Question:
If I was told I only have 20% body fat can I still loose weight?

I have lost 130 pounds and am down to 164 but I want to get down about 15 more pounds.    — Les K. (posted on May 2, 2003)

May 2, 2003
Hi, Are you sure about your body fat percentage? The reason I'm asking is that I'm 124lbs for 5'7" and my body fat is just at 23% which is a little low but not drastic and it seems weird that you could have 20% fat percentage at about 160lbs..Do you have a lot of extra skin? in which case the only way to loose more weight safely would be to have it remove with plastic surgery.t
   — Diane B.

May 2, 2003
My brother is a body builder and I used to be a powerlifter (so was my dad)...what I do know is that unless you are VERY, VERY musclular(Im talking PRO bodybuilder), your BF has to be more than 20%. If your body fat goes under 15%, you have a chance at organ failure.even heart, you'll stop having periods, stop ovulating and could have other probs too from the lack of estrogen. The only people whos BF goes under 15% is PRO bodybuilders and anorexics. There have been many pro bodybuilders over the years just drop dead while in training or in competition because their BF went so low it damaged their organs (usually the heart). Just my opinion..but maybe your overall health should be more important than a number...if you are healthy and feel good....then enjoy life and try not to get too wrapped up in numbers and perfection, I understand that maybe be hard to do...not trying to be a jerk... wishing you good luck and happiness, Terri
   — cherokey55

May 2, 2003
It depends on if that 20% reading was accurate or not. The most accurate method of measuring body fat is underwater weighing - usually done by a physiology lab at a university. Calipers are somewhat accurate and those scales and hip/waist measurement ratios are not accurate at all. With that being said, if it is a correct measurement, as a woman you cannot get much below it without it affecting your health.
   — Ali M

May 4, 2003
I just thought I would throw my 2 cents in! :0) I weigh right around 180-182. I am about 5' 8" tall, and my body fat is 21.2%. I had my testing done on a computer with electrodes on my body. Also, I did it again on line with a graph, weight, etc. It came almost the same. This rate puts me in the atheletic range for a female. I have about 15-20 pounds of skin on my legs and bottom (have a outer thigh and butt lift done in a few weeks!) I do half an hour of cardio, and 30-40 minutes of free weights 5-6 days a week. I only say this because everyone is different. I don't think weight or body fat percentages tell the entire story.
   — sheron H.

May 4, 2003
If you are at 20% body fat, why would you want to lose 15 more pounds? To me, that seems a bit unnecessary. At 20% body fat, you probably have a really lean physique and you don't need to lose more weight. My advice to you is ignore the numbers on the scale and instead go by how your clothes fit and how you feel. I have very low body fat because I run a lot but I weigh a good 30 pounds more than what people think I weigh. (I weigh 125 at 5'4", but most people say I look like I weigh 95 lbs!!!) It's because muscle is small and dense. So unless you think the body fat percentage that you were given is drastically wrong, I'd be happy at 164!
   — Brittany C.