Is this even possible?

everyone says I look skinny, but I always think that I dont look as skinny as I should for my body weight.

take a look at my stats as of today:

Body weight: 106 lbs

height: 5'4

(which would make me underweight I know this, which is why Im looking to gain, but take a look at this other information-->)

body mass index: 18.3

waist: 30 inches

hips:44 inches

body fat percentage: 36.3 %

and here is where the confusion sets in...isnt a percentage of 30% + obese???

Anyone had this happen to them? Im really confused.... I know I lost a lot of muscle last year due to my ED, whcih is why I gained weight, though I admit I did it the wrong way...junk food was my main source and I know that was a huge mistake.

What can I do? am I really obese even weighing that little?

I  need advice :S I mean I knew I was the typical case of skinny fat but I dont even have huge love handles or anything.

please help

back up: 30 BMI is considered obese, not 30% body fat.

beyond that, i think you have two things going on (maybe three, but i'm not going to touch the third).

first, you see yourself naked; (most) other people don't.  most of us look better in clothes, and most of us are pretty critical of our bodies.

second, where did you get your body fat percentage?  there are several ways to measure it, most of them not particularly accurate.  unless you've had an immersion test, i doubt very much that 36% is right.

Are you sure you're taking your measurements correctly?  Are you using a fabric measuring tape?  Maybe you're using the centimetres side and not realising it?  The waist measurement is supposed to be taken at the smallest point of your torso and the hip should be about two inches below the belly button.

I'm 5'3 and 130ish pounds and my measurements are smaller than the ones you posted which I don't really find possible seeing as how you're an inch taller and 30 pounds lighter.

I tested my body measurements and entered my stats on several web sites offering to check body fat %. I know that its not really all that reliable but how off can they be? Im really confused.

I thought about the whole centimeters thing but there's two sides, and the other one says 60! lol so that really cant be.

Can this really be possible?? maybe I have too much fat and like 0 muscle? :S I didnt think it was possible at all....I thought that which each pound you gain of fat, you gain some muscle too...

:(

I don't think a computer can tell you your body fat percentage. Someone else posted that anorexic people can have very high body fat percentages (like 50%), because they have almost no muscle from their bodies eating it to survive the starvation. Bodies don't care how they look, they just want to survive. Start eating more and healthier and try to build some muscle. You will look and feel much better. Good luck and God bless!

wow I had no idea it could get that high....though it makes sense because I have almost no muscle or strength :( Im thinking of starting a pilates program tomorrow of 15 minutes for 6 days a week along with 15 minutes on the elliptical...hopefully this will help me gain weight the healthy way, get fit, and get my period back :(

omg nooo i was just like this when i was underweight! i dont even want to know what my bf% is NOW. and my hips are also 30, and i'm always being called skinny. it's hard to see what others do, but you just have to trust that if you are healthy, you look great, and you could even stand to gain a few!

I don't know how you look close up, but here is my experience which I'm not really sure if it would help explain your case.  Here is goes:

when I first came to the U.S. after high school, I was skinny but I never participated in any sports or excercise pretty much all my life at that point.  A few years later -- when I was about 22 I think -- I started going to the gym.  I never get into a regular work out kind of habit, but I have been going on and off ever since.  Now I can still fit into most of the clothes I bought when I first came to the U.S. but I am over 10 pounds heavier comparing to back then.

I'm always very concerned about my weight even though everyone here tells me that I am skinny.  Too bad that I don't hear the same thing when I go back home to visit, people back home thinks I need to lose some weight, LOL.  Oh well, what can I say... ...

I'm with the others; definitely disregard what the computer said about your body fat percentage.  I just did one of those things, and it said mine was 10%.  0_0 Now, I know I am decently fit, but I'm definitely not even close to being among the top athletes' body fat percentage!  For example, when I flex my arms, nothing pops up.  No muscle whatsoever, hahaha!  Goes to show that those body fat calculators are ridiculously, insanely off the mark.

Hello bananee,

It's very possible that your fat % is higher than desirable, even though your weight/size doesn't appear to reflect it. Weight is not always a good measurement, especially if you don't "look" fat. One fact is, muscle is heavier than fat for the same/equal volume, so it is possible that your fat % could be higher than desirable.

Often times, trainers recommend that you replace fat with muscle (36% fat is not a good number, and even if it's not accurate from a computer, and even if you don't "look" fat, it could be indicating you should be more active in your life). Doing resistance training does not mean you're going to get buff (that's a very common mis-perception). Going to the gym or doing something active (like hiking, rollerblading, or whatever fancies you) is great. It's very possible while doing these activities, you might lose fat %, gain weight, even though the volume/size of your body is the same. Again, gaining weight, like in this scenario, is NOT necessarily a bad thing.