Bodyfat Estimation

[impact14]

Any insight on roughly where I may be at? Have I gotten to 20ish % based on these pics?

6'1.5" 208lbs down from 303lbs. I'm still dropping and plan to go until 185-190 and re-evaluate. Still all pretty new to me as a somewhat reformed really really fat person.

If possible also let me know what things you're using from the pictures to help draw your conclusion while I'm trying to learn more about estimating bf %

 

[Elektrobot]

I know bodyfat % is a fun number to chase and estimate for yourself, but right now I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep doing what you are doing.

You are looking on the + side of 20%

I don't see any ab separation, your waist and back look fluffy, your pecs are smoothed over into your abdomen....

You are doing good coming down from 303

Keep it up dude

 

[impact14]

I know bodyfat % is a fun number to chase and estimate for yourself, but right now I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep doing what you are doing.

You are looking on the + side of 20%

I don't see any ab separation, your waist and back look fluffy, your pecs are smoothed over into your abdomen....

You are doing good coming down from 303

Keep it up dude

Thanks man. Very helpful and appreciate you not shredding me lol

 

[buck]

Unless a person wants to brag about being low, i don't see any real point in knowing one's body fat %. For years i use fat calipers so i could track things and get comparative number to see how i was going. When gaining muscle or losing fat. But if the real level was a few points higher or lower it didn't matter because people only care about how they look.

 

[Billbo98]

Unless a person wants to brag about being low, i don't see any real point in knowing one's body fat %. For years i use fat calipers so i could track things and get comparative number to see how i was going. When gaining muscle or losing fat. But if the real level was a few points higher or lower it didn't matter because people only care about how they look.

100% going off the mirror is realistic. If you aren’t competing and just a normal gym bro mirror + scale will tell you when to cut and when to bulk.

 

[buck]

100% going off the mirror is realistic. If you aren’t competing and just a normal gym bro mirror + scale will tell you when to cut and when to bulk.

I also measured my waistline as that is where i get fat the most. If that area is growing much then i also know it is likley fat weight being gained. I would hold fat in my lower back. When competing once i got real lean and could see abs and veins i would still a bunch in my lower back. My waist at that point would shrink an inch for every pound i lost.

 

[impact14]

Unless a person wants to brag about being low, i don't see any real point in knowing one's body fat %. For years i use fat calipers so i could track things and get comparative number to see how i was going. When gaining muscle or losing fat. But if the real level was a few points higher or lower it didn't matter because people only care about how they look.

I generally agree with this also and appreciate the insight. I track with a bf scale for trends but have noticed a weird delineation lately between gross lbs lost and how that is distributed amongst fat and muscle that I have a suspicion isn't very accurate as my strength continues to increase and my figure continues to look leaner with no visual decrease in muscle.. But I don't have calibrated eyes, to be fair.

Really just a curiousity thing for me. I'd think that's less likely though as I am running 160mg test a week and weight training 3 sometimes 4 days a week and running in prep for a half marathon on the other days.

Overall I'm still tickled at this point as I continue to build a healthier and more capable body. I'm on this forum for the wealth of knowledge not because I aspire to be a bodybuilder and genuinely appreciate the resource.

 

[naps_for_gains]

I plugged you into this AI body fat app that I’ve been messing with.

 

[impact14]

I plugged you into this AI body fat app that I’ve been messing with.

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While I like that % I fear that thing is drunk. Lol.

Chat estimates 16% based on these pics so it seems to me that AI is beyond generous at this state in its development.

 

[buck]

I generally agree with this also and appreciate the insight. I track with a bf scale for trends but have noticed a weird delineation lately between gross lbs lost and how that is distributed amongst fat and muscle that I have a suspicion isn't very accurate as my strength continues to increase and my figure continues to look leaner with no visual decrease in muscle.. But I don't have calibrated eyes, to be fair.

Really just a curiousity thing for me. I'd think that's less likely though as I am running 160mg test a week and weight training 3 sometimes 4 days a week and running in prep for a half marathon on the other days.

