Is my bf% really 50%? And can I really only eat this little?

[myooze]

Hi guys, I´m a 19 year old girl who´s looking to lose weight. I´m 5´5´´ and weigh 220 pounds. The scale at my dietician said that my bf is 50%, but I don´t know if that´s correct? It seems like a lot, I looked up some pictures on google and I´m really not as fat as the women pictured at 50%. And all this wouldn´t be so bad if it weren´t for the fact that because I don´t have a lot of lean mass means that my BMR is only 1450 and my TDEE is 1994 so for a 500 cal deficit I should eat 1494 , and I find it really hard to eat that little. Do you guys think this is right? I added a picture of myself. Also I know that there is a thread for letting other members estimate your bf but people don´t seem to respond to that too much lol.

Thanks in advance!

[chewbrahca91]

Hard to tell bf% from a side shot but in almost all cases, females will have higher bf% than males.
Yes the TDEE does seem.a bit low but use it to your advantage.
At your weight, your body can afford to being on a low amount of calories due to having a lot of excess stored fat.
You'll have to taper the calorie amount as you start getting leaner or maybe you can just stay the same.
Best of luck.

[JaredPunch]

Yuor TDEE is probably higher.
What neither a BF based BMR calculator and an activity-based TDEE calculator can tell you, is how many calories you burn just by having to carry your weight. Something like bodybugg or another calorie calculator watch could help you but I but you burn at least 2400 calories a day. Also, some of those BF based calculators are designed to consider only your LBM. But your body fat does a burn calories, not as much as muscles at 6 calories per pound a day but at least two calories.

So if you're really 50% bodyfat and your BMR is 1450 this means that your organ + muscles burn 1450 calories.
On average woman have 28% of their weight as muscle. Say 130 would be your "ideal weight" that means if the extra weight is fat that 37 pounds of your weight is muscles. So that's 218 calories burned by muscles and 1232 calories burned by your organs.
That means 110 pounds of fat burns 220 calories. 1232 + 218 + 220 = 1670

SO imo your BMR is closer to 1700 than 1500.
Think of 1670 x 1.2 as what you would need just to sleep, eat and sit all day = 2004
Then add whatever work or activity you're doing.

Overall I think your TDEE is 2300-2400 and you would lose weight with a 1800 calorie intake.

[Swolepaczek]

salad,,broccoli,,,that ****s filling

[jwarrenfit]

i recommend you spend some time in the keto forum.

[Diamhea]

Throw in some cardio, start at a deficit of around 500 calories a day. Space it out more and look forward to meals as opposed to gorging. Weight should start dropping pretty quickly..

[plutoainaplanet]

I started on and am still on a 1500cal a day (started at 206.8lbs - 5' 11") and from my little experience so far, yes it seems a little, yes in fact it is a little (compared to what I was / you might be used to), and it is hard at first, but very doable. Use the deficit to your advantage (unless you are feeling extremely low energy) - personally I have got used to it.

[Frank Drebin]

In my opinion I think you should gradually cut your calories back. I'd estimate at your weight you're probably consuming 3000-4000 calories per day on average. Of course 1500 is going to seem like bird feed.

I would take it week by week. First couple weeks cut the easy calories back. Empty calories like soda, alcohol, snacks, etc. You will probably notice a change in weight on that alone. From there work on reducing portion size, this will shrink your stomach and you will feel fuller on less.

Don't go too hard too fast.

[myooze]

Thanks for the great answers I put my myfitnesspal goal at 1750. I'm not so scared anymore now that it's too much. But if I don't lose weight on that amount, I'll just suck it up and lower it

[myooze]

i recommend you spend some time in the keto forum.

Thanks, but I really don't think I can manage a keto diet. I love bread too much and carbs fill me up much more than fat and protein...

[myooze]

salad,,broccoli,,,that ****s filling

Do you really think so? I wish it was that way for me

[n0useforaname]

Thanks for the great answers I put my myfitnesspal goal at 1750. I'm not so scared anymore now that it's too much. But if I don't lose weight on that amount, I'll just suck it up and lower it

You could also weight train and do cardio to up your TDEE and eat more.

