Honest. I blame her completely. (Well, ok, I blame Marlaine a little bit too. )

I've not only ordered a copy of BFL from half.com, I just put in a bid on eBay for a weight bench with 2 sets of dumbbells. Only $50, if I get it... which I might well not...

I've gone to the BFL website and dl'ed the forms for training and such, and I looked at their "challenge packages" with all the EAS products and that cute little fat caliper. No thanks, I can do without the nasty shakes (I tried them early on in this WOL and I despised them) for the time being. I'll look for more palatable ones if the need arises.

So then I went to another website that claims to calculate my body fat % by my weight and waist measurement (clearly not as accurate as the calipers, but better than no clue at all, yes?), and the little program tells me 22.46%. Why did I think it would be *way* higher than that?

So there ya have it.... another phase in my WOL is apparently taking shape, almost without conscious thought. Sometimes I scare myself.

I just read Bobbi's post in which she gave her 4-week challenge results, and the formula she uses to calculate her BF%. According to that, I'm at a solid (well, so to speak anyway) 24%. That "sounds" more correct to me than 22.46.

Comments? This is completely foreign to me, I'll need all the help I can get!

Karen,

These are great numbers I think! If you are not sure about the accuracy, try a few more methods, like the tables in PP and the Zone. If you don't have either of those books, give us your measurements, and we'll look up the value, if you want.

What is your BF% ratio goal?

Wa'il

Okay, I have PPLP and I don't see any calculations or tables to use, but I found a reference that states "we recommend you shoot for 20 to 25 percent for women." Well, according to THAT, I'm already there! And I *know* I'm not. Come on--there are rolls of the stuff hanging over my waist! My inner thighs and the backs of my arms are like jello. This is NOT "goal."

I don't know how many measurements you need, Wa'il, but I'll give you what I have.

Height: 5'7"
Weight: last time I looked, 178
Bust: 41
Waist: 31.5
Stomach: 40
Hips: 41
Thigh: 21.25
Upper arm: 13
Wrist: 6.25

Is that enough for you to go by?

Sure got a kick out of the title of this thread, Karen

Here is a link to a discussion with a few calculators on them:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=36241

I've found that by taking the average of a few of the calculations I am comfortable with the numbers obtained. Remember all calculations can be 2-3% off.

To put you at ease, my measurements aren't much off from yours:

Height: 5'6"
Waist: 29.5
Hips: 39.5
Wrist: 6
Arm: 12.25
Thigh: 22.25
Calf: 15
Weight was 175 on the weekend.

Nat

Hmmmm... okay, I went to all the links for calculators and filled in the info using my weight this morning (176) since I knew they'd ask for a current reading on that. I hadn't planned to weigh for another week, but oh well--I've lost three of the four lbs I put on while watching that droolbabe Heath Ledger...

Taking the average of the four readings (the three calculators plus the one from Bobbi's post), I wind up with 23.1%. It still irks me that this is considered "normal" when I *know* this is not how I want to look! I know I'm nowhere *near* as lean as I should (and can) be. Not that I want to be emaciated, heavens forbid! But I'm thinking maybe 19%, like you, Nat.... our stats are so close, that sounds comfortable to me. Am I making a wise decision there? I've never thought in terms of LBM before, and terra incognita makes me nervous.

Banking that I won't get that weight bench (and of course thereby ensuring that I *will*) I stopped by WalMart and picked up a 40lb set of dumbbells. Chrome grips, 4 2.5lb weights, 4 5lb weights, with threaded collars. Oh, and a pair of lifting gloves, too. I have a set from the recent ex, but I don't plan to keep them (he loaned them to me for using when making chainmail--I still have the pliers, too.... :sigh: ) so I parted with the moolah to have my very own.

Anyway, I digress. I am SO pumped (as it were) about doing this! I dunno if I can wait for the book... but I know I have to, doggone it!

WTG Karen! If you'd like while waiting for the book to arrive there are a few sites you can peruse that will fill you in on some of the basics:

www.bodyforlifediaries.com
www.leanandstrong.com
www.bodychangers.com

and of course the BFL website (www.bodyforlife.com).

As for the body fat calculations - I feel most comfortable with the ones that require a few measurements and don't decide based solely on waist and weight - Specially if you've got a smaller waist than average (or a larger one for that matter!) If it makes you feel any better add 2-3% to the reading you have and err on the side of caution.

Like you, I am not satisfied with how I look, even though by most standards I am no longer classed as "overweight". Some of this is body image, I am sure, and it will take me some time to come to grips with. Some is not - I know that I have some fat to lose, that there are areas of my body I am by no means satisfied with - far from it in fact. I caught myself thinking "Yeah, I still have 20 lbs to lose" Ha! This isnt the case - I may have 10 to lose and that's it. Building more lean mass to replace the body fat and becoming toned and muscular will take care of that.

I suspect that w/in 12 weeks you'll be at your goal, Karen. I also suspect that your goal will change. I can't wait to find out

Here's hoping that book shows up soon!
Nat

Hi Karen,

I plugged your numbers into the PP tables (in PP not PPLP) and it came to 30%

This confirms what your suspecioun.

Wa'il

Nat, thank you SO much for your reply! Just hearing that it's within the realm of possibility (I hesitate to say "probability," even if that could be more correct) to reach my goal within only 12 weeks..... well, that put an ear-to-ear, teeth-showin' grin on my face!

I think I'll change my stats to BF% as you and others have done. That alone should make me feel better. I did a "guesstimate" for my starting percentage, based on what I can recall from when I weighed 235 (my longest-term steady high weight) and still got a surprisingly low number, to my mind. I might add 2% to everything just to be safe and feel less weird about it all. That would put me at 31.5% to start, and 25% right now. "High normal" sounds more realistic to me than "normal"--isn't that odd?

Off I go, then, to fix stats. Thank you again!!!

I'll recalculate the average, then, and use that for my new stat block. That's the highest percentage of all the results, interestingly enough.

Hey, Wa'il, thanks too! I'm going to go pull out my PP and do some calculations as well!

Nat

That was fun! I pulled out my old dog earred PP and plugged away. 26.9%, so not far off from what I've averaged out. The best part was seeing the calculations I had done last August - hips 53" of course height had not changed

To think all this time I forgot that I had this resource at my disposal! Thanks for the reminder, Wa'il.

Nat

I think some these calculators should be taken with a grain of salt. Particularly the one from PP (copied from Fisher and Conlee's Complete Book of Physical Fitness) since they do not take into account bone structure. The formula depends on height, hips and abdomen, with no regards to wrist (an indicative of bone structure).

Wa'il

Cool, Wa'il. That makes me even more glad that I decided to average, like Nat did. It might not be precise, but it's certainly "good enough for guv'mint work."

Of course, it just occurred to me that I'll need to do that same averaging act every month, when I take measurement... oh well, no rest for the wicked.

I am SO PSYCHED!!!

A grain of nuSalt it is most certainly taken with, Wa'il I noticed when doing the formula for John that they took wrist and weight into consideration for men - weight was lacking for women too. I'm pleased with the averaging method. While I'm not too sure about where I fit in with regard to the 'normal/healthy' range for BF I am certain that once I reach a place where I am happy I'll know it.

Karen, I hear you on the 'psyched' - believe me it only gets more and more exciting.

Nat