floor type? Can it loosely monitor what's going on as long as I keep using the same machine at the same times?

Oooh, I'm going to look up the body fat percentage charts- if I'm freaking overweight instead of obese on ANY chart I will jump for joy until I reach goal.

Thanks again to both of you!

ETA:

OH! Thanks mandalinn82! You posted as I was typing!