Shockingly high body fat

Lo23

Hi Folks

Looking for some help!

I had an assessment in the gym last night and found out that I'm 38% body fat (female) which is in the obese category!

I'm actually shocked- I weight 138lbs and I always knew I had a few pounds to lose but my BMI is healthy so I thought I was ok!

The trainer has given me a high intensity cardio program to reduce my BF, Any other tips as to what I can do to help this?

I eat a relatively healthy diet during the week but do tend to stray at weekends!
Example
Breakfast:Porridge or Bran Flakes
Lunch: Tuna Salad
Dinner-Veg Stir fry/Omelette
Snacks:Fruit/Popcorn/The odd biscuit/Yoghurt
Dont eat much meat or poultry

Any advice?

itsallaboutheL

what height are you?

Lo23

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

what height are you?

Im 5'5 so BMI is around 23 I think!

slemons

I know of people with 6 packs fairly visible that scored into the high 20% mark on BF with those scales.

They're only really useful relative to themselves. ie to tell you if you've lost or gained BF since the last time you stood on that exact scale.

Other than that you can question their validity.
A mirror or a pinch test are the best ways to test BF.

Not that it really means much anyway.
There are lots of people with high BF much much healthier than low BF% people
Just make sure you eat healthy, get lots of oils/nuts and fruit/veg.

ragg

Dont eat much meat or poultry

Chances are - if you have dieting alot and not taking in much protein, your muscles have wasted, meaning more of your weight is made up of fat, rather then muscle.
This, apparently is becioming incresingly more common in females who are always "watching what they eat".

A low muscle percentage, aint ideal as it means you will put on fat easier in the medium term.

d'Oracle

No such thing as a healthy BMI.

BMI doesn't reflect health.
Its a very flimsy ratio....

slingerz

d'Oracle wrote: »

No such thing as a healthy BMI.

BMI doesn't reflect health.
Its a very flimsy ratio....

Yep many rugby players are obese according to the BMI but would have a low enough BF%

I think focusing on BF is a good route to go down though as weight in itself is misleading as it BMI

Procasinator

d'Oracle wrote: »

No such thing as a healthy BMI.

BMI doesn't reflect health.
Its a very flimsy ratio....

This is constantly debated here.

For the average person, BMI is just an indicator. It's not the be all and end all: it's just one of the simples evaluations one can do.

And while it doesn't reflect health (in the sense my BMI could be perfect and yet I could have cancer), it does give some indication of a healthy bodyweight (albeit, not highly accurate).

Khannie

At under 10 stone and 5'5" I'd say it's rubbish that you're obese tbh.

How was your bodyfat measured?

superbad50

cut down on fatty foods , high sugar foods , choose products lower than 10g of sugar per serving , if your not exercising and consuming lots of sugary food , i think it will store as fat . you need to create a calorie deficit , this combined with regular exercise and a healthy diet will bring it down quiet a bit for you .

base your diet around fruit , fish , lean chicken , turkey , wholegrain breads , seeds , yoghurts and you cant go wrong

Colm_OReilly

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

Nice link on BMI (WFS afaik)

d'Oracle

Procasinator wrote: »

This is constantly debated here.

For the average person, BMI is just an indicator. It's not the be all and end all: it's just one of the simples evaluations one can do.

And while it doesn't reflect health (in the sense my BMI could be perfect and yet I could have cancer), it does give some indication of a healthy bodyweight (albeit, not highly accurate).

I dont see the debate.
Its based on the (totally redundant) logic that people of the same height and age are all the same shape. Which is unmitigated nonsense.

corkcomp

d'Oracle wrote: »

I dont see the debate.
Its based on the (totally redundant) logic that people of the same height and age are all the same shape. Which is unmitigated nonsense.

anybody who the BMI calc doesnt apply to will know themselves who they are - i.e. - regular exercisers with a high percentage of muscle and most likely people who lift regularly - for the rest of the general population if your BMI is high (especially if it is well above 25) then you are just fat, end of!

arybvtcw0eolkf

Khannie wrote: »

How was your bodyfat measured?

The most important question asked in the thread - ignored by most! :rolleyes:

OP, you should answer this question before the rest of 'em posted here.

.

Procasinator

d'Oracle wrote: »

I dont see the debate.
Its based on the (totally redundant) logic that people of the same height and age are all the same shape. Which is unmitigated nonsense.

It works in averages. It's not highly accurate, but to say that it entirely useless I would have to disagree with.

If it's taken to be gospel by practioneers, then yes, it's a problem. If it taken as a general measure to help quantify, compare and contrast, it' serves it's function, more often than not.

Lo23

Khannie wrote: »

At under 10 stone and 5'5" I'd say it's rubbish that you're obese tbh.

How was your bodyfat measured?

Apologies for delay

Body Fat wasn't measured using calipers/pinch test, it was some fancy scales used by gym instructor! Think it was Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)