in Ginseng for anti-aging to be able to reduce my fqt to ???? diane — sounds like you Bodj putting a lot of your time and energy into exercising so congratulations. When you look at me, clearly there is muscle definition, except in low abs where I had 3 c-sections.

Body fat percentage goals -

The location of body fat is also relevant to overall health. For example, fat around the abdomen has higher health risks than fat in other areas. There are many limitations to BMI and measuring body fat.

Having a high body fat percentage or BMI does not always lead to health problems. However, this method does still provide a quick and useful clinical tool to assess health risks. Accurately calculating body fat percentages at home is challenging.

However, BMI calculations or fat calipers can give a rough estimate of body fat levels. Body fat is a useful indicator of overall health. However, there are limitations to its use. Rather than focusing on body fat alone, it is best to prioritize an overall healthy lifestyle. Exercising more, doing regular strength training, and eating a balanced diet are good ways to maintain health.

To find their ideal weight, an individual must look at a number of factors, including gender and activity level. Learn how to find your healthy weight. There are various ways to measure the percentage of body fat, and some are more high tech than others.

In this article, we describe the range of…. Body fat scales are devices that estimate the relative percentages of fat and muscle inside the body. Read on to learn about how they work and their…. Body fat scales can be an easy way to track body composition, but research debates their accuracy.

Here, learn about body fat scales and the best…. Sustainable weight management involves eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and engaging in stress-reducing techniques. Learn more. My podcast changed me Can 'biological race' explain disparities in health?

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Medical News Today. Health Conditions Health Products Discover Tools Connect. Body fat percentage charts for men and women. Medically reviewed by Angela M. Bell, MD, FACP — By Zawn Villines — Updated on November 27, Target body fat percentages Women Men How to calculate BMI Limitations Questions for doctors Summary A high percentage of body fat can increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other health conditions.

A note about sex and gender Sex and gender exist on spectrums. Was this helpful? What should my body fat percentage be?

Body fat percentage table for women. Body fat percentage table for men. How to calculate. Problems and limitations. Questions to ask a doctor. How we reviewed this article: Sources. Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations.

We avoid using tertiary references. We link primary sources — including studies, scientific references, and statistics — within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles.

You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. Share this article. Latest news Ovarian tissue freezing may help delay, and even prevent menopause. RSV vaccine errors in babies, pregnant people: Should you be worried?

How do you set a realistic weight loss goal for yourself as an individual? What is healthy and achievable? This article will answer all those questions. Two people of exactly the same weight could have very different bodily make-ups.

One could be a lean, muscular athlete; the other a high-fat, sedentary couch potato. Conclusion: When you set yourself a weight loss goal, you should really be establishing a goal for fat loss.

The best way to do that is with a DEXA body scan. Using very-low-dose X-rays, a DEXA scan will precisely measure fat, lean and bone mass and provide much more meaningful data than simply your weight on the scale.

DEXA provides two extremely important and very useful bits of data, known as your fat mass index FMI and lean mass index LMI. They are, respectively, your fat and lean body mass in relation to your height.

Achieving a fat mass index of between 3. As for body fat percentage, which so many people regard as the holy grail of fat measurement, this is not a good number to use as a target. For one thing, it is not an absolute measure of body fat; it is simply the proportion of you that is fat. Which means that two people with the same body fat percentage could have wildly different amounts of fat and therefore very different body composition goals.

As we said above, setting a weight loss target by body fat percentage leads to wildly different amounts of fat, muscle and total body weight.

As well as the fat you can pinch subcutaneous fat , we all carry some internal fat. A DEXA scan will reveal how much visceral fat you have and your risk level.

If your visceral fat is high, we can set a realistic weight loss goal based on this, instead of or in addition to, your overall body fat.

General Unmatched Age Chart Fqt Fat Alternative. Below are two body Flaxseed for reducing bloating percentage Body fat percentage goals, which Bodt Body fat percentage goals walk you through along with some percetage into how to read each chart. The first chart from the American Council On Exercise ACE does not include age, but the Jackson-Pollock chart does. This chart from ACE is one of the most commonly used body fat charts. This is because of physiological differences including hormones, breasts, and sexual organs.

Body fat percentage goals -

My protein intake is. I eat what is needed for my BMR and I have enough calorie def to lose some but not too much. Had tummy and lipo July Oh I desire thick thighs of which we are working on I do t desire skinny. Hey Marc, I used to weigh and I lost 10 pounds in about 3 weeks.

