Yesterday Haley was chatting about how to measure your "frame" size - in other words, are you small boned, big boned, etc? According to this measurement, I am medium framed. Ok, I guess I already knew that.
Then Ms. Flusterate recommended a website that I just HAD to check out. I realize this is just ONE more way for me get crazier, so I clicked on the link:
Now here's the funky part - there are 2 options for body fat % calculators.
1st test said 21% (categorized as Fit/Lean)
2nd test said 31% (categorized as "Overfat")
What the fuck? There is no way on God's green planet that I am "overfat" by any means. Where the heck do these calculators come from? And why such the huge ass discrepancy?
And we WONDER why I am (and so many other women) so crazy/obsessed.
Flashback to 9th grade gym class when they told me I was 33% body fat and I wanted to DIE of embarrassment.
Anita has a body fat % option on her. It definitely varies depending on the amount of water in your body. In the morning, my % is higher (around 27%) and in the evening it is lower (around 24%).
So who is right?
How do you know?
Does it really matter? I eat a healthy clean diet, I exercise, I am 4 lbs from my dream weight AND I have muscles (I have taken quite a liking to flexing in the mirror).
So these stupid calculators can SUCK IT for all I care!
(I know- WHY do I even bother to look at them then? Cuz I'm crazy people, duh!)
Good Day.
27 comments:
I always get varying bmi numbers....who can you trust! I just use the scale...and then try to eat right - "try" being key! That's awesome that you are 4 lbs to goal! Very Cool!
I think people in the diet industry create these 'calculators' to drive normally sane people crazy in order to make money.
Assholes, the lot of them.
You are so NOT fat. Anyone can see that. Also, I envy you your toned arms. :)
BMI can kiss my butt. I wouldn't put too much stock into how they categorize your fat % (lean/fit/overfat) I would just pick one that you are going to use and stick with it. As long as the calculator is consistent you can track whether your fat percentage is increasing or decreasing which is all that really matters.
OMG! Sorry! I stupidly thought I was being helpful! Ack! I wasn't even thinking.
I'm in the midst of coming to terms with my body as well--I drive myself crazy with the information and I think it's wrong to let number rule my life.
I am at a healthy weight (135) and BMI but it never feels like enough--shouldn't I weigh in the 120s???? and why? Why do I think I need to do this when my body is so comfy here firmly in the 130s.
I feel awful today like a cold is coming on but I feel guilty if I don't go for a run like planned--like my butt is going to grow overnight--and if it does, SO??
Anyway, I apologize for sending along a link that doesn't help anything!
p.s. I've never been linked and am SO glad I took down my rantings about stepmotherhood! phew!
Melissa
Ms. Flusterate - no worries. Trust me - I love to find new things to test my fitness/health. I was just questioning why the 2 were so different. **not blaming you** I'm just loco like that.
I would have liek to have read your stepmotherhood rants... maybe on another site someday?
Thanks! I check charts all the time basically just asking myself...am I OK?? I know the answer already, though. I just keep checking.
Yeah, I ranted for about a year in my blog about being a stepmom to 2 teenage boys (I have girls) and when I realized that it might be "found" my the boys or my husband or their mom, I pulled it down which is a shame as it really helped me sort out things. I'm not sure there is really a way to avoid that.
Hmm...
Thanks! I check charts all the time basically just asking myself...am I OK?? I know the answer already, though. I just keep checking.
Yeah, I ranted for about a year in my blog about being a stepmom to 2 teenage boys (I have girls) and when I realized that it might be "found" my the boys or my husband or their mom, I pulled it down which is a shame as it really helped me sort out things. I'm not sure there is really a way to avoid that.
Hmm...
My scale has the body fat % too. I think it's a liar. I don't even use the feature. No matter what I weigh - It hasn't changed.
Stupid Scale. And I can't figure out how to change the age. According to the scale, I've been 32 for three years.
And I truly believe the BMI calculators are there to make us crazy.
I went from 18% to 31% too - overfats unite!
