STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I have a scale that does body fat percentage and percent hydration. I don't know how accurate it is, but it's kind of fun. My body fat %, however, hovers around 23%. 14% does sound really low.

When I joined the gym at 24 years of age, I had my BF tested and found to be 21%.  It took me two years of hard work: 160 minutes a week of cardio, plus 240 minutes a week of weight lifting to bring my BF down to 14%, and it didn't stay there very long!  I now stay at about 16% which I think is ideal enough. 

I think 14% is a great BF% as long as you are a healthy eater and are active. 

I am by no means a tiny woman; I have full thighs, thick calves, and a very ample rear.  I usually have to size up in long sleeve tops and sweaters because of the width of my upper arms.  I have often criticized my own body, giving the evil eye and disgusted looks at my "problem areas."  I am learning to love my body more and more every year and I do it by saying daily mantras about being thankful for my strong legs that carry me through my day, allow me to run free or walk ambly if I like, for having the strength to allow me to pick up very heavy items.  Things like that.  Just talk to yourself daily about all the great things those body parts do for you every waking moment. 

You can grow to love and accept your body if you refuse to look at stick skinny women and accept them as beautiful and normal.  Sure, some women (very, very few) are naturally sticks and still beautiful, but it is not the norm, and should NOT be the standard to compare yourself to.  Compare yourself to noone.  Be critical even when you look through magazines and see those too-skinny models on TV.  They are the ones who could use some weight adjustmetns.  Not you, not unless you are endangering your health. 

Oprah had some 50, 60, and even 70-somethings on her show the other day.  I really like what one of them said (can't remember who though); she said that WHATEVER body you have/had in your twenties you will be wishing for in your 40's and forever after.  That really helps put things in perspective,huh?

I'm so sorry I am rambling, I just care so much about this topic and it makes me so sad how bad women are made to feel about themselves for so many years of their lives.  Ok, I'll stop now.  I hope you feel better soon.

ha, it just makes me sad to know that my current body will fade because I'm happy enough with it, but it takes some work to love my body and I'm not looking forward to a bigger challenge as I age!

Drew - what you siad is soo inspirational and sweet (i even have this idea that you are drew barrymore lurking on ST and giving us inpsirational words! - Lol!)
Anyhow - collegegirl - I assume by your screenname that you are in college. And every girl in college has a lot of self doubt when it comes to body image. What the woman on Oprah says is soooo true! You're BF% IS really low. I think you need to seek unbiased opnions to see if you really are as big as you feel and/or if your concern is justified.

BTW - FWIW- I had my BF% done for the first time last month and it was at 23% eeekkkk! I am about 15lbs heavier than I should be and the % said it was "normal" but I seriously do not feel "normal"/

Well, actually the caliper method isn't terribly accurate - especially when it's done by a trainer or something at a gym and not a doctor.  And the accuracy can also vary person to person just depending on how you carry and distribute weight.  14% is looooooooow for a woman.  Like, I doubt you'd be menstruating low.  Here's a table of stats:

Body Fat Content Chart for Women and Men

Body Type	Female	Male
Athlete	<17%	<10%
Lean	17-22%	10-15%
Normal	22-25%	15-18%
Above Average	25-29%	18-20%
Overfat	29-35%	20-25%
Obese	35+%	25+%

(hopefully you can see the table - if not let me know and I'll link to it)

The most accurate method is with water displacement (you submerge in a tub of water and they measure how much water you displace), but I'm not sure where you'd have that done or what it would cost.

Anyway, so my point is that I think your body fat measurement is wrong.  Or your body image is quite distorted, which I think many of us deal with to some extent or another.

IMO calculating your BMI would be more helpful in seeing where you stand overall.  http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm

If you're BMI is high-average to high, you can always ask your doctor (or your school's health department) to recommend a nutritionist - many even do phone consults.

collegegirl5858 wrote:

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My BMI is 19, which is "normal". I dont know why this is bothering me so much. I am a very short person, so I have always thought that I look pudgy. Maybe I will post a picture of me in my swimsuit and you guys can tell me what you think.

ETA: Elle, your right, about the menstruating thing, I was wondering why I hadn't gotten it in so long.

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Heh, I'm a shorty too!  There's just less room to spread the weight out on, so you can see every. little. pound.  I average out to a size four or so usually which is not too shabby if I do say so myself, but a size four person who's 5'2" is always going to look heavier than a size four person who's 5'7", y'know?

So, with a BMI of 19 and 14% body fat, I'm going to venture a guess that you look awesome and are just too hard on yourself!  But I definitely feel ya - when I was younger and dancing 4-6 hours every day I weighed all of 90 lbs (that's a BMI of 16.5!) and still remember feeling self conscious of my 'big thighs'.  Of course now I want to smack all 90 lbs of then-me upside the head!

If you're serious about posting a picture (or pming one, if you don't want it up for all the internets to see) I think we'd be willing to provide an honest reality check.  Even just taking pictures of yourself and looking at them can help sometimes ....

who, besides Elle, would be willing to have me pm a picture to them? (tia, i really appreciate this)

-- Edited by collegegirl5858 at 15:46, 2007-06-08

I don't mind. I'm fairly young (24) and definitely understand what you are going through as a younger girl with all these super skinny tall kids around. =)

thanks everyone, I'm struggling to figure out how to upload my pictures, once I do that, I'll PM the pics to you guys.