Currently I weigh pounds… I really desire being defined. I have always been told I have broad shoulders, which helps me i guess. I work at a highly busy job and I am always off my feet and constantly lifting things and climbing ladders.

I noticed how after i lost those 10 pounds, when I tighten my abdominals as I stand facing the mirror I notice my abs show alot more now and I have a 4-pack.

What sucks is that when I relax and loosen my stomach, I go back to my belly showing. My question is what can I do to lose this belly because the muscle is there its just my belly that kills me. By the way I have now 3 weeks working out doing cardio ONLY times a week.

Unfortunately I dont have time to go to the gym therefore NO WEIGHTS. And i do understand weight lifting is KEY when building muscle and burning fat faster. So what can I do to lose this belly in about months and get defined??

What I need help in MOST is in my stomach because my arms are OK, and my legs are pretty strong I guess. I would love to lose my belly and get a defined stomach and chest!

Please, please Help! I used to weigh and I lost 11 pounds in about 3 weeks. After I lost the weight I noticed that when I stand infront of the mirror and tighten my stomach, my abs show much more, so i have a 4 pack now. What sucks is when I relax my stomach it goes back to my belly.

So my question is what can I do to get a defined stomach, my only problem is the belly, because I have nice arms and broad shoulders and strong legs as well. I do cardio Monday-Friday for at least 50 minutes of intensity. I drink at least ounces of water a day.

And I stopped eating junk food ever since I lost the weight. My mission is to lose my belly and get toned pretty much. I am definitely aware that I have to decrease this. Please Help me get my abs and lose my belly. One more thing is that I dont have time to go to the gym so I dont lift to much weight only at my job that I am always off my feet and moving around.

Adding to my cardio Mon-Friday I also add in every day 4 repetitions of abs and push ups. So what else can I do to lose my belly in perhaps 3 months? PLease help! Alex — I think 3 months as a goal to lose most of the belly fat is a good goal.

In addition, the way your stomach protrudes may be postural. Losing as much fat around your belly is a matter of continuing to focus on eating less calories than you burn while eating clean foods which it sounds like you are doing , and continuing with your workout routine.

Ideally you would be lifting more, but as long as you are doing some strength related work that requires your muscles, you should be ok. It sounds like you are heading in the right direction so keep it up! I think a posture that supports breathing slow and deep is better.

could i do this in a healthy way, and more importantly without losing any muscle mass? mike — your body fat percentage sounds very low for your height and body weight. That means your muscles etc.

are 20lb heavier than your goal weight of lb! If you are using the body scale, or bio electric impedance analysis to measure your body fat, it may be really off. You can check out an article I wrote on 5 ways to measure your body fat percentage.

Definitely worth double checking it. Is this well above what is usual for my height? They seemed rather surprised with my results and triple checked just to make sure. And the total weight is typically around lb.

If your body fat percentage measurement is correct, your LBM is around lb, which is a solid 40lb more than the average. I recently had my body fat done with the skin fold test. The one thing that I wish more than anything was that I was curvier. My BMI is Is there anything I can do to reduce my waist by a few inches?

Current measurements are 34C Just wondering. Toni — 17 percent body fat for a woman your age is very impressive. Nice work. In term of changing the shape of your body, given you already are very lean, the only thing I can think of is building muscle on the right place.

Sounds like you are doing great though so kudos to you! My torso, bum and thighs are my heaviest and hardest spots to reduce. What is the fastest and most efficient way to achieve this healthier range?

I think the most efficient way to change your body is strength training x per week in combination with some traditional, or preferably anaerobic type of cardio i.

interval training , then focus on the nutrition. The nutrition is where you should focus a lot of your time and energy to get it right. For more information, definitely check out my free Get Lean Guide.

however i feel more thinner. i just want to know if i should worry about my weight? is this why my weight does not go down? diane — sounds like you are putting a lot of your time and energy into exercising so congratulations.

In terms of losing weight and body fat, nutrition is the key factor. Here are a couple articles I would highly recommend as a starting point:. and I have enjoyed running since high school. I just started training for a half marathon that takes place in mid-October and decided to check my body fat.

It is currently at My question is whether I should be concerned at all about my body fat becoming too low over the course of training for the half marathon. What I have found is that your body can get used to the training and not lose any more weight, especially because you are already at a low body fat level that may even be optimal.

You may also consider seeing a sports nutritionist if you have any issues with this process. Hope this is helpful and good luck with your training!

My latest readings showed: of fat mass, of TBW. However, I notice the fat mass and FFM adds up to my weight of But she said water TBW was the third component in total weight. Generally, how do you rate my fitness scores?

