OK, what is the best method for calculating body fat %, short of forking over big bucks to be dunked in a tank, or have somebody squish all my fat with calipers??

Using the waist-to-hip-ratio method, my BF is 30%. Using another calculation that includes wrist and knee circumference, I'm 40%. ..

I'm 5'6", 171 lbs, with most of my weight on my lower body. If I'm 30% b.f. (butter fat ) that would mean my Lean Body Mass is 120 lbs ..... If I'm 40% fat, then my LBM is 103 lbs.

Suggestions??

Doreen

I tried another online calculator that used waist-to-hip, and it worked out to 24.7% b.f. .... making my LBM 129 lbs, which I seriously doubt. I have weighed 128 lbs in the last decade, and I was definitely not well-muscled or "firm" ... and would say that I am even less so now.

Doreen

Do, I like this calculator :

I've used it and the formula in PP and they come out very close (1% difference). Fern did a thread about this last month, other than using water displacement they are all just best approximations. Here's the thread , FYI.

Keep in mind too, Doreen, that with LC you're building muscle and losing body fat, so while you may have looked a certain way at 128 chances are you wont look that way now. Also, you're definitely too hard on yourself. You did not look "unfirm" or "unmuscled" to me, quite the opposite in fact.

Nat

Doreen,

I know Nat doesn't like this formula, but it comes recommended by Covert Bailey, a recognized expert in the field. He says it's accurate give or take 2%. That means if you measure 28% fat you could actually be as low as 26% or as high as 30%. When I measure myself I get almost exactly what Nat's Internet "plug-in" measure gives. It's just one more tool for measuring your body fat, and it's convenient because you don't need to be near a computer to take the measure. You can use it as a way of getting a RELATIVE idea of how your body fat is behaving over time. Here is the formula for women, measuring with a tape measure:

hips + thigh - (2 x calf) - wrist = body fat %

Take all measurements at the widest point, and measure your wrist around the wrist bone. And by the way, for a woman of your height to have 128 pounds lean body mass you would have to be working out with weights eight hours a day! A much more realistic lean body mass for your height would range from 105-115 pounds. But you probably already know this.

I find this interesting, as Doreen and I are the same height. If I had a LBM of 105 - 115 lbs I would be a skeleton. Current calculation place my LBM between 140 and 147. Everyone is different; there's no way I'll ever weigh 123 lbs (105lbs LBM x 18% bf) unless it's a few years after I'm dead.

N

Thanks Nat ... I'll check those out.

Actually, not being too hard on myself at all .. ... I'm trying to be realistic about what I need to do. In the last couple of years, my activity level has dwiddled right down to bare minimum, and mostly it is aerobic type .. walking etc. I am concerned, since most of the reputable documentation about fibromyalgia indicates that muscle-wasting is a serious consequence .. not just due to inactivity, but also there's a malfunction in the muscle tissue's ability to take up nutrients and oxygen, and to eliminate the waste products afterward. So, not beating myself up, but genuinely concerned that I have indeed lost muscle mass ... I certainly am much weaker, especially my upper body.

Since I'm in the process of developing an exercise regimen that will hopefully correct this - using the resistance bands (which provide similar benefit as weight-lifting) .. I'd like to have a relatively accurate method of calculating my progress. I'm actually less concerned about the body fat %, and more concerned with increasing the LBM, especially if it truly is only 103 lbs.

Doreen

Nat,

Sorry, but I just can't believe you have a LBM of 147 lbs.! My TOTAL weight is 145 (2 lbs. less) and I am 5 ft. 7 in. Are you telling me that if you shed every bit of fat on your body you would still weigh MORE than I weigh at my current overweight state? Most MEN don't have 147 lbs. LBM.

Missydog

Yes. At 150 lbs I had a BF % of 12. You do the math. This was tested at a sports centre useing water displacement.

N

Okay, your online body fat calculator puts me at 24.7% fat. If I weight 145 lbs. that means I have 36 lbs. of fat on my body. Then subtracting those fat pounds from my total weight, I have 109 lbs. LBM. And I believe I am taller than you and not unfit physically. This means you have a whopping 38 lbs. more LBM, if your calculation is correct, which I don't think it is. Do you have any idea how impossible it would be for you to come by an extra 38 more lbs. LBM than I have, and at the same time be shorter than I am?

Missydog

No, why don't you explain it to me. Real slow ok?

No, YOU explain it to ME. Just plug in your waist measurement and your current weight to your favorite online bodyfat calculator. The one I used to calculate MY bodyfat, at your suggestion.

Just how do you think I got the number under my name? I've been using that calculator from DAY 1 and I use it every 2 weeks to check progress. Thanks, missydog, I'm down to 24.29% now, wasnt going to check until the weekend.

I know how to measure, and I obviously know how to type, the logical conclusion would be that I know how to hit "submit calculations" to get my results. You've insulted my intelligence, would you like a go at my family or pedigree perhaps?

Oh Gracious Moderator,

I did not mean to insult your intellience. With all due respect, I just don't agree with you.

Missydog

It's obvious then that a set of calculations which give you an accurate reading must not work for me. Perhaps it can't convert to Canadian. The only alternative is "I'm doing it wrong". It really doesnt matter, at 162 lbs I'll be at my 18% and wearing my size 8's. Perhpas age plays a factor. I don't really care

Have a pleasant day.
Nat

are we all PMSing are what?

Nat i went and did the plug in site you gave me and i agree totally with what it said.

Ladies have a wonderful weekend