Body fat... i'm confused

agape1cor813

So, I have this scale that measures not only your weight, but your water weight, lean mass, bone mass, etc. I figured it would help me keep track of my progress as I am doing more strength training which would help me get rid of body fat and add lean muscle.

I'm 5'9 and 147 lbs, well into the healthy range if you look at BMI, and my wedding dress is a size 8. According to this scale, I am 26% body fat. I did the math, and that means about 38 of my 147 lbs is fat. I've been told I look more athletic than anything else, so I'm a little perplexed as to how this can be.

Is this right? Can I really have almost 40 lbs of fat on my body? Here is an "example" of my body from dress shopping.

amybear21

From what I know, that is correct!!!! YOU NEED to have some fat on your body!!!! If I remember correctly, I believe it's something like 25% that is ideal... somewhere right around that I think. 

amybear21

Okay, I just looked it up cuz I was curious and here is a link. This might help clear things up a bit. 

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blbodyfatcharts.htm

blondeintgeragrl

It sounds about right. I am about 142 about 5'5-5'6 and had my fat/muscle mass tested at a work fitness thing. I was 24.7% I think my fat was 35 pounds. I don't know my dress size, but my street clothes size is a 6.

katielou818

Girl, first off you are in great shape (and totally rocking the dress, may I add!)

I'm an Exercise Science major in my Senior year, and this is a common question among people - I'm in shape, lean, and athletic, why is my BMI seem higher than you would think? I dug out my BMI chapter in one of my book's, and did the math work (too much time on my hands today, haha!) and you definitely calculated it correct with the BMI being around 26.
That in no way, shape, or form means you have 40 lbs of fat just hanging off of you for everyone to see! Fat is in between muscles, surrounding and protecting organs, and of course, as women, we are blessed with a more "soft" touch and the extra fat for childbirth and pregnancy (when I can find the article on that I'll be more than happy to post it on here!). There's a lot more fats that aren't just around our belly area or thighs than many people think. In all actuality, people would be pretty shocked to find out where some of the fats are in our body - and where they are suppose to be at that! (there's a purpose for it!)

agape1cor813

My 26 is my body fat percentage, my BMI is 21-22 (also well within healthy range). It's just a little jarring to do the math and see how much fat I have on my body. I understand that women need fat on their bodies, but I think we are conditioned to think "fat = BAD." 

Also, to be fair, I was about 5 lbs lighter in that picture I posted.

katielou818

You are exactly right - we are definitely wired to think fat = bad. Unfortunately.

I meant to post in my previous post, that as I kept reading about to explain the math a bit better, the book also stated that BMI or body fat percentage is actually not an accurate test - because, simply put - everyone's built  different, and everyone pockets their weight in different areas.. I was kinda surprised the author would out right state that, but atleast he's being honest.

Either way, obviously you're in a great position!

Take care.