body fat 18% but look fat.... (muscle, lifting weights, gym, legs)
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Hi I'm 24 year old female. I am 5'2 and I weight 129lbs. I like lifting weights and working out my muscle.(sadly not too fond of cardio) I recently bought scale with app that shows all details and according to it I have 18.4% of fat and 99.2lbs of muscle mass also it shows my metabolic age is 25 which shows that it is higher than it should be. What I don't understand is that according to that app my fat percentage is already in "athlete" category yet I look fat like super fat ! Whats going on? Is it possible that my scale is just bad ? it seems to good to be true and I definitely don't look like other females with 18% of fat. Also other things that this app show that might be relevant in someone helping me out. Body water 56%, skeletal muscle 47.5%, bone mass 6.4 lbs, protein 19.8% , fat free body 105.6lbs. Why I don't look fit ? What am I doing wrong ? if my fat free body is 105.6 lbs that means that I have 23.4 lbs of fat is that too much for someone my age and height ? Should I do more cardio ? Mostly my workouts are full body weight usually every other day and sometimes cardio. I'm also worried about my metabolic age why is it higher ? Please someone help me out because I'm so confused at this point.
129 is too heavy for a 24-yr-old woman at 5'2, that's the problem, unless you have a large bone structure. Talk to your doctor about it, when you have your next checkup. Or find a gym that measures your body fat with calipers. Do you naturally have an apple shape? Does your fat accumulate in one particular area (pear shape, or apple shape)? Maybe you're not overweight, but are naturally a certain type, that collects the fat in one area.
OK, I just checked a weight/height chart. 129-130 is on the high side of normal for your height.If you're fine-boned, you'll look a little chubby, compared to someone with a medium build, or larger bones. If you're fine-boned, you should be at the lower end of your range (105 -115 or so). If you work out, and build lean muscle mass, and lose some weight at the same time, you'll see yourself get toned, and because muscle weighs more than fat, you won't have to meet a seemingly impossible goal (105-110). You should look great at a weight in the middle of the range for your height.
Using BMI as an index can be very deceptive, btw. I would ignore that, since your BMI is said to be normal. Your BMI isn't telling you if you have sufficient lean muscle mass, for example.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 11-01-2018 at 06:36 PM..
yeah I am aware that I'm close to be overweight. I always struggled with looking big and fat also I suffer from PCOS which is most likely not helping this whole I wanna get fit thing lol...i do have certain shape I'm somewhat ok in waist (29 in) but my legs and butt look too big especially since I'm short its not helping.
Also, even if it was accurate, you don't have 99 pounds of muscle mass. You would have 99 pounds of muscle mass, skin, skeleton, organs, blood, ligaments, tendons, food you ate today, etc. Only part of it is muscle. You do NOT have 99 pounds of muscle at your weight.
I agree that it probably isn't accurate. 18% body fat on a woman is very lean. Sub 20% is considered very fit.
So one of two things is happening here. Either you aren't 18% and the scale is wrong, or you have a body perception issue, and think you are fat when you aren't. That route leads to eating disorders, so you should be very careful about that. What does your doctor say about your weight? I'd trust that more than how you think you look.
And 129 is not "too heavy" for a 5'2" female who has some muscle mass. That is a BMI of 23.6, which is perfectly in the healthy range, and if there is some muscle mass, it is even more in the healthy range. That said, everyone's body is different. You might feel better at 119 or 135, depending on your body shape, muscle tone, frame size, etc.
I did suffer from eating disorder when I was 16 but I know I'm smarter than that and I'm no longer that person. In 2016 I wanted to do it "healthy way" i was 119 pounds but it took me very much effort to achieve that not to mention that I was always hungry and worked out everyday cardio and weights 5 days a week. It was exhausting I looked great and felt good to but through out whole 6 months of dieting I didn't touch or eat anything sweet besides occasional fruit it was insane...once I started eat at different times and included some fried food and occasional sweets I regained the weight back in 1 month Idk what to do I wanna preserve my muscle but loose weight ...maybe I should just live off lettuce and cooked chicken ? I know I need protein to keep muscle right ?
Never trust scales or such instruments, they are notoriously inaccurate.
In order to get a more accurate reading, you need calipers or being weighed in water like they do for athletes.
At your supposed bodyfat percentage, you should start to look somewhat toned.
Only the best and most intricate system of determining bodyfat can be precise. And even then, it is often far from accurate. I was a handy test subject when people at our local university were developing a flotation/skin-fold type bodyfat test. I was very lean and in good shape for running and after their computations were complete, the figures indicated that I had minus 2% bodyfat, an impossibility.
Obviously, the standards they used, did not fit everyone and they needed to do more work to refine the test. Appearances can be misleading, if anyone thinks they can just look at someone and accurately estimate their fat level.
129 is absolutely not overweight for someone 5'2", especially at 18% (which is not excessively low either). Just being at 18% means you have more muscle mass which weighs more anyway.
Scales that measure body fat are affected by your hydration level. Step on it morning and night and see the difference. They are not 100% accurate but personally, I use it to see trends. I haven't been a gym member for years so it's all I have these days.
You probably need to add some cardio to slim down your lower half, if that's what you want.
As far as diet, everyone is different. I found years ago that my body responds well to a high protein diet. I love protein, so that's not a problem, but it's a lot easier to eat a yogurt in the morning than to fry up some bacon. And I love pasta <sigh>
All that said, I have a new Tanita scale coming today to replace my very old one and I'm excited. Finally weights in .2 vs .5!
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Idk what to do I wanna preserve my muscle but loose weight ...maybe I should just live off lettuce and cooked chicken ? I know I need protein to keep muscle right ?