Paulette — I think your analysis makes sense. FFM is also called Lean Body Mass, or LBM. TBW is probably the percentage of water weight. Keep in mind body fat percentages are algorithmic and automatically increase as you age.

I should also mention the quality of the calories you eat makes a major difference for overall health, so body fatness is really just one measure of health and of course aesthetically, it matters.

Hope this is helpful! Please help. Not a vegetarian, but a pretty healthy sensible eater. When you look at me, clearly there is muscle definition, except in low abs where I had 3 c-sections. Please advise. If you lost only lb, you would be in the ideal category actually only 3lb.

Definitely nothing to worry about. Keep up the good work with eating well and exercising! I am a 37 year old woman and am working at getting back in shape after a bad leg break almost a year ago and back surgery this spring. I am cycling an hour three times a week, strength training with a TRX for an hour twice a week and riding dressage five times a week, doing pilates at least an hour a week.

Any suggestions of what to add in with my routine? In regard to diet I am eating a great deal of lean protein g , vegetables and whole grains. Katie — Happy to hear you are recovering from those tough injuries and exercising so much.

Great job. One think to mention is working on squats with one leg and both legs can help improve leg strength. Exercise ball squats against a wall can be great to take away pressure off your lower back. Lunges and step ups can work well also. So for example, you can do bicycles if your back can handle it follow without any rest by planks.

You can do this in the beginning of your TRX workouts and you only need to do this for rounds, which is a total of sets. Every week you should make the abs workout a little harder by adding more reps, or making the exercise more difficult.

Two of my favorite lower back exercises are the bird dog on an exercise ball and lying leg curl with hip extension on an exercise ball you can search google for demonstrations of these.

It should only take 10 minutes in the beginning of your workout and the beauty is that your core will be working extra hard for the rest of the workout. This is a great way to really emphasize core development. At the end of the day, your body reflects two things 1 your genetics, and 2 your habits.

Changing your eating habits for example can help you lose the excess weight. Good luck! Hi im so glad i found your article.

Now im pretty sure this is accurate because i was tested several times because the guy thought there was something wrong with the calculations for it to come put so low cor a female. I dont have an eating disorder but i am a healthy vegan and i eat a lot of legunes, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

and i dont work out strenuously or even regularly. I gain muscle easily and i dont even have to work out for my abdominal muscles to be fairly visible. The guy who tested me told me i needed to gain fat because my percentage was far too low for a woman.

Even going to he doctor and getting a physical there is nothing wrong and even getting blood work i was not deficient in anything. Is he right?

Should i really try to gain more fat? The only time i gained weight and fat was when i was eating very unhealthily at odd ours in the night.

I recently started to exercise again because i know its good for you and because my family has been pushinge into actually having better cardiovascular health. No changes so far in weight. Thank you for your input.

Reading everythinv has enlightened me in areas i was confused. Kate — I think you should listen to your doctor. Latest measurements : Weight I weight train days a week and aerobic days. Eat semi-vegetarian clean food, no junk. Active lifestyle.

Does this sound right? And how accurate is the Omron which uses the bioelectrical impendance method for measurements? I measure the same time, upon rising before anything to eat or drink. Lon — It sounds like you have a solid workout plan and have been making nice progress so congrats.

When it comes to body fat percentage measurements, my favorite is using the calipers. I think it sounds reasonable that your body fat has decreased along with an increase in muscle mass over an 18 month period. As you get older as I mention in the article, your subcutaneous body fat does not necessarily have to increase.

Thanks for the feedback I have looked at your fat measurement page and intend to get measured with the calipers at my club. Now know from your article it has to be measured in 3 places. I know the fat i do have is around the waist not surprising at my age.

I mix cardio with strength training at least a few times a week. Is it that strange to find women my height with healthy body fat percentages at pounds? So that means your LBM is probably around lb. In addition, some of the LBM may be water weight that may come off pretty fast.

So your LBM may actually decrease to lb maybe even less over time as you lose fat. That would be my guess. I can tell you with certainty the most important thing to focus on is losing the fat without losing muscle and see how things pan out.

You never know until you try. Then you can come back to BuiltLean. com and give everyone an update! Hi Marc, I just turned 40, my weight is 57kg — was 56 a year ago. Fine, but how do i know what is lean and what is fat?

i go to gym at least 4 times a week, my gym instructor work out a program for me , and evaluate me every 6 weeks, weight, measurements and change program.

