The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Crystal]

According to the BMI charts, for my height 5'3" and weight 148, my BMI should be 26-27. However, when I weigh in, my scale says I am 36% fat (ewwww!!). Are these two things the same, or are they measuring two different things? If they are the same, why are mine not the same? Am I just more fat than other people of my height and weight?

[dede4wd]

Hi Crystal,
I don't think your scale is right. I don't know much about them. I know they send a little current thingee through and it is affected by water balance and stuff, but a 36% fat score would make you a obese and that just doesn't sound right for your stats.

I'm going to go with the Surgeon General with this one and say your scale is wonky, but someone with more info/knowledge will likely be around shortly to answer your question.

Good luck with your answer!

DeDe

[Crystal]

Well, I kinda thought that, but I tried it on my little thingy from Medifast that measures body fat, and it says the same thing. So I'm not sure what to think now!

[BerkshireGrl]

According to the BMI charts, for my height 5'3" and weight 148, my BMI should be 26-27. However, when I weigh in, my scale says I am 36% fat (ewwww!!). Are these two things the same, or are they measuring two different things? If they are the same, why are mine not the same? Am I just more fat than other people of my height and weight?

Hi Crystal!

BMI is not the same as Body Fat. It's kind of a meaningless number really, it is based on a formula that uses your weight and your height. That's it, no breakdown on fat, muscle or water.

For more info on BMI, check out:
www [dot] cdc [dot] gov [slash] nccdphp [slash] dnpa [slash] bmi [slash] calc-bmi [dot] htm

There is a policy here of No Websites so if you add the ., /, and remove all the spaces, you will get there. It's by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is very educational

If that's too big a pain to reformat, just Google "BMI" and the CDC site is right at the top.

I doubt you are 36% body fat, but then, you could be, and appear not that big. Body fat is a weird thing, it can be not just on your stomach/legs/arms/etc., but also internal like around your internal organs. Ewwww I know!

Electronic testing can be inaccurate due to your hydration level. To even out the highs and lows with electronic readings, it's recommended to take a readout every morning 1 hour after you get up, for a whole month if you are a woman, and then do an Average to get the result.

In any case, MF will whoop that fat right off ya! Fear not!

[dede4wd]

Thanks Sarah! That was very informative! I'm gonna check now. I got confused (that happens a lot, I'm not too bright!)

DeDe

[BerkshireGrl]

Thanks Sarah! That was very informative! I'm gonna check now. I got confused (that happens a lot, I'm not too bright!)

You're welcome! It was my pleasure. I knew being tortured by my old Tanita scale/body fat monitor could come in handy some day! You don't even wanna know what MY body fat was... let's just say, more than a coin Kennedy appeared on.

And confused? Nah! I'd say trying to help! No negative self-talk now, heh!

We're all bright, otherwise we wouldn't be on Medifast!

[Crystal]

Thanks, you guys! That really helps. I do weigh myself each morning after I've been up for about 45min - 1hr. So far, its constantly between 35-36%.

I know that Medifast will help me get to a healthy fat%, which my handy chart says is between 20-27% for a woman my age (35). I was just trying to understand the numbers.