Bodyfat percentage has crushed motivation

[kimcameron520]

I started weight lifting 13 months ago. I have seen changes in my body but not HUGE changes for working out that long. I had a DEXA scan done August of last year and it revealed I was 32.4% which was substantially higher than I thought it would be. I felt sure I had dropped it substantially so I scheduled another DEXA and it came back at 30.9. Needless to say it zapped my motivation and I feel like I have wasted the last year. Do other women have this problem??? I want nothing more than to be in the 20-23% range. Am a facing an impossible percentage and my body is not made to go that low OR am I following a completely wrong training and diet regimen? The before and after collage is from 32% bodyfat at the most recent picture and the other picture is from a couple months ago.

[aquamarine84]

I started weight lifting 13 months ago. I have seen changes in my body but not HUGE changes for working out that long. I had a DEXA scan done August of last year and it revealed I was 32.4% which was substantially higher than I thought it would be. I felt sure I had dropped it substantially so I scheduled another DEXA and it came back at 30.9. Needless to say it zapped my motivation and I feel like I have wasted the last year. Do other women have this problem??? I want nothing more than to be in the 20-23% range. Am a facing an impossible percentage and my body is not made to go that low OR am I following a completely wrong training and diet regimen? The before and after collage is from 32% bodyfat at the most recent picture and the other picture is from a couple months ago.

Just curious, did you have a DEXA to determine your bodyfat in the first picture?

I'm a scientist by nature and love data to the point I became completely obsessed with it, especially BF. Except I spent the first 2 years of working out using BAI, which is waist-to-hip ratio if I remember correctly. Then I ended up getting to use one of those bioelectric impedence machines. I was dehydrated and therefore it was way more inaccurate than it normally is, but suddenly I was measuring 14.5% BF when I'd thought for the longest time I was 22%. Now that same machine (I wasted some gift cards to get my own) measures me at about 20%, but I look better. I feel better. People tell me I look better. And that's what really matters in the end. I don't care that I don't squat the same numbers, that I'm not as lean as someone else. I am the best me I can be at the moment. Can I improve? Sure. And I will. You will too.

[AfroMidnite]

I think you should not worry so much about the number... All it is, is a number. The pictures show a lot more dramatic change than the numbers do, keep it up!

[Partyrocking]

The readings that dexa scans give are not the same as how people visually estimate bf%. What we might call 5% body fat by looking at someone- a guy who's totally shredded- a dexa scan might call 9% because it can pick up the fat in your brain and other locations that we don't see.

What you think of as 20-23% body fat, the dexa scan might call 24-27%.

[rockangel]

I started weight lifting 13 months ago. I have seen changes in my body but not HUGE changes for working out that long. I had a DEXA scan done August of last year and it revealed I was 32.4% which was substantially higher than I thought it would be. I felt sure I had dropped it substantially so I scheduled another DEXA and it came back at 30.9. Needless to say it zapped my motivation and I feel like I have wasted the last year. Do other women have this problem??? I want nothing more than to be in the 20-23% range. Am a facing an impossible percentage and my body is not made to go that low OR am I following a completely wrong training and diet regimen? The before and after collage is from 32% bodyfat at the most recent picture and the other picture is from a couple months ago.

So you are letting a completely useless number be the basis of your motivation and self worth???

You have made progress and you look good.... so what is the issue???

Who gives a rats arse what percentage of body fat you have or what the dexa said you are....

And yes, I'm asking as a person who got told by Dexa that I am 31% bf as well.

Really the numbers are TOOLS to help you, but they should never be determining factors in anything.

You are a tall lady and that means that it will take much more muscle mass to make you look like you are "full" of muscle".
On top of that, If you are trying to gain muscle and lose fat over the same time, then a year is hardly a drop in the bucket.

At your stats (if they are updated), your BMI is 27, so you could work on brining down the weight if you wanted to

You are not facing an impossible task, just unrealistic expectations.
This is not a sprint, and it takes a long time to make body composition changes. Most likely it is going to take you a few build and cut cycles to get to the coveted 20% body fat range.

Cant say anything about your diet or training since you didn't post any info, and no this was not wasted time. You progressed, you learned, and now its time to keep going.

You are simply putting too much stock into a number and have unrealistic expectations and notions.

What is the point of the 20% body fat goal?? why is this a goal over the way you look, feel or perform???
What is the REAL goal here beyond the number???

