I went in today for a range of tests at FitnessWave I took all three (Hydrostatic Body Fat, Resting Metabolic, and VO2 Sub-Max) tests, but I have to say the Hydrostatic Body Fat (dunk test) was the coolest (and cheapest). I don’t know if you’ve seen this done. Basically, you lie on an underwater scale and expel your lungs of air. By doing this they can tell exactly how much of your weight is fat versus everything else (fat versus lean). I found out that while I have a BMI of 27.3, my actual Body Fat percentage is 22.3% which puts me in the “average” range for men my age. “Good” would be 14-17%, and “excellent” would be <13%. I set my goal at 15%, which for me means I need to lose another 17.3 lbs of fat (if I lose any more muscle I will need to lose more total weight in order to reduce the actual fat %). I am about 201 lbs right now, so that means I need to get down to about 180-184.

According to them, BMI or just weight alone are very crude measurements and not an accurate indicator of how much fat you have on you. I paid for the bundle of tests which was $229, the dunk test by itself is only $60 and takes less than an hour (you do have to wear Speedos though).

Oh, one piece of bad news – I found out I am actually closer to 6’0” rather than 6’1” which means according to BMI I am even fatter than I thought.

Kartman. There is so much that is not known about all this. I just wish I had started exercising from the beginning of this journey and I think my RMR wouldn't be so low. I want to cut my calories to below my RMR to lose some weight, but was told not to. I think there's more research needs to be done in this area! Good luck - seems like you are headed in the right direction.

Well, the good news is that you can bring it up and you are on the right track by exercising. Take a look at this http://www.korr.com/solutions/metabolic_boost7.htm It has some good tips for boosting your metabolism.

Depending on the type you get, Jerky can be a cheap (calorie-wise) protein-dense food source. I ate nearly 140g without going overboard on calories a few days ago -- buffalo chicken spiced, dried bison, elk, teriyaki turkey. Made a decent dinner. :thumbup:

I couldn't find a dunk tank, but my gym offers (as expected) the electostatic measurement.

I'm 3/4 in shorter than I was reporting. That could be age, weight, posture, or just a bad reading years ago.

My weight, including 32oz of Water I drank when I woke up, was 268.8 (80# down from when I started my pre-op program).

They measured my fat level at 29.1%, for a lean mass of about 190#, so through hydration and physical changes over the past 2 years, it's less than the 215# I was consistently reading before. Ah, well.

So we've got a goal of 210#. *IF* I lose twice as much fat as lean, then 210# will put me at about 15%. If I continue toward 200#, I'd be "athletic" give or take surgery.

But that ratio of loss is a very twitchy number. Using the numbers KartMan experienced, I'd need to lose an extra 20#.

We'll see -- we at least know where I'm at now, and that's about 20-25# from no longer being obese based on the percentage bands my gym uses.

Of course, BMI might say something different, but to hell with BMI :crying:

Keith,

Congrats on the 80# loss, that is fantastic:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:. By the numbers, it looks as if you have more lean mass than me (mine is only 153 lbs). I knew I wasn’t very muscular, but I was surprised to learn how “skinny” I was under all that fat. The good news is that I feel great about working out now and I am reasonably sure I am on the way to building muscle (especially once I am able to stop losing weight). It seems as if you are losing at a really good clip (as did I). The good news there is that you should get to your goal fairly soon. Once you get a little closer to your goal, it will be a little easier to ascertain where you really are with respect to BF%. The way I see, that fat is easily coming off so there is no reason to believe that 15% is out of the question.

Oh, and BTW - totally agree with you about the beef jerkey:drool:.

Keith,

Congrats on the 80# loss, that is fantastic:thumbup::w00t::thumbup:. By the numbers, it looks as if you have more lean mass than me (mine is only 153 lbs). I knew I wasn’t very muscular, but I was surprised to learn how “skinny” I was under all that fat.

My entire family's like that. Northern european stock, huge meaty calves (mmm... jerky), thick necks, tendency to eat white foods and occasionally go out in the snow with little more than a contented look... Mild bouts of molesting the land and pillaging the sheep. Did I mention I really like mead?

I started doing strength last night; it'd been a couple years. While on the leg press, I noticed my upper arms in the mirror and realized how thin they looked compared to before. Thinner than I wanted, but at least what was missing was something that didn't need to be there, anyway.

Time for another update. I went in for another dunk test today and was very happy to hear that I dropped another 1.9% in Body Fat, I’m currently at 19.3% At this rate, I need to lose another 9.5lbs of fat to get to my elusive goal of 15% Body Fat. Unfortunately, when we lose we don’t lose just fat, we lose some lean as well. Having said that, I calculate I need to lose a total of 14lbs in order to hit my goal.

Keith, you will be happy to know that it is possible to bend the curve on fat/lean loss. You will recall that last time I said my total loss consisted of 55% fat loss versus 45% lean loss. This time I was able to improve those numbers a bit, the new ratio is 76% fat loss versus 24 % lean loss. I think the trick here is that I have tried very hard to get my protein intake up to around 150 grams per day and am doing weight training at least 3 days a week.

Keith, you will be happy to know that it is possible to bend the curve on fat/lean loss. You will recall that last time I said my total loss consisted of 55% fat loss versus 45% lean loss. This time I was able to improve those numbers a bit, the new ratio is 76% fat loss versus 24 % lean loss. I think the trick here is that I have tried very hard to get my Protein intake up to around 150 grams per day and am doing weight training at least 3 days a week.

Excellent.. These are number my nutritionist's colleague (a personal trainer) didn't have. So.. the answer is that the ratio is rather malleable. That's very good news.

Ok, scratch what I said earlier about not losing just fat in our weight loss. I went in for another dunk test today, and guess what? I actually gained lean mass and lost only fat:thumbup: I lost 4.1 lbs of fat mass and gained 0.9 lbs of lean mass. This took my Body Fat from 19.3% (which is considered Average) to 17.3% (which is considered good). If I can continue to at least maintain my lean mass and lose another 5 lbs of fat, I will be at my goal of 15% (Ideal Body Fat).

The trick has been working out at least 5 days a week, some cardio and a fair amount of weight training. I am not killing myself with massive weights, just pushing myself to a light burn. I have gotten a little obsessed with the gym, I just feel so good about going – it has become a treat for me. Also, I have been making a concerted effort to consume 1g of protein per pound of my lean mass. This means I need about 150g of protein a day (no easy task).