I do mostly strength training. It sounds like as long as you are tracking your measurements, you should be able to figure out differences in your body over time. Weight: Unfortunately, none of them are perfect, especially BIA. For more, check out 5 Ways To Measure Body Fat Percentage.

i will get the brand of the specific machine and get back to you. diet is that i made sure that am within or below my daily recommended caloric intake which is i usually eat, wheat bread, pan grilled chix breast, brown rice and takin whey proteins..

anyway, am currently including cardio routines during my rest day started last 2 days, same workout sched and same diet.. will again check the stats after a week or two to monitor my progress.. Climbing: 3sx10r , count Squat Jump: 3sx10r , More Power to you and Mabuhay!!!

Buh — I think the change in measurements over the time span you listed is negligible, especially because you are using a machine to measure your body fat percentage. In other words, your body got used to the amount of calories you were eating.

Sometimes eating relatively more calories on a workout day for example can help speed things up. See what can work for you. Are bodies are resistant to change, so making the workouts harder over time can force our bodies to improve: Exercise Progression. I think I may make this comment into a blog article about how to bust through a plateau!

Thanks for your question. you enlighten me alot and help me towards reaching my goal.. angela — I have some action items to share with you below. Keep in mind you should consult with your doctor about these suggestions:.

Mindset of Pain vs. Pleasure — In general, human beings seek to avoid pain and pursue pleasure. Start walking — Going for a minute walk every day could do wonders!

Maybe you do it first thing in the morning before anything else to start your day. Over time, you can increase the pace, the distance, or the time. Purge your cupboards — Besides giving you a fresh start, getting rid of all the unhealthy foods sugary desserts, chips, breads etc.

Out of sight, out of mind for the most part. I can assure you the money will be more than saved with decreased medical expenses. You will be saving yourself thousands of dollars. Sugary, processed foods belongs in the garbage!

Track You Eating Habits — Keep a food journal for a week. Write down everything you are eating, when you eat it, what you feel like when you eat it.

Make Small Changes — Once you start to learn more about your eating habits from tracking them, then you can make some changes. For example, any sugary drinks, you can replace them with water.

You can apply this same concept to the rest of your eating habits. You can do it. I think the reason that body fat percentage increases as people get older is a product of muscle reduction as opposed to fat increase. It is a matter of proportionality.

So, while the absolute weight of fat in a persons body may not change over time, the fact that they carry less muscle creates the effect of the obesity range receding.

So you are right when you say that health derives from much more than fat levels. But the question remains as to whether muscle loss that results from ageing, a combination of basic physiological change but also through adopting a more sedentary and therefore unhealthy lifestyle, is actually healthy.

So I think I would not fully support the Jackson and Pollock chart. Ian — I understand and respect your opinion. Muscle loss is certainly a variable I should have mentioned in the article need to update it. If you find a better chart, let me know! It appears the colors on the chart would continue in the same directions if the chart continued, but it end at age People older than 56 still care about their health so I wish the chart would continue.

I am a 62 year old female with a large bone structure by all standards found on the internet. I swim lengths of a pool not olympic but normal times a week and try to walk once or twice a week.

I would like to know what number is appropriate for me. Linda — You are certainly right that the chart does not go past 56 years old. It appears that the slope of the line that defines acceptable body fat ranges is linear, so you can continue it.

You can see that the difference in 5 year increments is roughly 0. Is this perfect? Hope this helps! by only doing cardio no weight training … I have been doing 60 min. of cardio a day but still manage to increase my muscle mass. I have always dreamed of weighing pounds but it seems not realistic considering my lean body mass is in order to be able to reduce my weight to ????

France — Quick question, how are you measuring your body fat? Have you measured it with multiple methods i. body fat calipers at the gym with a smart trainer, body fat scale BIA? Hi Marc, Thank you for responding so quickly.

Indeed, the fat percentage was measured with fat calipers at the gym with a professional trainer. France — I think body fat calipers are more reliable than BIA, so sounds like you are doing the right thing. With that said, I would get another trainer to calculate your body fat as well, just in case.

Calculating body fat percentages over time is not easy and unless the trainer is very experienced, the calculations can easily be a bit off. I would recommend continuing to lose fat without losing muscle and see how it goes.

You may be very happy. Trying to lose muscle on purpose in my opinion is not a great idea. As you get older, you will start to naturally lose some muscle sarcopenia , so every pound of muscle you have naturally is a great thing!