[Tommy W.]

i recommend you spend some time in the keto forum.

I recommend you don't

[Tommy W.]

Hi guys, I´m a 19 year old girl who´s looking to lose weight. I´m 5´5´´ and weigh 220 pounds. The scale at my dietician said that my bf is 50%, but I don´t know if that´s correct? It seems like a lot, I looked up some pictures on google and I´m really not as fat as the women pictured at 50%. And all this wouldn´t be so bad if it weren´t for the fact that because I don´t have a lot of lean mass means that my BMR is only 1450 and my TDEE is 1994 so for a 500 cal deficit I should eat 1494 , and I find it really hard to eat that little. Do you guys think this is right? I added a picture of myself. Also I know that there is a thread for letting other members estimate your bf but people don´t seem to respond to that too much lol.

Thanks in advance!

Your BF may not be 50% however at your weight and height you have a lot of work to do. Your TDEE is probably about right as someone carrying that much weight is working out all day just hauling it around. Your target cals to start with is close. If you want to lose your fat you'll have to be prepared to put out effort and step out of your comfort zone hunger wise. Drop the cals to what you specified and your body will quit screaming at you in about a week. Good food choices that keep you full longer will be what you want. Lots of water also to combat hunger.

[Tommy W.]

Thanks, but I really don't think I can manage a keto diet. I love bread too much and carbs fill me up much more than fat and protein...

You'll need to change this if you want to lose fat. Carbs are ok ...to a point. Too many and you just cant get the nutrients you need when going low cal.

[myooze]

You could also weight train and do cardio to up your TDEE and eat more.

I already do those things! To be clear, I'm already on my weight loss journey since the beginning of january, and I've already lost some weight, but I've had a lot of bad days (too many calories) and some 'weird' days when it comes to calories in general, so that's why I'm asking this question, because I'm still not really sure what intake works best for me because I haven't really had a good picture of my intake.

[Edman316]

Hi guys, I´m a 19 year old girl who´s looking to lose weight. I´m 5´5´´ and weigh 220 pounds. The scale at my dietician said that my bf is 50%, but I don´t know if that´s correct? It seems like a lot, I looked up some pictures on google and I´m really not as fat as the women pictured at 50%. And all this wouldn´t be so bad if it weren´t for the fact that because I don´t have a lot of lean mass means that my BMR is only 1450 and my TDEE is 1994 so for a 500 cal deficit I should eat 1494 , and I find it really hard to eat that little. Do you guys think this is right? I added a picture of myself. Also I know that there is a thread for letting other members estimate your bf but people don´t seem to respond to that too much lol.

Thanks in advance!

I've been under 1500 calories per day since mid September of 2014.

I'm a 5'8" male that trains 5-6 days per week and works a physical job 6 days per week.

You should have no problem surviving on 1494 calories per day.

The first thing you need to lose that much weight is a positive attitude otherwise you will be wasting your time.

One last thing - Don't eat back the calories you burn during exercise. Those are estimates at best and all it will do is slow down your progress. I only track the actual calories I consume per day. I ignore the exercise calories. That's how I loss 83 pounds since August 24, 2014. I started with an 1800 calorie limit and lowered it to 1500 in mid September. Still at 1500 today.

[myooze]

You'll need to change this if you want to lose fat. Carbs are ok ...to a point. Too many and you just cant get the nutrients you need when going low cal.

Yeah I've tried altering my macros a few days ago, but I haven't had a lot of success with that. I'll keep trying though.

[mwstoltze]

Another good point to add to all this good advice is not to worry about your bf% yet...when it's high like that its extremely hard to get a good estimate and 99% of people overestimate LBM and underestimate fat (I definitely did when started cutting) and you will get a way better estimate after losing a good 30-50#.

Also water is your friend, whenever in doubt about hunger first drink a glass of water good luck on the journey

[JessicaT20]

Hard to tell bf% from a side shot but in almost all cases, females will have higher bf% than males.
Yes the TDEE does seem.a bit low but use it to your advantage.
At your weight, your body can afford to being on a low amount of calories due to having a lot of excess stored fat.
You'll have to taper the calorie amount as you start getting leaner or maybe you can just stay the same.
Best of luck.

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