[kimm4]

Unless you walk around and a bodyfat number is flashing above your head, let the mirror, progress pics and measurements be your true guides.

[likeafish]

So the April 2014 pic is 32.4? And the single photo where you're flexing your biceps is 30.9? You do look pretty similar in both. Is 174 your weight current? Where you 178 at 32.4? What have you been doing the past year? Bulking and cutting, eating pretty much at maintenance and attempting to recomp?

I know everyone is saying don't worry about the number, but you just got the most accurate feedback on your progress possible and obviously are unhappy with it because it indicated you haven't got significantly closer to your goal. People come here and ask for advice on exercise and nutrition and get told what they're going to be doing is "spinning their wheels", and it isn't fair that someone comes back after doing so and doesn't get advice on how to progress.

BUT you didn't detail how you train and eat, and no one can help you without this information. If you want the next year to more on track, share what you've been doing as detailed as you can. You might have issues portioning and tracking food, or maybe going off your diet too often/by too much.

The last thing is that you didn't waste the last year, part of learning in the beginning is learning how to NOT do things. It happens with every activity, it's normal to not get it right right out of the gate. There is a thread of "mistakes you made when you started bulking", everyone did something wrong. It happens, don't beat yourself up about it, use it as a learning tool.

[Ashlei]

You should be really proud of your progress! You look great and have come such a long ways in 4 years. Don't get hung up on the numbers, use it as the guide, same as the scale, progress pics, progress in the gym. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint Enjoy the journey.

[barmmy]

You've made huge progress over the years and you should be proud.
I know it's easy for strangers on the internet to say the number doesn't matter, but I can almost guarantee that most have been in similar situations.
I believe in you! Keep at it. =)

[rockangel]

So the April 2014 pic is 32.4? And the single photo where you're flexing your biceps is 30.9? You do look pretty similar in both. Is 174 your weight current? Where you 178 at 32.4? What have you been doing the past year? Bulking and cutting, eating pretty much at maintenance and attempting to recomp?

I know everyone is saying don't worry about the number, but you just got the most accurate feedback on your progress possible and obviously are unhappy with it because it indicated you haven't got significantly closer to your goal. People come here and ask for advice on exercise and nutrition and get told what they're going to be doing is "spinning their wheels", and it isn't fair that someone comes back after doing so and doesn't get advice on how to progress.

BUT you didn't detail how you train and eat, and no one can help you without this information. If you want the next year to more on track, share what you've been doing as detailed as you can. You might have issues portioning and tracking food, or maybe going off your diet too often/by too much.

The last thing is that you didn't waste the last year, part of learning in the beginning is learning how to NOT do things. It happens with every activity, it's normal to not get it right right out of the gate. There is a thread of "mistakes you made when you started bulking", everyone did something wrong. It happens, don't beat yourself up about it, use it as a learning tool.

I understand where you are coming from, but just getting the numbers and not being happy with them, is not the same as "spinning wheels".

Since I had my dexa done in January, I got 31% bf as well, I didn't come back with a "I'm so defeated" attitude, because I know a lot of other things.

I know I have made progress by photos, I am stronger and can lift more, clothes fit better and different (many shirts have to go now because my shoulders don't fit). My blood work says I'm healthy, my eating habits are completely different from what they used to be. Dexa may have said my bf% but it also said that I am symmetrical and have very high bone density.

All of that is not negated because my bf% is higher than what I thought.... and its the same for op.

Its obvious in the pics that progress has been made, maybe not the amount she would like, but in this game, 1 year isn't that long. I think she looks pretty great and should let this fuel her to continue making more progress.

Also, 20% body fat is an arbitrary number....it carries no meaning in the real world. So many people think that they cant like their look if they are not 20% and anything over that is "high". Geez, we had a chick that was sporting abs the other day upset because they thought they were 24% and that was too high!

If the real goal is to look a certain way... then the numbers don't mean much, its the LOOK that matters. And knowing the numbers doesn't change the fact that you don't look like you would like to,

or if you like the look, then the numbers don't mean that you now must hate it.

Its just a number.

If she would like to get more detailed info about diet and training, that needs to be posted. But overall, the number is just one piece of info that doesn't tell us the whole story.

Even my trainers were like, oh cool, you got a dexa done.... now lets carry on.... and I continue to make progress.

[likeafish]

I understand where you are coming from, but just getting the numbers and not being happy with them, is not the same as "spinning wheels".

Since I had my dexa done in January, I got 31% bf as well, I didn't come back with a "I'm so defeated" attitude, because I know a lot of other things.

