Saturday, July 28, 2007

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Well I've had some serious ups and downs in the last few days. First I triumphantly reached 129. I bought a new dress that is actually flattering and recalls a 40s era Tuscan woman, so it was right up my alley... plus I got it at Target, what more could you want in a dress? Then feeling pretty good about all that I decided to calculate my body fat percentage at Satan's Lair and this MFing site said I am 31% body fat! WTF?!? That is 40 lbs of fat! I mean obviously I am carrying some "fatty deposits" around the mid-section and if I were feeling really brave I would post my "before" pictures I shot the other day... but I won't... I mean I am more than a third fat! I have got to turn this into some kind of motivational inspiration. Maybe I'll even create some new goals related to fat loss not just weight loss. I would like to be under 20 % fat for crying out loud!

8 comments:

angie said...

First, you are not more than a third fat (you'd have to be greater than 33%). Second, if I am remembering correctly, less than 20% body fat is quite low for women. Have you looked up what is ideal for a woman your age (not that your old, but we are probably going to have more body fat than a 13 yo). Yes, it's good to have a new goal. But don't be so hard on yourself.

Mrs Furious said...

22 % is ideal for a woman. 32% is average for a woman. I got 31% from that link, my scale, and the calculations in The Zone book. That is 40 lbs! Pretty close to 1/3. But I really am using this as a motivator.

angie said...

Wow! I didn't think that was it. But I see you are right. I am going to come over and borrow a tape measure. Maybe we can come up with a plan to lose fat!

angie said...

why are the times wrong on here? probably doesn't matter. but weird.

Mrs Furious said...

Totally frustrating, for some reason it is set to Pacific time. I don't know how to change it.

J said...

PLEASE DO NOT FOCUS ON THIS BODY FAT PERCENT! These calculations are notoriously totally off. The only true way to find out you fat percentage is to do a water displacement trial (tough without a facility to do it at) and a reasonable estimator measure is a total body caliper measure with across body averaging (best done by a professional). The body fat index on Satan's Lair is a short cut that doesn't take body shape (pear, apple, etc) into account (nor a variety of other factors - muscle content being notably absent!). Just as a fast reality check, note that this index has no sense of the size of your lower half! If you are an apple, like Rachel, you will come out WAY high on a measure like this. If you are a pear but have a very bony neck, like Jessica, you will also come out WAY high. This sort of short cut may work ok for men, but not even very well for them. A better set of measures the at home dieter can use is your raw weight and your BMI. The BMI range is actually a pretty good indicator of overall health (though also not perfect). As I said at the top, PLEASE don't focus on this bogus measure. It's not worth your time. Think instead about the fact that you look good in your new dress - that's a more objective measure of how things are going. :)

Fat Fighter said...

True not completely accurate but I doubt it is that far off. BMI doesn't do much for me. I'm already in "normal" range and honestly the ranges are so big that I can be VERY thin for my frame to heavy for my frame and still fit in the normal BMI range. Eventhough I am really only 3 lbs heavier than I was pre-pregs I can assure you I have alot more abdominal fat, more than 3 lbs worth, than I did pre-pregs. I think the body fat calculation is more accurate in terms of what I need to do to really reach my goal. I'm not upset by it, I was surprised, but I'm actually excited to have a goal to keep my exercise motivation up. I am completely goal oriented and I am in this to lose weight and change my body. I thrive on this stuff!

Mrs Furious said...

Oops that's my other account.. it's me

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