That's what I am, according to the trainer I met at the gym today. I was trying out a new gym and I was given a body fat analysis using a device you hold in front of you and squeeze. The guy puts in the information (age, height, weight) and has me use it. I was fully clothed, and had just guzzeled a bottle of water. He tells me it doesn't matter and that the device is very accurate. The results: 26.5% body fat and 21 lbs of fat on my 5'1", 98 lb frame. He goes on to say I fall between "fair" and "poor" and need to lose a lot of body fat to get to about 19%. I ask him if that is ideal, and he replies, "well, it'd be a lot better than where you are now...you have a lot of work to do".
I have never felt so bad about myself. I have been working out more than ever, I have dropped a couple of lbs, and I thought I looked pretty good. Now according to this guy I am "overfat".
I should mention I have used a body fat scale before, which always gave me results between 15-17% (I realize these are highly inaccurate and never actually believed it was that low). The other thing that concerns me is the numbers he gave me: 26.5% body fat....well 26.5% of 98 lbs is about 25 lbs, but he told me 21 lbs of fat? It doesn't add up.
I guess I am just trying to make up excuses, when I should just accept that I am much more out of shape than I realized. However, before I condemn myself I would really like the opinions of the people here. Can you take a look at the photo of me in the swimsuit I have up and tell me if I look like I have 26.5% body fat? If you think I do, ok, I can accept it. At least I can only get better from here.
That trainer does not sound nice what-so-ever. It sounds like he was trying to pull you into the gym and with training sessions with him.
While the body fat scales are not accurate, I am not sure how accurate the device you are talking about. (I haven't heard too much about them) If you are going to continue looking at gyms, maybe you can have another trainer perform a caliper test or another form of body fat test to compare to your results from the device the other trainer used.
BTW, your picture is not displaying. You have to select it as your default in order for a picture to display in your profile.
I don't see a picture here or on your profile hon. I think what that trainer said has to be wrong. I can't imagine anyone weighing 98 lbs being overweight or having too much fat. I could be wrong but that doesn't sound right to me what he said.
Hey I can't see the pic that you are talking about...but I am the same height as you. I used to see a trainer and he measured my body fat with calipers. Which are actually very accurate unlike this weird gizmo this guy had you use. I was 5 foot 1 and 133 pounds. I had a body fat of around what this guy is telling you that you have. There is NO WAY that this is correct. Being the same height as you I know what I look like at your weight etc... so trust me don't listen to this QUACK. He just wants your money. He has to tell you need to lose weight/put on muscle so that he can get you to sign up for personal training.
ok I think I fixed the picture...
K now I know I am right. You are probably 15% give or take a little. Wow, you should report that guy to someone....that's sooo awful. Don't worry for a second. You look great, just exercise to stay happy and healthy.
19% body fat for a female is a professional athlete. Are you a professional athlete? Are you planning on dedicating your life to the rigorous training professional female athletes undergo every day of their lives to achieve 19% (or lower) body fat?
(The American Council on Exercise says healthy body fat percentage for women is between 14 and 31%. The American Diabetic Association says 20 - 25%.)
Trainers always, always, always say that your body fat is too high and you have a lot of work to do to get down to your optimal body fat range. I'm sure you can guess why: Starts with M, ends with Y, and has ONE in the middle. Just like the sales person who tells you that shirt looks great on you when you're not sure and the used car salesman who says, "Oh, Hondas always pull a little to the right..." trainers are trying to sell you something. What they're trying to sell you is their ability to give you self esteem. First, they have to make sure you don't have any. Hence...
(Incidentally, I don't see any picture of you.)
If you have been working out and you're getting fitter, that's what counts. I think you should keep doing that, increasing intensity where and when you can if you'd like. You'll continue to gain muscle and drop fat and you don't need a trainer who's trying to guilt you into something to help you do that.
Please try not to feel badly about what he said. You're doing a good job!
Nope....i dont think losing 21 lbs of "fat" is possible. (Unless by fat, he was really talking about bones? Then you might be able to lose the 21 pounds if you lost a leg or two ><)
I am almost in tears reading your replies. I didn't realize just how bad this guy's comments had affected me. I am never going back there.
The worst part is, I struggle with an eating disorder. What happened today did not help...
You look wonderful; tell him to shove it. There are many well-informed and helpful trainers but there are also some that are, unfortunately, ill-educated.
xandra, you have already gotten good advice about the trainer here, so I won't add to that. I want to suggest something else, though, for your quest in dealing with your eating disorder -- drop the "ana" from your username here. Don't let your eating disorder define who you are; keep your name for YOURSELF, and kick the "ana" to the curb!
athena -
anaxandra is a character from "Goddess of Yesterday" one of my favorite novels...it is not about my eating disorder...and in any case I never suffered from anorexia.
Hi there,
You really need a second opinion. I would see a nutritionist or a health professional. There is no way that you could afford to loose 21 pds of fat, you are already tiny and i would fear that that kind of weight loss would severly effect your orgains such as your liver and kindneys.
I think that this trainer is trying to make some money by having you pay him to loose "fat" that you obviously don't have.
if you are worried about your health, then you should do a simple blood test with your doctor and see what your cholestoral ect ect levels are.
