Body Fat Percentages? Help a newbie out!

W

whiskeytangofox

New member
Hey guys,

Fairly new on WLF but really enjoying the support and losing weight happily. I have a question which I'm hoping I can get a clear answer on! How much should your non fat mass generally weigh? Your weight minus your fat? Does it shrink as you do?

I have a body fat analyser which says I'm a 38% fat at 187. It says I was 45% at 213 so it is pretty consistent. I mean it could be consistently out obviously. Anyway, that would mean that the rest of me is 117 pounds. That would mean that (roughly) I'd be 20% body fat at 146 pounds. Or would my non fat portions shrink as well?

I've googled around a bit and ended up with very technical articles about the human skeleton. On average - woman, 5'7'' - what's my base?
 
You would most likely end up a body fat percentage higher than 20% when you reach 146. It's very difficult to not lose muscle while you're losing weight. The best thing for you to do to help minimize any muscle loss is eating plenty of protein and doing resistance training.
 
For Women:
Essential Fat 10-12%
Athletes 14-20%
Fitness 21-24%
Acceptable 25-31%
Obese 32% plu

For Men:
Essential Fat 2-4%
Athletes 6-13%
Fitness 14-17%
Acceptable 18-25%
Obese 25% plus
 
Thanks guys

Based on what the article kara linked to my calculations are correct but I can't estimate how much muscle I will lose so I'm likely to have higher body fat levels at 146 which is fine. I'm only looking to hit 20% nothing insanely lower.
 
There's no real set thing for how much muscle mass you'll lose because there are simply so many variables. Your diet, exercise regimen, exercise choices, individual biology and fitness level all come into play in some fashion for that.

You can do things to minimize muscle loss while dieting, but yeah, never going ot find an exact number.

Frustrates me too in ways, mostly because I like having answers to things.
 
Hi,

Your goal should be to lose only excess stored body fat, while maintaining (and increasing, if you desire) your lean body mass. The way to successfully do this is to eat the amount of protein needed to maintain your current muscle mass with your current exercise activity level. You can check out the Zone diet to find out more about it. I've been very successful using the Zone to support my muscle mass and lose the excess fat.
 
LOL the Zone sounds like a bit too much work but I will definitely try to up the workout and things.
 
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