Also, having more muscle helps keep your metabolism humming. iv been eating realy well for the last 4 months now. iv been eating the right amount of calories protien fat and carbs every day i balance my meals eat cottage cheese whole weat and never eat take out.

i work out about 3 times a week with weights and i go for about a 30 min run once or twice a week. iv noticed i lost alot of weight i have alittle fat on my belly and alittle on the chest area but i see it improving so im not concerned that it wont go away.

iv been using 15 pound weights i do arms chest shoulders and sit ups 20 reps 5 set kind of work out i see im loosing weight but not gaining tooo much muscle. i wanted to know if i should be using maybe 25 lb weights now and also if i work out twice a day 3 times a week is that bad?

please get back to me! i take protien with creatien in it after work outs. Frank — Congrats on the results you are achieving. Here are my comments:. For me, lifting 3x per week is the sweet spot. I also think lifting full body 2x per week is another option, but if you enjoy lifting and have the right routine, 3x per week can be fantastic.

In a perfect world, you would lift in each of the three rep ranges, just being careful with the strength rep ranges. For example, you could have one workout where you are lower rep, around reps, then another where you are , then another where you are In general, I do think you should try to lift heavier weights and progress your workouts over time.

For more reading, check out this article: Progression Hi Marc, I am a 42 years old woman. I workout days a week. Lifting weights mostly and some cardio. I watch what I eat, in that I keep track by writing everything and avoid carbs. I also track how many calories I burn when I workout by using a heart monitor.

Do you have any addtional advise to help me decrease my body fat. Btw I use a scale to measure my body fat and I measure it daily. If I were you, I would think critically about your body fat goal.

Do you look and feel great where you are right now? I mean The other thing to consider is the body fat algorithm. As you age, whether or not you are gaining more body fat, your body fat percentage will go up using any measurement device!

Ok, so with that said, it sounds like you are hitting a bit of a plateau, but you are still going in the right direction. Once you are already lean, it becomes increasingly difficult to lose body fat.

Keep in mind even if you are losing 0. Thanks for participating on BuiltLean and reading the articles! Good luck on your fitness journey.

While I am happy with my weight now, I still have a flabby belly…my question is if its possible to lose that without surgery after 5 kids?

I eat very healthily…very little processed foods and workout at least 3x a week plus I do a 20min ab workout on alternating days.

Do you happen to know what measurement technique i. I ask because there can be a fairly significant variation between these different methods.

Which, by the way, ticked me right off the first time! Thought I was one number, and found out it was 6 percentage points higher!! Ted — Sorry for the late reply ted. I do know that they contributed a quadratic equation vs.

the linear model and they have different number of sites 3, 7, and 9. Body fat percentage is never perfect. Think about what you are looking for aesthetically and how you want to feel. Whatever the body fat percentage is, it is. Hi marc. Is it possible to maintain my muscle mass without losing my current weight?

Am I suppose to go for circuit training, full body workout or split body workout? Thank you Marc. How to Get Ripped. Full Body Workout vs. Split Routine: Which is Better? Thanks for the quick reply, Marc.

So, just where did these numbers come from? Do you generally agree with such values? When does it turn from a positive to a negative, health-wise? Do you happen to know of research that supports any of this?

when using calipers. may be going for levels of BF that are lower than necessary if good health is the primary concern rather than definition, cut, or contest prep. Thanks again for your time and information! Ted — I understand your anxiety and appreciate your attention to detail.

I still think the jackson-pollock charts are pretty solid, so I would follow those for your age group. As I said before, the only way to know you body fat percentage perfectly is to be a cadaver.

If you can pinch more than an inch of fat on your body, may be worth losing a bit more. In terms of health and fatness, there is a correlation between body fatness and poor health in that people who have more body fat tend to eat poorly and not exercise and thus have worse health.

With that said, there are literally sumo wrestlers who are in perfect health just because they exercise so much. Furthermore, genetics has an impact. I personally only care about body fat calipers and NOTHING else especially true as you get leaner!

Do you have a lot of energy? Do you like how you look? My ideal weight is pounds. How can I reach this weight, upping my body fat percentage a bit and gaining muscle as well?? Dani — I think the answer is simple, but difficult to implement: 1 eat more food and 2 lift heavier weights over time.

Focus on basic compound exercises squats, lunges, push, pull, and twists. How much weight you gain is something you can track every week by weighing yourself and every month with body fat tests. In terms of eating, you may need to eat 5x per day. I do plan on writing a lengthy article on how to build muscle, so stay tuned!

Hi Marc! I do cardio 3 times a week and hit the gym around times a week. And I also check the amount of calories that I take every time I eat something. Here are my stats:.