I know I have made progress by photos, I am stronger and can lift more, clothes fit better and different (many shirts have to go now because my shoulders don't fit). My blood work says I'm healthy, my eating habits are completely different from what they used to be. Dexa may have said my bf% but it also said that I am symmetrical and have very high bone density.

All of that is not negated because my bf% is higher than what I thought.... and its the same for op.

Its obvious in the pics that progress has been made, maybe not the amount she would like, but in this game, 1 year isn't that long. I think she looks pretty great and should let this fuel her to continue making more progress.

Also, 20% body fat is an arbitrary number....it carries no meaning in the real world. So many people think that they cant like their look if they are not 20% and anything over that is "high". Geez, we had a chick that was sporting abs the other day upset because they thought they were 24% and that was too high!

If the real goal is to look a certain way... then the numbers don't mean much, its the LOOK that matters. And knowing the numbers doesn't change the fact that you don't look like you would like to,

or if you like the look, then the numbers don't mean that you now must hate it.

Its just a number.

If she would like to get more detailed info about diet and training, that needs to be posted. But overall, the number is just one piece of info that doesn't tell us the whole story.

Even my trainers were like, oh cool, you got a dexa done.... now lets carry on.... and I continue to make progress.

She didn't just get a number once and is unhappy with that one number. She has two numbers and didn't want them to basically be the same, indicating very little progress in body comp. If your goal is to change your lean/fat mass you've spent a year essentially doing neither, that is spinning your wheels/getting nowhere in that regard. If next year you get DEXA again and it says that you changed 1.5% bf, after a year of paying trainers, having a specific goal, and believing that you're making a lot of progress towards that goal, you'll probably be unhappy with that new number too.
Never made any mention of what her goal should be, whether or not she looks good, or the progress she's made since 5 years ago. I even said it's normal for newbs to totally be off the mark with progress, and nothing to be discouraged about enough to give up hope. Hopefully OP comes back for guidance.

[rockangel]

She didn't just get a number once and is unhappy with that one number. She has two numbers and didn't want them to basically be the same, indicating very little progress in body comp. If your goal is to change your lean/fat mass you've spent a year essentially doing neither, that is spinning your wheels/getting nowhere in that regard. If next year you get DEXA again and it says that you changed 1.5% bf, after a year of paying trainers, having a specific goal, and believing that you're making a lot of progress towards that goal, you'll probably be unhappy with that new number too.
Never made any mention of what her goal should be, whether or not she looks good, or the progress she's made since 5 years ago. I even said it's normal for newbs to totally be off the mark with progress, and nothing to be discouraged about enough to give up hope. Hopefully OP comes back for guidance.

Actually, no, if my numbers were not that different, I wouldn't come on here and say my motivation has been killed and that I cant go on and that its all been for "nothing"

Since I go by more than numbers, I know there is progress. So what if dexa says there is a 1.5% bf difference....

As I said in my original thread....
"I think its important for people to understand that changing the body takes so much time and work. Its not a 12 week or a year or even a 5 year process. The % of body fat is just a number, it gives me some perspective, but it does not define me or my worth. It does not change my knowledge or define me as a trainer or instructor.....no one will walk into my next class and walk out because i am 31% body fat. As long as i have good music and can make em work, they will keep coming.

Its just a number. Still can be the best me i can be! "
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1334964431

And I just had this whole conversation with a friend where she saw no scale change over 30 days, but the progress photos were really impressive....same thing. She was stoked with her progress until she saw the numbers...

Again, why are we hung up on 1 number when there is clearly progress??? In what way is bf% relevant to life?? If it had said 20% would that have been the stopping point for her? would she be happy with the look?? or would it then need to be "15% and I will be happy"???

[VO2Maxima]

What were you doing, recomp? Everyone here will tell you that recomp is slow. Bulking and cutting are ridiculously slow, and recomp is even slower. So assuming recomp, let's look at what your stats would be for 13 months:

Beginning: 174lbs, 32.4% body fat
Lean mass: 117.6lbs
Fat mass: 56.4lbs

Current: 174lbs, 30.9% body fat
Lean mass: 120.2lbs
Fat mass: 53.8lbs

So you gained just under 3lbs of muscle, and lost just under 3lbs of fat.
The common numbers that get thrown around this forum would say that under ideal conditions, in that time frame, a natty woman who's early-ish in her training life can put on ~7lbs of muscle. That would also assume at least 7lbs of fat, since there's no cut worked into that...it's just 13 months of bulking.
So assuming a recomp, I don't think that change is bad at all.
And if that's a bulk and you gained proportionately more muscle than fat in such a way that your overall body fat percentage dropped, that's even better...like ridiculously good.
The only way I might be disappointed with those stats is if I were cutting. If you lost a significant amount of weight and only saw a 2% decrease in body fat percentage, I'd certainly suggest taking a good look at your training plan and diet, because it would mean you probably lost a good bit of muscle.

