This site gave me some great into. Check it out.

What I've gleaned from it so far is that it really might be a better idea to shoot for a lower body fat % versus just shooting for a lower weight in pounds in the long run. Not that I didn't believe Z. I guess I just needed to see some numbers and some facts.

Now that I know my body fat percentage, it made it possible to figure out if my weight goal of 135 is realistic. It pointed out to remember that weight loss doesn't always mean fat loss.

As of last night I weighed in at 154.6 lbs with 24.4% body fat, and my goal is to "lose 19.6 or 20 pounds":

Initial body fat: 154 lbs x 0.24 fat = 36.96 or 37 lbs of body fat

Lean body mass: 154 lbs total - 37 lbs of fat = 117 lbs of lean body mass (bones, organs and all else)

Goal: 154 lbs - 20 lbs = 134 pounds

Now if my lean body mass now is 117 lbs, I'm not sure if a 134 lbs weight goal is feasible. I don't see why not, but it might be hard to maintain.

*General Body Fat Percentage Categories

Classification Women(% fat) Men (% fat)

Essential Fat 10-12% 2-4%

Athletes 14-20% 6-13%

Fitness 21-24% 14-17%

Acceptable 25-31% 18-25%

Obese 32% plus 25% plus

*American Council on Exercise

From the chart above my body fat percentage is in the fitness category, so I guess if I wanted to challenge myself I could shoot for the athlete category which would mean I would need a body fat percentage of 14-20%. If I low ball it for starters I could try for 20% body fat.

So at 154 lbs x 0.20 (body fat percentage goal) = 30.8 lbs of body fat

117 lbs of lean body mass + 30.8 lbs of body fat = 147.8 or 148 lbs

If I choose to shoot for 15% body fat I would need to shoot for 140 lbs instead.

Hmmm 140 or 147. Both seem pretty feasible. I was pretty darn lean at 142 lbs, so 140 is doable. I guess we can shoot for 147 to start and then if all is going well, I can try to lower that by 7 lbs to 140. Now I need to figure out who many calories I should be ingesting...

(Engaged 9/16/05)