Frustrated figuring out body fat percentage

[AdAstera]

I'm trying to figure out my body fat percentage. I'm a little frustrated, because using the same measurements, various online calculators have given me results anywhere from 35% to 50% body fat. I don't have health insurance at the moment so I can't really ask a doctor. 50% seems pretty high--I wear a woman's size 6! I'm no pixie but I'm not huge either.

Height: 4'11
Age:23
Weight: 123
Waist: 35.5
Neck: 14.5

I've hit a platau, and I was hoping to get a more accurate idea of my caloric needs, and that means I need to know what my lean muscle mass vs body fat is. If my body fat really is 50%, my basic calorie needs are around 1140 Calories/day to lose weight (not counting exercise). If I really am 35% body fat, it's about 1321 Calories/day. That's a 200 calorie difference. I'd really like to know for sure, because 1140 is a very depressing number, even if I can add more from exercise.

Any suggestions for figuring this out? I do carry most of my weight in my belly, so I think that might be throwing the measurements. My arms, legs, face, etc look much skinnier than my stomach.

[hmotb555]

here is a website that you can use...I would take that percentage and then add 2% to it

http://www.healthcentral.com/cholest...-2774-143.html

or you can use this formula I found on another exercise forum...you will get about the same percentage

[-76.76+4.15(waist measurement)-0.082(weight)]/weight

[Emma-Leigh]

I'm trying to figure out my body fat percentage. I'm a little frustrated, because using the same measurements, various online calculators have given me results anywhere from 35% to 50% body fat. I don't have health insurance at the moment so I can't really ask a doctor. 50% seems pretty high--I wear a woman's size 6! I'm no pixie but I'm not huge either.

Height: 4'11
Age:23
Weight: 123
Waist: 35.5
Neck: 14.5

I've hit a platau, and I was hoping to get a more accurate idea of my caloric needs, and that means I need to know what my lean muscle mass vs body fat is. If my body fat really is 50%, my basic calorie needs are around 1140 Calories/day to lose weight (not counting exercise). If I really am 35% body fat, it's about 1321 Calories/day. That's a 200 calorie difference. I'd really like to know for sure, because 1140 is a very depressing number, even if I can add more from exercise.

Any suggestions for figuring this out? I do carry most of my weight in my belly, so I think that might be throwing the measurements. My arms, legs, face, etc look much skinnier than my stomach.

your name is my old school moto...

Hmmm.... A waist of 35" is pretty large for a tiny woman like yourself... Are you sure you are measuring correctly (smallest point around the midsection)...?? If you post pics people might be able to help you out a little more with a guestimate....

Also - how are you calculating your cal needs??

[AdAstera]

It's actually the widest part of my stomach. All the sites I've seen have said to measure about 1" above the navel. The smallest part of my waist is a lot higher than my navel. It's 31 inches even. Still big for my size, but like I said, almost all of my weight is carried in my midsection--I look a wee bit preggo. When I retest with the 31 inch measurement, most of the calculators give me between 28-34% body fat. I think that's more reasonable, and a small enough range not to throw off my calorie intake.

This is the calorie calculator I've been using. If you click under 'advanced' options, it give you a place to enter your body fat percentage.
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/cal...alculator.htm#


hmotb555, thanks for the link but I think it's a bit off. It gives me 18.6%. Even adding 2%, I know that can't be right. I think it's a bit odd that they don't ask for waist measurements at all.

[kimm4]

I'm trying to figure out my body fat percentage. I'm a little frustrated, because using the same measurements, various online calculators have given me results anywhere from 35% to 50% body fat. I don't have health insurance at the moment so I can't really ask a doctor. 50% seems pretty high--I wear a woman's size 6! I'm no pixie but I'm not huge either.

Height: 4'11
Age:23
Weight: 123
Waist: 35.5
Neck: 14.5

I've hit a platau, and I was hoping to get a more accurate idea of my caloric needs, and that means I need to know what my lean muscle mass vs body fat is. If my body fat really is 50%, my basic calorie needs are around 1140 Calories/day to lose weight (not counting exercise). If I really am 35% body fat, it's about 1321 Calories/day. That's a 200 calorie difference. I'd really like to know for sure, because 1140 is a very depressing number, even if I can add more from exercise.

Any suggestions for figuring this out? I do carry most of my weight in my belly, so I think that might be throwing the measurements. My arms, legs, face, etc look much skinnier than my stomach.

You need a solid 1400 calories a day for losing body fat based on your stats. I don't care about lean muscle mass vs fat, or how many calories your burn in the gym, or how many calories you burn during cardio, blah, blah, blah...that stuff is useless.

Stick to the 1400 and you'll be good to go trust me!!

Good luck!!