Starting BMI 30.0
Current BMI 26.7
Goal BMI 23.3

Thanks WarMaiden, it's really interesting to see the changes. :)

However you cannot calculate BF from BMI. I don't know what you're doing there?

You actually can; there are several formulas which have been proposed for calculating BF% from BMI. See here: http://www.halls.md/bmi/fat.htm

The formula I am using is:

Adult Body Fat % = (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x Age) - (10.8 x gender) - 5.4

where male gender= 1, female=0.

This formula was derived from a study that's detailed at the link. It's pretty interesting, but the main point I'm making is that BMI is not necessarily predictive of BF% for a person who is regularly exercising, especially if they are doing strength-training.

Julie -
You can get a rough estimate of your body fat with a tape measure. The results are surprisingly close to the results I get at the gym...
Home body fat test

27.4 (obese) from 38.36( clinically obese:eek:)

FB, I do that one every week after I take measurements. I just don't know if it accurate at all on me. Over the last 4 weeks it's been 26.5-26.8% BF. It doesn't always go in a consistent direction. At 190#, it told me 35.5% BF.

One thing that's weird about their calculation is that you can enter 3 decimal places for the thigh and calf measurement, but none for hips. I spend over a month going down each inch in the hips ...

Since it's based entirely on lower body measurements, I wonder if it's more accurate on pears or worse on pears? Not including waist *and* hips makes me think it's better suited to men than women.

This quote doesn't inspire much confidence: "It is usually quite accurate-- so if a man got 17 percent from this test, he could expect his true percent body fat to be anywhere between 15 and 19 percent." What? 2% off (and at the 17% level) is "quite accurate"?

But at the time, I tried three different ones, and this one I think gave me the middle value, so I went with it.

WarMaiden, given the difference between the two methods you're using to measure or estimate BF, one of them ain't worth doin' ;) Maybe both, if the accurate number is in the middle.

I want to get the immersion BF test some time. Someday ...

I started out at 24.7 currently 20.8 goal is 20.3.

Oh me too. But the tough guys at my gym say it's very difficult to do, I'm scared!

I'm not using them both. I'm using the number from my scale as my BF%, because I expect that it's fairly accurate. The BMI calculation is merely interesting, and I like seeing it alongside my numbers as an indicator of "If I were a typical non-exercising person, this is what my BF% would be at this weight."

This one put me at 31%. My home body fat scale says 29% or 30%, depending its mood.

This one put me at 26.5%. But the interesting thing is that it said my lean body mass then would be 94 pounds. Calculating my lean body mass as I lost weight has always yielded wonky results--my home body fat scale puts me at 29 or 30%, which would mean I've lost lean muscle mass since I've been losing weight. And I know a lot of people do lose lean muscle mass, but I've been doing weight and resistance training since I joined the gym in September, and I'm pretty confident I haven't lost muscle. So basically this means my home body fat scale is full of crap--which I should have guessed it was. I may not have gained three pounds of muscle since I've been trying to lose weight, but I probably haven't lost muscle either. Note to self: Mango, the scale is a convenient tool, but it is by no means a perfect tool! :dizzy:

Thanks for the reminder, ladies. Once again, this forum and the fabulous people on it have been very, very helpful!

You may or may not have lost muscle, but it's very possible you have lost lean body mass, because LBM also includes things like blood volume and water weight. Your body is made up of more than fat and muscle, but your scale is telling you only the proportion of fat.

Ah, gotcha. That is an interesting thought.

BMI is just a guideline for the masses. It's off for athletes or people with large or small frames.
2ndChance, I'm with you on this, my lowest weight was 127 and I wasn't in great shape, but at 140-145 with muscle I looked really fit (I know those weights seem low for my height but I'm small framed with zero hips).

Wow, I don't know if that Home Body Fat Test FB posted is right because it says that:
You have 16.4% body fat.

You have 28.2 Pounds of fat and 143.8 Pounds of lean (muscle, bone, body water).

That is just a bit shocking to me. Although, I am a big boned person, so I believe I do have more lean, but my body fat percentage seems low. I'd put it more at maybe 20-25% if I had to guess.

With the home body fat test, I came in at 21.2% which is pretty close to my BMI, but about 2% higher than the calipers and my home scale. Who knows? I need to get dunked...:)

I may be wrong, but if you're 5'0" and 173#, I think you probably made a mistake somewhere in the data entry to get 16.4% BF. I know on the first page you have to select male vs female, and pounds vs kg.

I don't stress about this number too much but I started at 35.0 and I am currently at 27.0.

Yes, that must be a mistake, because 16% is about as lean as female bodybuilders get midway through their dieting for competitions. I was 16% at 5'5 & 112lbs while training for a major fitness test.