the BF to lean muscle numbers dont add up :-(

Im currently 140lbs with 25% BF which equals 35lbs fat and 105lbs of lean body mass.

At the start of the sumemr i weighed around 130lbs but still wanted to shift a little off my hips and bum, so ive set myself a goal now of 125lbs

However to achieve 125lbs and still have 105lbs of lean body mass ill only have 16%BF which for a woman is very low athlete level.

If i get to 125lbs and have 20% Bf which i beleive is the optimun level i will have 25lbs of fat which only laeves space for 100lbs of lean body mass, so ill actually lose 5lbs of muscle and 10lbs of fat which doesnt seem desirable.

I know these numbers shouldnt matter but they do, numbers always matter to me, i need a goal.

Are you sure you're only 25% BF, did you have it checked by a professional?  I only ask because let's say you were actually 30% BF that would leave you with a LBM of 98lbs.  If you dropped down to 125 while maintaining 98 lbs of LBM that would have you at 22% BF which I would think is acceptable. 

If the numbers aren't adding up I would start with making sure the BF% is correct because if not it will throw everything out of whack.

It's pretty hard not to lose some lean weight. Some of it will be just water. Lean weight is everything but your fat.

thanks Tommy  i am sure im 25%, if i was 30% id be obsese, im not obeses but thanks for the helpful suggestion, everu girl loves being told they are actually fatetr than they beleive. - lol, im 5'7 so have a BMI of 21 which makes me pretty normal.

as long as its ok to lose some body fat just seems a lot that a third of the weight i lose will be lean tissue ratehr than fat, as its unliekly my body will want to go below 20%.

Started weight lifting last night as cardio doesnt seem to be agreeing with my fat lose atempt so hopefully this will help me keep some muscle. i dont want to be one of those skinny untoned girls, thats never good

I hope it wasn't offensive, just a suggestion.  By the way 30% BF would still be in a healty range for someone your age. 

its ok wasnt offened, just made me laugh. Not sure what age you think i am that having a third of my body as yucky fat is ok. Anyway weve gone slightly off the subject.

*American Council on Exercise

Classification

Women (% fat)

Men (% fat)

Essential Fat

10-12%

2-4%

Athletes

14-20%

6-13%

Fitness

21-24%

14-17%

Acceptable

25-31%

18-25%

Obese

32% plus

25% plus

chelseagirl, how have u gotten your body fat measured? i use an omron body fat scale...it says i'm around 28% but i'm thinking that's way too high for me :( i'm not sure how to get my body fat tested more accurately...i've been strength training the past couple months and i'm seeing results on my body but the numbers won't budge! it's frustrating :(

i have one of those fancy scale things, im always beteen 24.8 and 25.2, and some computer programe also worked it out to be 25% by taking all my measurements, weight and height so i think they may be right.

Its fine it just means i need to work hard to keep muscle as i lose fat. i could get to 125 without any lean tissue loss but that will make me only 16% fat whihc is great. Did my forst weight lifting class last night which i loved so hopefully that will help lose the weight and maintain the muscle.

Another thing to consider is what those numbers mean in terms of how you look. You could loose fat (lower your bf #) and put on lean mass and your overall weight wouldn't change, but you would look (feel) smaller.

This might be a better goal. I agree that llosing lean mass just to reach some number on the scale could affect how healthy you feel. 

Basically, I suggest setting your goal as a reduction in BF, rather than overall weight. 

i still can't figure out why the scale tells me my BF% is as high as 28% to 29% upwards on some days (which is close to being overfat!)...i mean, i actually have a defined  *waist* now (something i didn't have months ago when i was at the SAME BF%) and my stomach is flattening in...maybe i'm storing fat in my bum or boobs?? lol...either my scale's screwed or i'm packing invisible fat cells somewhere in my body...i think i'll just stick to the measuring tape...i'm much happier with the numbers on on the good ol' tape measure. 

Rainydaze, there's no way your BF% is 28-29%. The "eyeball" test is far more accurate - I don't care what anyone says.

What scale are you using? Is it set correctly - did you enter your height and age? If you exercise a lot, does it have a feature for indicating you are an "athlete" or not?

I have read that some of these scales can read 8 points too high for women. So you might actually be closer to 20%, which is what my eyeball would guess, looking at your pics.

I have the Tanita scale and it says I'm 24% bf. Various online calculators that use measurements such as covert bailey's method and the navy measurement put me around 18.5%. I figure the truth is somewhere in between those two figures.

And I just discovered this calculator:

http://www.healthstatus.com/cgi-bin/calc/calc ulator.cgi

Which says:

your body fat percentage is estimated to be 18.69 % using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, or 21.46 % using the formula developed by the YMCA. Neither method is as accurate as a water displacement test, but is usually within 1-3% for most people. If you have a very small waist, it will show a low value. On the other hand, if you carry all your extra weight around your middle, you may have an elevated percentage. Please note that having this extra weight in the middle is a high risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The waist to hip ratio calculator can give you more information. "

thanks jen...i was SO hung up over that darned scale...i tried the online body fat test that u linked here and plugged in my measurements: 

Results:
Using your measurements of a 26 inches waist and weight of 134 pounds your body fat percentage is estimated to be 22.34 % using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, or 24.33 % using the formula developed by the YMCA.

i'm so relieved!!! the whole time i was aiming to get to 22-23% body fat when i'm actually already there now!...i think i'm gonna just throw out my scale and continue my strength training routine to get to 20-21%! thnx again!

I've read there is no really accurate body fat test except where you float in water.  All others are just guesses.  A hand-held meter gave me a reading of 30%, in the obese catagory.  I am not even fat!!!  I'm 60, 5' 7", weight 134 pounds, BMI of 21, and finally looking good.  No way am I going to believe that meter over hubby's admiration of my hard work!   Numbers aren't as important as how you look and feel, and how others see you.  Relax!