Overall I'm still tickled at this point as I continue to build a healthier and more capable body. I'm on this forum for the wealth of knowledge not because I aspire to be a bodybuilder and genuinely appreciate the resource.

My understanding is that BF scales especially home versions are not all that accurate. The algorithms used for all measuring equipment is based off the population at large. And the farther a person is from the average the less accurate algorithms tend to be.

 

[Mfras]

Your physique is great but confusing- I’m not seeing any artifacts of former obesity. There are shitty ones and awesome ones (I have both) and you have none. No huge calves, quads, thick obliques and trunk from carrying massive weight for decades, and no dramatic stretch marks, remaining stubborn fat depots, or loose skin that drapes wierd from being stretched out.

This kind of ‘formerly obese’ stuff kind of throws off a lot of visual BF% that makes sense looking at mostly 8%-20% 170-212lb younger lifters with average frames and tight skin.

Maybe you’re young, blessed with rubber skin, and weren’t fat for long?

In any case the people saying 20%+ are crazy as fuck. You don’t get capped delts and decent but not etched definition all over at 20%. Plus you might not have visibly separated abs but also your rear iliac crest (hip bones) dominate your waistline, not back fat, which is one of the last depots to hold on in a lot of people.

If you’re blessed with a really even fat distribution, and full not depleted (like eating at maintenance or small surplus not glycogen depleted in a cut) in these photos I could see 17% being possible, but a slightly blurry 14-16% is much more likely.

 

[impact14]

Your physique is great but confusing- I’m not seeing any artifacts of former obesity. There are shitty ones and awesome ones (I have both) and you have none. No huge calves, quads, thick obliques and trunk from carrying massive weight for decades, and no dramatic stretch marks, remaining stubborn fat depots, or loose skin that drapes wierd from being stretched out.

This kind of ‘formerly obese’ stuff kind of throws off a lot of visual BF% that makes sense looking at mostly 8%-20% 170-212lb younger lifters with average frames and tight skin.

Maybe you’re young, blessed with rubber skin, and weren’t fat for long?

In any case the people saying 20%+ are crazy as fuck. You don’t get capped delts and decent but not etched definition all over at 20%. Plus you might not have visibly separated abs but also your rear iliac crest (hip bones) dominate your waistline, not back fat, which is one of the last depots to hold on in a lot of people.

If you’re blessed with a really even fat distribution, and full not depleted (like eating at maintenance or small surplus not glycogen depleted in a cut) in these photos I could see 17% being possible, but a slightly blurry 14-16% is much more likely.

Thanks for the comment.

I do have some loose skin low on the belly almost into my waistline that is being hidden by my arms in the frontal shot, though that wasn't the purpose of the pose, it was collateral. I've got plenty of stretch marks in that lower stomach/belly area but there isn't that color variance to them like there normally is when they're stressed. They've kind of gone back to my normal skin color so they don't pop out visually as much. I have lost the lions share of this weight over the last 12-14 months so it wasn't like "overnight" and I am younger at mid to late 20's. Its possible that the combination of genetics, age, and ghkcu have helped the loose skin issue to a small degree.

It is crazy how our mind plays into all of this, I hate that little pooch of loose skin almost as much as I hated being a fatzo.

I've been through about 150mg of ghkcu in the last 3 or 4 months on and off at 2.5mg/daily and that could be a contributor. My calves are actually pretty big but I didn't make an effort to capture that here. I'd say that is one of the biggest things I have going on out of those you mentioned. I am not trying to argue with you at all, just adding additional commentary that might help.

I hung out 280-300+ for probably 3 years or so before I decided I had to fix the problem here. Always was bigger than most everyone else but not egregiously overweight for more than 3ish years so that probably helped that I didn't carry it for decades before getting leaner.

I have a dexa planned for when I weeks average 203lbs to get a more accurate picture of body comp not out of vanity but more out of curiousity and to establish some more reliable baseline data to be used for trending and progress over the future. If anyone might be curious to keep up, I will add those results here when it happens. Probably mid to late march-ish and I project to be around 200lbs at the time of the scan.