Body composition changes do not happen quickly (with the exception of show prep, which is a very temporary thing).

[rockangel]

What were you doing, recomp? Everyone here will tell you that recomp is slow. Bulking and cutting are ridiculously slow, and recomp is even slower. So assuming recomp, let's look at what your stats would be for 13 months:

Beginning: 174lbs, 32.4% body fat
Lean mass: 117.6lbs
Fat mass: 56.4lbs

Current: 174lbs, 30.9% body fat
Lean mass: 120.2lbs
Fat mass: 53.8lbs

So you gained just under 3lbs of muscle, and lost just under 3lbs of fat.
The common numbers that get thrown around this forum would say that under ideal conditions, in that time frame, a natty woman who's early-ish in her training life can put on ~7lbs of muscle. That would also assume at least 7lbs of fat, since there's no cut worked into that...it's just 13 months of bulking.
So assuming a recomp, I don't think that change is bad at all.
And if that's a bulk and you gained proportionately more muscle than fat in such a way that your overall body fat percentage dropped, that's even better...like ridiculously good.
The only way I might be disappointed with those stats is if I were cutting. If you lost a significant amount of weight and only saw a 2% decrease in body fat percentage, I'd certainly suggest taking a good look at your training plan and diet, because it would mean you probably lost a good bit of muscle.

Body composition changes do not happen quickly (with the exception of show prep, which is a very temporary thing).

To add another layer on what you said.

Lets look realistically at what the stats say as well.

At 5'7 and 174, to be in the 20% range at that weight would put you closer to Iris Kyle than anything else.
Stage weight of iris kyle last year was 160.... at 5'6.

Compare it to..

Bikini Competitor Janet Layug at 5'8 hits the stage at 130....

[terar21]

What were you doing, recomp? Everyone here will tell you that recomp is slow. Bulking and cutting are ridiculously slow, and recomp is even slower. So assuming recomp, let's look at what your stats would be for 13 months:

Beginning: 174lbs, 32.4% body fat
Lean mass: 117.6lbs
Fat mass: 56.4lbs

Current: 174lbs, 30.9% body fat
Lean mass: 120.2lbs
Fat mass: 53.8lbs

So you gained just under 3lbs of muscle, and lost just under 3lbs of fat.
The common numbers that get thrown around this forum would say that under ideal conditions, in that time frame, a natty woman who's early-ish in her training life can put on ~7lbs of muscle. That would also assume at least 7lbs of fat, since there's no cut worked into that...it's just 13 months of bulking.
So assuming a recomp, I don't think that change is bad at all.
And if that's a bulk and you gained proportionately more muscle than fat in such a way that your overall body fat percentage dropped, that's even better...like ridiculously good.
The only way I might be disappointed with those stats is if I were cutting. If you lost a significant amount of weight and only saw a 2% decrease in body fat percentage, I'd certainly suggest taking a good look at your training plan and diet, because it would mean you probably lost a good bit of muscle.

Body composition changes do not happen quickly (with the exception of show prep, which is a very temporary thing).

Yeah, I agree with this.

OP - Your profile indicates you were 172 back on the first of January so I'm guessing you'd been around the same general weight the other 3 months before that. So given the duration of a year for recomp, I'd say your results would be successful...you said you've seen changes. That's just what recomp is. It's really not realistic to drop 10+% over the course of a year recomping. That's why it's recommended for people who are at their goal weight looking for minor changes. For someone took make larger changes in their composition, cut/bulk would be the recommendation.

And for the record, I did a 6 month recomp because I hit my goal weight at a time of the year when I definitely did not want to bulk. I didn't have a DEXA scan to measure my changes, I went by the mirror. Decent changes in the mirror and with my clothing. Didn't really care about a number. Recomp results are visual really. If you see it, then you did right. If you're looking for something more dramatic, it's time for a slow cut (slow to preserve the muscle you have).

What have you been doing in terms of your workout program and your calories?