Am I on the right track? I have a low weight, but my body fat seems to high. It looks alarming in my perspective. If you want to get even leaner, you can continue to improve your eating habits and learn more about not only the total calories you are eating, but also the quality of calories and the breakdown of calories.

For more info, you can check out my post: 7 Reasons to Keep a Food Journal. Hey Marc! Thanks for replying. I do have my own food journal. I read an article that doing too much cardio can burn your muscles instead of fats. And I guess the article was right.

I mean, is it really necessary for a person like me who has lost the muscles that I had? I know protein shakes are very convenient for a busy person like me, though. Hope to hear a feedback from you. Thanks a lot! jack — in terms of gaining the muscle back, just eating a bit more food with an emphasis on protein while slowly lifting more weight focusing on basic exercises squat, lunge, bench, etc.

One way I keep track of my muscle aside from my weight is my strength levels. Do keep track of your strength levels, which I actually think is more important than the amount of muscle you have.

Hi Mark, I recently purchased the Accu-Measure Caliper. Was wondering if you can clarify exactly how to read this chart.

Your chart is exactly the same as the one they sent me. However,the chart that was enclosed with the calipers has a mm chart accross the top of it, You are to find your measurement across the top and then at the intersection where you find your age. So according to the chart enclosed my body fat percentage is Thank you!

Tammy — the latter method you described is correct. You need to find your age, then go across to find the number of millimeters. Hope that clarifies it for you. Hi Mark, I have been on such a weight loss struggle for the past 2 years. in between those periods i reached lbs and have lost 35lbs.

I work out 5 days a week alternating between cardio and upper body strength. I intensify each workout as i feel neccesary but ive been putting on weight but staying the same size. i dont kno where its going and i understand muscle gain but how would i go about obtaining a more curvacious and feminine physique then muscle gain?

Aaron — Sorry to hear you are experiencing these issues. You mentioned at length your exercise routine, but what is more important is your nutrition. I would pay particular attention to your nutrition if I were you. Check out this article I wrote on How to Keep a Food Journal and How Many Calories Should You Eat To Lose Weight.

What I normally suggest is to focus on losing fat without losing muscle to reveal your physique. I have not gained more than 20 lbs back at any given time.

I am in the final stretch and I can almost see the goal weight that I have set for myself. This mornng my BMI is I have some saging skin in my thigh, abdomin and breast areas, my arms look pretty good and I can see some definition in the sides of my abdomin. I workout 6 days a week doing either strength total body; working different areas on different days , flexibility, or cardio workouts.

I am currently doing Weight Watchers as my weight management program of choice and I do use Whey protein on the days that I workout.

I eat lots of fruits and vegetables and drink lots of water. Should my goal weight be lower? Ka Ren — The goal weight you choose is ultimately and one in which you should consult with your doctor.

My opinion is that a weight range of lb would likely be a better range for your height and one that would generally be considered a healthier body weight range.

The change is likely minimal, but also not sure about the implications of using body fat calipers either. Hope this helps and good luck on your weight loss journey. Hi Marc, What a great website! Today I met with a personal trainer at a new gym trying to sell me training sessions.

I had been working out 4x a week until I went back to grad school and after 4 months without working out I am feeling very out of shape. My body stats worried me until I came across your site and now I am confused.

I would appreciate some advice from someone not trying to sell me something. Since my 4 month hiatus I think I have lost about 10lbs of muscle. I was led to believe that both fat figures listed above were high and that 12 months of personal training would fix that, dropping the overall body fat from 24 lbs to about My question are: am I in need of these costly sessions, or can I achieve my goals independently?

And also, are my stats indicative of high body fat percentages, or a bad muscle to fat ratio? Also I am roughly lbs, at my peak previously I was , pretty muscular, with still some problem areas such as my love handles.

Although at that peak I plateaued very quickly. Long message, thank you for your time, and again for providing such an awesome resource!! With all that said, consistent exercise and proper eating should help you get the more muscular body you had back. It has an input option of either athlete or adult.

If it does, are you currently using the athlete option? Given that you say are working out regularly and have been doing so now for some time, the athlete option might be a better fit for you.

I have run miles a year for each of the past 10 years and my weight has varied between and pounds during that time. I began running almost 19 years ago at pounds. I use the athlete option on my Tanita. This number varies depending on my hydration status.

That is a big difference. This skinfold measurement shows much less day to day variation, as it is less sensitive to salt and hydration status.

