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Health & Exercise
shaindelr
member
Mac and cheese lover!
Body fat percentage... (LONG--sorry).
shaindelr
member
Hey, Ladies,
I wondered how many of you track your body fat percentage. When I worked as a fitness instructor, I used to weigh/measure/do body fat percentage for myself once a month (and measured clients, etc., all the time), so I don't consider myself clueless as far as fitness, but I used to solidly be in the middle or high end of healthy body fat percentage -- even at 5'2" and 112 lbs. Today, at the gym I go to now, I was measured for a New Year's weight loss challenge, and according to the body fat device there (one of the Omron handheld ones), I'm OBESE! I weigh 124 lbs now and my baby will be 9 months old on Wednesday.
I know it sounds like a stupid question, but are some body types or people just genetically predisposed to have a higher body fat percentage? The lowest I've ever gotten down to is about 25%.
I know everything to do to decrease body fat, but it was shocking to me to see that I'm in the obese range. Pre-pregnancy, I was a size 4, and now I'm a size 6 (with a lovely mom muffin-top, so I'm wearing larger jeans even though they about fall off).
Do bodies just "hold on to fat" while breastfeeding or something? I ended up on bed-rest at the end of my pregnancy and had an emergency c-section, so I've only *really* been working out solidly again since July/August, but I wasn't expecting my body fat percentage to be in the obese range. Yikes!
Mac and cheese lover!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Body fat percentage... (LONG--sorry).
Skinny fat is not just a saying. I have a degree in Human Kinetics and in uni I would do weekly labs. Body fat % was often measured and I distinctly remembering measuring at about 20% BF (5'3" 125lbs) while my classmate was above 30% at 5'4" 105lbs. If you don't have much muscle, your BF will be higher. Strength training will make all the difference.
With that being said, those hand held devices (I'm assuming it is bioelectrical impedance?) are not the most accurate and are highly dependent on hydration levels. Muscle holds water, fat does not. If you are dehydrated in the least, your BF can appear higher. I would recommend asking for a re-test, and hydrating well the day before. On the day of, do the test first thing in the AM before eating or drinking.
GL!
Thanks so much. I'm really thinking the device not being accurate is the case. I have a minor in dance (of course, from forever ago), but it's a lot of the same college classes as a sports medicine degree, so I would consider myself probably more fit/knowledgeable about fitness than a lot of people. I'm active, I eat healthy, etc., etc. There is the chance that I REALLY lost a lot of muscle mass with ending up on bed rest at the end of my pregnancy and having a c-section and not being able to do anything for 6 weeks after that, but I didn't think it would change enough to put me in the "obese" range for body fat %-age.
Thanks again for answering!
Mac and cheese lover!
I don't really know much about body fat percentage. I know that according to the online BMI calculators I am underweight at 5'6" and 115. That's not saying that I actually have any muscle though. At all. LOL
When I was BFing DD I lost a ton of weight and that's the reason I became underweight, or so I thought, but now 6 months after weaning I still havn't been able to put any weight back on. Right now I'd love any weight.. muscle or fat I don't care. lol