Sincerly,
A
I think I heard somewhere that bodyfat% indicators can be distorted for people of very low weights...there is no way you are overfat. You have a super body. :) !
Maybe he saw that you don't need any work and tried to make you believe that you do? so you'd hire him..?
i agree with what people have said here. and btw, looking at your dp, you DO NOT look like someone with 26.5% bf. you likely have 15-16%, as you said before. I am chubbier than you are, and even then I'm only 20.5%. don't listen to him, honey. he's so full of bull it's not even funny.
That guy is a dummy. If you google about those body fat meter machines (the ones that use conductivity of an electric charge through the body to estimate body fat) you will find that drinking a lot of water right before using them DOES affect the results, A LOT. I would definitely find another gym with staff who are not ignorant. Those meters are only somewhat accurate to begin with. I bet if you used calipers or water measuring, you'd find that your body fat is closer to 18-20%.
I'm not accusing you of anything, but let me ask you a question: When you lost weight, did you do it by cutting your calories drastically? I'm talking like eating less than 1000 calories on a daily basis? The reason I ask is because when people do that, their bodies burn more muscle and less fat. This can lead to someone being skinny, but having a higher amount of fat.
I'm no expert, but I'd suggest NOT dieting. Instead, eat your maintenance calories but focus on weight training. This way, you won't be losing alot of weight, but you will lose fat and replace it with muscle, which is the goal.
It doesn't all add up so I'd imagine your trainer said something more along the lines of gaining more muscle. His words might have been lost in translation to you.( Or he's an extremist trying to give you a disorder. To bring in some extra income off you. ) But, I imagine he was trying to help your body fat to lean muscle ratio.This is by giving him the benefit of a doubt, which he may not deserve. Of course you aren't considered fat or overweight. You don't have a body fat percentage of 26% either. That's just can't be so. I'm 5'2 103-105lbs and mine is 20-22%. But, you may not be considered ' strong ' with lean muscle. Being skinny doesn't equal more muscle or strength. One can be thin and weak so I imagine he was trying to teach you about ' building ' your body up. However, if he was actually trying to convince you that's your body fat percentage now just get a new trainer. Or train yourself. Why? Because this guy has a serious issue and he's supposed to be a professional. Still yet though a number is a number stop getting lost in them. Just tone some more if you aren't yet happy with your body while maintaining a healthy weight. Stop getting so caught up in a numbers. A number doesn't define healthy or strong. Muscle weighs more than fat so someone could weigh more but have a lower body fat percentage than you. But, you currently have a healthy body fat percentage. Someone can take healthy tools to an unhealthy extreme. In which case ending up with a disorder/unhealthy body. From looking at your photo it just made me sad. I think you have a bad relationship with food,exercise, and your own image. This may offend you but I hope you can read it with a open mind. You actually look like someone with an eating disorder of some kind. Don't let your ' trainer ' push you towards an unhealthy extreme for an extra buck. Because he sees the same thing I do. He sees that you look like someone that had a problem. Your body fat percentage should be right at your target right now. Judging from the stats you listed above. That's my guess. I suggest toning and maintaining at your own accord. Along with getting a grip on yourself. If you need people to talk to for support regarding a disorder whether it be fullblown or boarderline...Or something you've been cooping with. Perhaps, a prior ed you thought you'd recovered from. A lot of people think that you can just recover. End of story. Then they have relapses. People are here to help if you just ask. Don't get so caught up that your goals become none existent skinny. The fact you'd even consider losing 20lbs, as if could be that you're just in that ' bad ' of condition is a sign. A sign that you need to ask yourself a serious question. " Do I have a disorder "
enchantingimage: I actually have a piece of paper that he gave me which say "26.5% body fat". He made it very clear that I am in the unhealthy range of fat.
peaches0405: I know what you mean but I have actually been eating more and gained some weight recently (which of course could be the cause of higher body fat %) but I'm pretty sure some of it is muscle. I've been working out a lot the past month and feel firmer all over. I was actually hoping to hear that my percentage was between 20-22%.
Interestingly, after telling me "how far I have to go" the trainer tried to console me by saying that most people score "off the charts". That seems a little odd to me. In any case, I am never going back to that gym.
Wow. That's great because I have a piece of paper that says he's full of bs. I think you have a very poor body image to consider it true. To consider losing 20lbs by this trainers advice. Afterall, he has a piece of paper! I suggest you take a good look at the piece of paper and decide if that makes it fact. Numbers are numbers. Papers are Papers. One doctor can diagnose you with one thing, yet if you went downtown it would've been a different story. After you're done asking yourself if having a piece of paper makes it true. You should then ask yourself if you have a disorder. Or if you're having a relapse. Or if you just need to seriously work on your body image. Numbers aren't going to make you happy. They aren't going to magically correct a poor body image. I think you've lost the meaning of healthy in the mix of numbers. Papers black and white. There is a whole world of gray out there that you're missing. I seriously think this trainer simply saw you coming. He just pegged you and went for it. Just like a car salesmen or someone making their commission in furniture store. I also agree with the post above that asked you about your goal. If you aren't a professional athlete than your goal shouldn't be set as one. Perhaps, a reevaluation of your goals may be in order here.
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