Here are my stats. I am a 35 year old male. I am 5ft 10in with a medium to medium large frame. I weigh lbs without clothing and have a body fat percentage of I workout 6 days a week. I do cardio and Core training with weights for no more than an hour total each workout. Am I on the right track as far as being healthy and fit; given the information above?

Scott — Sounds like it to me. Also may consider creating goals for yourself such as doing a certain number of pullups, or push ups etc. to keep track of your fitness level.

My body scales report a fat percentage in the 7 to 8 percent range. If you got your body fat percentage taken with a 3 site or higher skin fold caliper reading as pretty accurate. Marc, my body fat percentage is I have a lot of flab that I want to get rid of in the stomach.

Do you have a recommendation of what body fat percentage would be good and not too low? Hope that helps! Visceral fat reading at 3 but body fat reading at I prefer measuring fat directly by pinching it body fat calipers.

Most women I come across who are around your height and weight have an LBM around 95 to lb. I workout regulary and eat healthy and drink lots of water. As I stated I workout days a week doing various exercises from dumbells, to push ups, pull ups, yoga, kenpo, cardio, etc.

What can I do to get more cut? Kudos to you. For more, check out this article: How Many Calories Should I Eat To Lose Weight? I had a 7 sight caliper test early October and then 12 week retest just last week. The first caliper test recorded Im not bad, but im not THAT good either!!

Am I crazy to question the results? Do you have any good links to images I could compare and get a better visual understanding? Ash — Given the stats you provided, your LBM is lb 54kg , which is pretty high, but reasonable given someone your height.

if it helps im 23, F, cm and sit around kg. Hey Marc, Thanks for your great advice. I started at lb. Thanks bro! Curt — Congrats on making those impressive changes in your body.

My best guess is that you should have the outline of a six pack, and probably a pack still not bad! Because you have lost so much weight, you should recalculate your target calorie intake.

My guess is a calorie diet could do the trick depends on how active you are, assuming 3x workouts per week. I just had my body fat percentage measured at the gym before my workout regimen. The gym uses a handheld device that sends a low voltage of electricity and it measures the percentage by how fast the electricity travels from one hand to the other.

My measurement came out as They said by looking at me that they figured it would be a lot lower than that; some of them had even guessed it at 14 to 16 percent. I have a very physical job, do strength training and cardio everyday.

I guess looks could be very deceiving! Dee — The BIA method you used is notoriously inaccurate for measuring body fat for people who are lean.

The point is that I would strongly prefer a skin fold method from a skilled professional which directly measures you fat. I wanted to know the accuracy of body fat monitor on ormon body composition scale.

So now I know it is anywhere close to be accurate. As today it read cjcherri — Check out my comment to Dee. Generally speaking, the BIA overestimates body fat.

Another question to you Marc: I recently went to see my doctor for physical and he thinks that I should add a few more pounds to my existing weight while I am contented with my weight now. Good example was no work out cardio or weight training for 3 weeks over the holidays and eat a lot more than my body need to consume which I was told is cl.

As a trainer, what would you suggest? I think My body is happy where it is so that I am not losing weight or gaining weight. cjcherri — Consider yourself lucky! By the way, what is your weight? I eat pretty healthy I believe. However my weakness is bread. This article is a must read: How many calories do I need to eat to lose weight?

Maybe his perception of body fatness is skewed given the average american is overweight. I would get a second opinion if I were you and especially if your doc is not lean himself.

I eat pretty well but never see changes in that area. I really want to be able to wear a bikini and feel confident when i sit down…lol any ideas as to what i should to do make a more lean tummy area?

Katie — With that said, I would read these two articles if I were you:. How Many Calories Should You Eat To Lose Weight? How do you work that out?? Plus I am sticking to calories around the mark I track everything.

The article is right here: Ideal Body Weight Formula. Dave H — Congrats on your impressive transformation. Losing 11lb of fat in months is very possible, even as you get leaner it can get harder to lose fat as you get leaner, so plateaus are inevitable.

Good luck with the wedding! It seems if I do anything more than a brisk 15 minute walk I put on muscle mass. My question to you is if you believe there should be a maximum weight for certain heights and body frames, even if the majority is muscle mass.

Jennyfer — I think we all come in different shapes and sizes with different bones structures etc. It sounds like you genetically have far more muscle like 40lb more than the average women and can put it on easier.

Thanks to your response from Dee. It was very comforting to read that. My situation is very similar to hers. And depending on the brand, I can be a size zero too. I just had my body fat tested at the gym with the hand held device.