If I could figure out WHY I was so crazy/obsessed with these things, then maybe I could do something to stop it!
Yup, my BFF and I just had a run-in with the calipers this week, too.
What ? Overfat. First off, you are not even fat, so how the heck you got to overfat is beyond me.
I did the 2 calcs too and went from 10% to 16% from one calc to the next.
I don't take much stock in ANY of them. I look in the mirror, I'm fine with what I see (besides the whole "after children" boob thing LOL) that's good enough for me :-)
You're not fat, you silly!
I don't get the calculations either, they are all different. You made me laugh with your flexing in the mirror comment. You're only 4 lbs from your dream weight, so close. I bet with marathon training and with continued healthy eating you'll hit it. Great job!
If you want to know your body fat, get a skilled person to do it. That website is a total lie. They can't tell what your body fat isunless they use calipers. I had mine done a few years ago and my guy used to pinch me in 6 spots. I was 14%! Hell yea! Haven't had it done in a few years but I don't think it's gotten higher.
I am glad you told the surveys to suck it!
I almost died this weekend at the expo by stepping on Anita's eveil twin. Can you say slap to my fat face.
Wow, I have the same headband as the lady pictured. I never thought to pair it with my purple biking shorts. Such a snappy dresser! :)
i did a similar body frame test back in like november, and it said i had a large frame. then i did it again a couple weeks ago, and with all the weight i've lost the measurement came out with a medium frame. so sometimes i think those tests might be inaccurate, depending on how much weight you need to lose. not that yours was wrong because you're a skinny bitch, but i'm just sayin. i really want one of those scales that measures your fat, but i might cry if i actually saw my body fat displayed :(
p.s. i did the am i fat thing and my results were weird too. the first test said 25% body fat, but the second one said 32%
P.O.M. I think you look great, so you shouldn't care about what some number on some unreliable calculator. I run an obesity clinic for kids so am very familiar with how erroneous all these estimates can be. So trust yourself and don't let some number dictate how you should feel about your body. The End.
Honestly body fat isn't that helpful because it is so hard to measure and because you are only playing with a few pounds. When it can really come into play is regarding percentage of overall weight or body fat lost in someone who is obese and has a of health risks. They reducing by 10 or 15% can have a huge impact on their risk status and health. You are in the health range fo sho and that is really the point. I wouldn't stress over it. Vanilla's comment was also spot on about picking one way to consistently measure and watching trends on that one method.
I couldn't take the site serious when the spelled "Lose" "LOOSE". For what it is worth, you look fantastic!
I think there's way too many factors in a person's body, metabolism, organs, etc to make those tests able to classify someone. Tell you a number, yes - then you can use that number to compare to your own future number. But to actually classify someone based on averages....uh uh.
Having said that, I am also slightly obsessed with knowing my weight and numbers. It's hard not to be. :-P I just have to be careful not to give the numbers too much credence! :-)
My "anita" varies as well.. It absolutely depends on hydration. When I'm retaining water my water % will be from 54-58% and my body fat is LOWER then (19-22%), but my noral water is around 53% and it will raise my body fat to around 23-25%.
I workout with a trainer who has done my body fat testing before. I stopped doing it because no matter how hard i tried, or the fact I was training for an IM my body fat was 23-24%. i was trying to get to my previous numbers of 19%.
AND, he says those scales can't be a good source. Too many variables. LIKE. You can't test body fat after working out. Muscles and water are too adjusted.
So, I just use it as a baseline for increase/decrease!
Yeah, I'm crazy too and like to plug my numbers into those calculators. But honestly, even if you can't help using the calculators, don't listen to them because they're mostly just incredibly inaccurate.
I hate those numbers.
1st test said 21% (categorized as Fit/Lean)
2nd test said 31% (categorized as "Overfat")
I got 22 & 31% - which is funny....and kinda lame.
Oh man same thing happened to me. Freaked me out. But now I know just to pay attention to my body and not some stupid calculator
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