Thanks Depalma and everyone else for your kind words! Meg, I used one of those BodyPod things and that's what gave me my 50% the first time (ugg!) The BodPod was on a "tour" of various health clubs in the area and they were giving away free measurements to try to assess if they wanted to buy one for their club. It was pretty cool, but a little claustrophobic for the short time I was in it.
Robin, so you've built all this new muscle mass w/o lifting??? woah And I use a tanita scale too, and it tells me the best time to weigh is before bed, and 3 hours after I've eaten or exercised. I always get a really low low number in the morning (bc of dehydration), so I only use the weight number on that measure. The afternoon gets a little heavier, and my night number seems to be the heaviest. But the owner's manual says your impedence resistance varies over the day and is most accurate at bedtime. I would love to take that morning 37% number I got, but alas, the 41% number I got at bedtime last nite is probably more accurate. Thus I have lowered my goal weight back down to 170, instead of the 180 where I had it (which agreed with Depalma's 179, so I'm glad someone confirmed my method!)
But nice to know I'm headed in the right direction. I will banish my scale except for once a week and focus on my free weights instead. The scale was up a whole pound this morning, but then I took ibuprofen last nite which I read somewhere might affect something, or, or, it could be, that I changed my toothpaste, used too much conditioner in the shower, slept in heavier sheets, had more dust mites on me this morning (you see my sincere sarcasm and opinion of the silliness of it all!)
Elisa, and everyone reading, here is a link that explains the math behind figuring out your goal weight considering lean vs fat weight, which is what Meg was explaining here as well. There is also a chart I found today about recommended ranges depending on what type of body/person you are:
Boy, I've been away from the comp for about 4 hours and a lot has gone on here.
Well yes, hrbabe I did gain all that muscle even though I haven't lifted. I do tons of sit ups (I usually do 3 sets a day of 80, and I keep increasing) leg lifts, arm work and WALKING. Walking is a great way to build muscle. And I just went on the scale again and it told me 32.8% body fat, which is more then 3 % points less then it did yesterday morning. I take these numbers with a grain of salt. I just use them for a guide, just to give me some kind of idea where I am. I don't think they're 100% reliable.
Thank you Nelie and Meg thanks I will check out the stickys, looking forward to it in fact. And more websites to be addicted to, oh gosh, my family's gonna kill me. And thanks for the other info as well. I will definitely take your advice. I'm excited to get started. The only problem is I'm facing a little bit of a bump in the road right now. But only a temporary one. I found a decent sized mass just above my belly button about 2 weeks ago, to make a long story short it is a fibroid. Which I have had for a while, but it is now starting to be a problem because of all the weight that I've lost, funny enough. It never bothered me before and now it DOES. I have an appointment for a pelvic sonogram next Wed. to determine the course of action we will be taking, but it looks as if surgery is in the near future for me. This upsets me greatly. #1, I'm terrified of surgery. And the recovery. And I know that my exercise routine will be all but null and void for a while. I just hope that I can get back to where I am now quickly. THANK YOU AGAIN.
Lowering my bodyfat percentage is my major goal this year. I was striving for 25% at the end of 2006, and was almost there. Unfortunately, you can undo all your hard work with just a week of eating too much. So I didn't make it--actually went up a touch. I wish I would have measured bodyfat when I was at my heaviest.
My goal this year is to get into the lean (or "fitness" on the above scale) category. On the chart at my gym, the categories were different for different ages, which I noticed the above categories are not. Anyone know why the difference in charts?
I'd like just hovering under 20% ... for me ... but that's trial and error just like everything else. I've been 22 or 23 and think I'd like a little more muscle and definition.
What is the best way to estimate body fat if you don't have access to a medical professional or a trainer to do it for you? I have the body-fat scale, but I HOPE it's not right - it puts me between 32 & 35% fat, which the accompanying manual says is "obese."
Sheila- Tanita puts out a laminated chart that a lot of gyms post which has different breakdowns by age. Generally, as you get older, the "acceptable" body fat gets higher. I think there are two things going on here. First, most people gain fat as they age (or lose muscle or both) so there is some ego involved. If almost every 40 plus year old were told they were morbidly obese, most of them wouldn't come back and get on that scale again. The other factor is that in reality, getting older increases risk of illness. Someone who is 60 years old and has 15% body fat has far fewer "reserves" if facing major surgery, a long illness or chemotherapy. Not a pleasant thought, but reality. On the other hand, if that 15% body fat has been achieved through a lifetime of healthy eating, exercising and not smoking, the chances of illness are a lot lower.
Su-Bee- You're going to just have to use that number as a directional guide. Forget about it as an absolute number...it's NOT tattooed on your head...and watch the trend!
Well, what a coincidence! I go to my gym and there's a sign up sheet for a free fitness assessment. The guy at the desk wasn't sure what it included but said to ask when they call to schedule the appointment. I hope it includes a body fat test because I am so curious and would love to go back in a few months and see if it's changed. It would really help considering the scale refuses to move!
Part of me wonders if there's a catch like they'll try to get you to sign up for something else after, at a cost, but I guess I don't really care. I'm pretty good at sticking to my guns and not being pressured and maybe (?) they're just offering this as a service since it's not exactly a cheap gym!
I have an appointment for a pelvic sonogram next Wed. to determine the course of action we will be taking, but it looks as if surgery is in the near future for me. This upsets me greatly. #1, I'm terrified of surgery. And the recovery. And I know that my exercise routine will be all but null and void for a while. I just hope that I can get back to where I am now quickly. THANK YOU AGAIN.
RockinRobin, what a bummer, but consider this: you are much stronger and much healthier now than you were before you began this journey, and that bodes well for both the surgery and the recovery. It will take time to recuperate, but I bet it takes less time than it would have before.
My bodyfat puts me in the very lean catergory orginally I was aiming for at least 16 percent but all the weight training really reved up the old metabolism so I hit 14.6. I think the important thing is that a person is healthy
One forum member carefuly documented his bf% using the tanita scale plus periodic hydrostatic weighings with somewhat surprising results. The hydrostatic weighing put his bf% at a much higher percentage (18.4%) than he expected: http://bostondiet.blogspot.com/2005/...-body-fat.html
I wouldn't worry too much about bf%. The mirror will tell you when you are lean enough.
I wish I would have measured bodyfat when I was at my heaviest.