I had just finished a 4 mile run outside, walked inside and had my body fat measured pretty much right away. Had I known that I needed to be hydrated for the test, I would have drank some or a lot more water prior. Anyway, my measurement was Needless to say, I was shocked!

No one could believe it by looking at me too. I run, do yoga, weight train and do other forms of cardio 5 days a week. I was thinking to myself, I must not be doing something right.

Hi Im a 23 year old girl, 5. Jemma — That question is a question for you doctor. Also, I would get your body fat percentage checked out again using skin fold calipers by another source as a point of comparison.

I am a 53 year old woman who used to be in killer condition a couple of decades ago — taught aerobics classes, ran, etc. Then I hurt my knee and just quit working out. Finally I decided to see what else I could do besides run, and found hot yoga classes. So I think I have lost fat and gained muscle.

Most of the subcutaneous fat remaining is right in the gut and a bit on the upper thighs. To try and get a better understanding of body composition, I just bought a hand held fat calculator. Right now I am measuring Still, by tracking an incorrect body fat reading, you'll know whether you're going up or down.

So, that being said, here are five ways of calculating your body fat percentage. Each method of measuring your body fat percentage has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages. Calipers are super accessible, but even with a skilled professional taking the measurements, they're liable to human error.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis is quick and easy, but the data doesn't show where your fat is stored. The Bod Pod is highly accurate and detailed, but it'll take a sizeable bite out of your wallet.

In terms of reliability, the greatest inaccuracies are typically found in home measuring methods. For example, Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis is pretty spot-on when it uses widely-published maths formulas, a study published in BMJ Open found — but the machine-generated calculations found in home body fat scales vastly under- or over-estimate a person's data.

If you've got a set at home, try not to get strung up on the baseline digits — instead, focus on whether they rise or fall over time. Lowering your body fat percentage requires tactical management of both your diet and your exercise regime. However, in a nutshell, if you're in a calorie deficit — burning more calories than you consume — your body fat percentage will fall.

Start by using an online TDEE calculator to work out your daily calorie expenditure and reduce that by around kcals to begin crafting losses. To crank things up a notch, try adding some high intensity sessions into your routine. Give the following workouts a crack and your six-pack should be on show in no time:.

You might be wondering how BMI fits into the picture. A BMI calculator pits your weight against your height to ascertain whether you're a "healthy" weight, though some online calculators factor in additional information such as age, gender and activity level.

At its simplest, though, the formula divides your weight in kilograms by your height in metres , and the results are categorised as follows:. There are some serious limitations in attempting to quantify your gym progress with a BMI calculator. This one-size-fits-all approach fails to take into account some pretty crucial data about your body composition — your ratio of muscle and fat, particularly visceral fat the dangerous kind that wraps around your organs , as well as your lifestyle.

By BMI's calculations, the strongest, fittest bloke on the rugby pitch could be overweight. A professional bodybuilder? Similarly, someone with a lower weight and high proportion of fat to muscle think: dad-bod could be considered "healthy", even if they rarely exercise and smoke a packet of cigarettes a day.

As body composition metrics go, tracking your body fat percentage can certainly be useful for h oning a washboard stomach , but it doesn't provide a reliable snapshot of your wellbeing. Much like the BMI calculation, your body fat percentage doesn't reflect how well you sleep , how stressed you are , or how nourishing your diet is — all crucial factors that contribute towards your progress in the gym, and your general physical and mental health outside of it.

Think about it this way: it's no use carving out a six-pack if you're too burned out to maintain it. If you have any concerns about your BMI or body fat percentage, speak with your doctor, a certified personal trainer or registered dietitian. They will be able to provide sound, safe advice to help you hit your goals in a responsible manner that fits your needs and lifestyle.

Struggling to find personal trainer or dietitian? As with most things, word of mouth and reputation go a long way. Failing that, speak to your local gym as they should have contacts that are certified.

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If you want Body fat percentage goals content like this, subscribe to MASS. I gpals set gozls specific body-fat percentage as the goal of a diet or program, and I prefer to utilize Bidy timelines rather than a specific Pesticide-free lice treatment for goal completion whenever possible. Body fat percentage goals first issue with making peecentage specific body-fat percentage your goal is related to logical reasoning rather than empirical scientific data. Simply put, nobody cares what your body-fat percentage is including you, most likely. In my experience, body-fat goals are at best proxies that are believed to be roughly compatible with the true goal. Sometimes people will set body-fat goals because they believe it will improve their athletic performance. These folks might assume that their athletic goals would be taken care of if they reached their intended body-fat level, but body-fat percentage is once again a poor proxy in this scenario.