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2003/09/16, 10:22 AM
Hi! I've been working out for at least 6 months. I do elliptical or treadmill along with a strenth training class 3x a week though sometimes I go 4x or 2x. I've recently added more weights. I challenge myself and am always pooped when I'm done.
I'm 5'5'' and 137 but my percent body fat is 26%! I want to get 20% body fat. Any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong? Do I need to lose more weight?
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2003/09/16, 10:38 AM
Its all about your diet. You need to be eating 6 small meals a day spaced out about 3 hours a piece. Make sure you are eating breakfast as well. If you only eat 3 times every day or less, you force your body into starvation mode, so everytime you do eat, it stores that as fat because your body isnt sure when it is going to get fed next. If you eat every 3 hours, it increases your metabolism and your body wont store this as fat. Check out the nutrition program on here, and that will help a lot. Good luck!!
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Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
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2003/09/16, 12:28 PM
As mtlong33 said its all about diet; If you are working out more and just eating as you feel hungry you will eat more to compensate for the extra calorific expenditure. There are loads of posts giving ideas in the nutrition section have a read. Paying attention to your diet dose not mean necessarily worrying about every gram of food, just following certain rules can make a huge difference.
Also what were you when you started, if you are making progress then just keep at it and remember these things take time. If you have reached a plateau try shaking up your workout to shock your body into reacting. Rowing machine instead of elliptic trainer, just the change may be all you need. Even the best routine will stop yielding results after continual use for to long.
Finally remember weight is a very bad reflection of progress, muscle is denser than fat and everyone’s base frame is different you can look wonderful or bad at the same weight.
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2003/09/16, 01:43 PM
Where are you getting your BF percentages from? As a woman, I am really fed up with the way those calculators work. A man has to put in only a few measurements, but a woman has to put in ridiculous things like wrist measurements. If I use the one here on FT and fill in for a female I get 27% if I put my same height and weight and waist as a man I get 19%. My husbands wrists are just 1/2 inch bigger than mine (we both have small wrists) but the calcualtor doesn't ask for his. I know men with big butts, and not all men have small hips. When I used the BF calculator on www.mybodycomp.com I got a 37% score. They all suck if you ask me.
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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2003/09/16, 05:18 PM
If you're only using the calculators, stop. Get someone proficient in the use of calipers to measure you. Most gyms will supply a trainer to do this for a nominal fee. They need to measure you in at least three or four different places and get an average. Do this once a month or so for a few months and see what happens. My "professionally measured" body fat percentage is 17%. It has never been below 27 percent on ANY calculator site.
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2003/09/16, 07:06 PM
Thank you all.
Yeah, I've thought about my diet and know that is usually what prevents a person from losing. I'm losing slowly and think my diet is ok although it isn't super clean. But 20% body fat isn't unrealistic for a female so I didn't think my diet would have to be to clean. Anyways here is a sample:
Breakfast:
1 whole grain toast + 1tbs peanut butter (must have peanut butter because it is so satisfying to me that if I don't have it I'm likely to binge and this is very important to me since I'm a recovering bulimic)
1 yogurt with splenda or cottage cheese + salsa
or
1 whole grain toast + cheese slice + 2 eggs (1 white + 1 whole egg)
Snack:
Nature valley gronola bar (also I have to get snacks at work where we don't have such a great selection because I can't buy these because of my eating disorder)
Lunch
protein + veggie + healthy carb
example: salad + balsamic viniger + olive oil
meat + cheese slice on whole grain pita or bread
or
3/4 cup pasta or brown rice + meat + veggie
Snack sometimes:
protein bar or
cottage cheese + salsa or
yogurt or
meat slices + cheese slice or
peanut or almond m&ms
Dinner:
healthy carb + protein/meat + veggie
sometimes fruit afterwards
That is pretty typical though I think I cheat a bit like I will have pizza for dinner or lunch. I've have a muffin or cookie once in a while.
I'm getting my % body fat from one of those scales that measures % body fat. I know that they aren't super accurate because the measurement depends on how hydrated you are but I keep myself really hydrated and I've gotten the same or similar reading everytime I measure my % body fat. I think I am squishy still so I guess it isn't an unrealistic number but I am disappointed. I just can't afford to have my % body fat measured and I've searched how to use these capilars but I get so many unrelated messages that I give up before I can figure out how to use them.
Like I said before, I have to be really careful with what I eat and with what I have around because I don't want to relapse so I don't know how much more protein I can actually add and how many carbs I can eliminate. I need carbs and sweets or else I will go crazy. I think I'm good about getting good carbs though. I guess I'm not convinced that my diet should be super clean either if I want to get to 20% body fat but please tell me if you think this is not the case. Do you think my % body fat would decrease if I lost more weight? I'm looking to lose 5 more pounds and then maybe 5 more but no more than that (10 total). Thanks again.
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2003/09/16, 07:09 PM
Oh, I've been in recovery for like 3 years though I have had a few relapses so I feel like I'm stable enough to work on my weight/body tone.
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2003/09/16, 08:23 PM
Sabrina, your diet really looks pretty good to me. I don't see much wrong with it at all, although I'm no expert. It looks much better than mine! I also have one of those body fat scales, a Tanita, which is supposed to be a good one. It also shows me as about 10% more than the pros say that I have. So, don't be so hard on yourself. Your bf may be much lower than you think! Just focus on staying healthy and feeling good and eventually you'll get to where you want to go. You might want to start focusing also on your measurements more than your weight and body fat and set your goals there. Just a thought! Instead of the five pounds, just set your sights on losing an inch off your waist and hips. It's the same thing, and it's a much more stable indicator of your progress than weighing is.
Good luck!!
Kelly
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2003/09/17, 02:42 AM
I need to speed up my typing, I spent so long writing that one it logged me out, ha ha
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2003/09/17, 02:25 PM
If you don't have much muscle mass your BF% will be higher even though you may be thinner. I think I said that right.
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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2003/09/17, 05:01 PM
Thank you all! That is a relief that my diet is ok because a lot of posts I read say diet is the culprit so I was a little worried.
I decided to use % body fat as a measurement of progress rather than weight because my weight may not decrease even though I'm making progress and possibly getting smaller. I thought it would be better and I don't always enjoy doing measurements so I guess I will have to gauge progress by the way I feel. Yes I do tend to be hard on myself. Yes, I've made good progress in the past 6 months. Thanks again.
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2003/09/18, 12:48 AM
If you want to see 20% BF or less you have to forget the
sometimes snacks. Or substitute them for better snacks.
Junk like (peanut or almond m&ms, and gronola bars)- these are
the worst type of snacks. If you have fruit-it should never
be caned.
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"Get everthing you want--just make a little change now"
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