Happy BF%??

I’m just curious about what BF% some other ladies like to maintain. Obviously, this will vary individually, but I’m wondering where other women feel lean, strong, athletic and still feminine.

I’m curious mainly because, when I started my fat loss adventure I was around 58%. At that time 25%, the high end of the range the government recommends as healthy, seemed like some almost impossible promised land of leanness. But the closer I got, the stronger I got, and the more I began to appreciate the appearance of lean mass on a woman’s body, the fatter 25% began to seem.

Now, sitting at 23%, I still consider myself pretty soft. I’m just not sure what my next goal should be, or what’s realistic to maintain year round. Anyone?

I’m no lady, but i’ll stick in my 2 cents as per 3rd party info I hear quite often.

Course it all depends on your bodystyle too, some gals really can hold more bf than others, due to height and structure.

With that said, I honestly think most gals running down at 10% or less are far too ripped looking. One of my wife’s friends is a workout addict and typically runs 10-12%, and she really is too skinny. She doesn’t look drug addict skinny like runway models, but still it just seems too skinny.
I guess I just have no desire for pro bodybuilder level females.

15-25% can look just fine on most gals, and is the range I hear many of them talking about really wanting to stay in. Yeah usually at that level they say “oh i’ve got this fat here or flub there” and all that, but in reality to most guys it’s all good at that point.

Personally, I don’t give a rat’s ass what exact BF% I’m at. As long as I’m in the condition to perform the stuff I need to, I’m okay.

Also, no matter where my BF% is at; I’m still feminine. How could I NOT be? Especially when I’m a woman.

I think along the same lines as Antiliberal does …but more importantly - keep cutting until you get to a BF% that makes YOU feel good about yourself and the way you look. Once you’re strong, healthy, and happy with yourself, nobody else’s opinion matters

:slight_smile:

15-25% is an awfully big range! I stay around 18% bf and look ok. Other people tell me I look great, but when I get serious about logging my food and diet down to about 15-16%, well, that’s when I really like the way I look. I don’t think it’d be easy for me to stay leaner than that.

But when I start easing up on nutrition, eating clean most of the time but not measuring or logging my food, cheating sometimes when we go out, etc., well I’m back at about 18%, lol. I have been this way for several years. It is a bodyfat I can live with. My abs show, my upper body is lean enough, but not ripped, a little fat on my thighs. But it’s easy for me to stay here.

Other threads have addressed the idea that it’s easier to stay at a certain bf the longer you’ve been there and maintained that level of leanness. I agree with that concept. I was much heavier, much higher bf, 9-10 years ago. It took concerted effort to get leaner, then more muscular, but now it’s more a way of life, an ingrained behavior, and not that hard to stay where I am. I think it’d take another big push to get to a new level and maintain it. You have to find a big motivation to do that.

I’m 43, 130 lbs, 5’4", 18% bf and happy.

'trich, layin the smack down.

I’m currently 20% and have no idea what I was at my heaviest. I understand what you’re saying about the closer you get to a goal, the more you reconsider if that’s really a goal to keep. For me, I know what I look like at 11% and I know what it takes to get/stay there. I have no desire for that at this point in my life. My goal now is to be 15-17%. That should still aford me a hell of a bod with nice musculature but leave enough softness and curviness that I don’t feel manly.

Patricia, I’d like to clarify something. Are you saying that if you were 40% body fat, yet still in condition to do the things you want to do, that you’d be happy? And/or are you saying that the things you do keep you in a certain range (i.e. you won’t ever hit 40%) that you’re happy being in?

Jared:

Realistically, there is no way I’ll ever be 40% BF. No way. For one: I’d more than likely either be dead or bed-ridden; due to the hell my asthma would cause me at that level of BF. Guarantee.

Sooo…at 40% would I be happy? Obviously not since my activity level would be severely limited.

Yes. I look forward to the next challenge; not how low my BF% is or where it’s at. OR whether or not a certain level makes me look “unfeminine” or if what I’m doing is “unfeminine”. I let go of that mental “crutch” a long time ago.

Patricia - I’ve read what you’ve said elsewhere about lean mass not detracting from femiminity, and I’m inclined to agree. I think a physique that is lean and powerful (like yours or E~'s) is beautiful, and am working hard at getting there.

I don’t play any sports, but I do mountain bike, swim, hike, do lots of outdoors-y stuff and tons of quite physical home reno projects. Although I appreciate the improvements in my appearance, my primary concerns are health related, with functional strength coming second. (The day I out-bike my husband on a hilly trail, I’ll be happy!) In the 18 months since I started making changes in my life I’ve lost about 120 lbs and gained 55 lbs of lean mass. I’m doing HIIT and avoiding cardio to carefully preserve this hard earned stuff. Honestly, I’m not terribly concerned about “getting too big.” I was simply curious about other’s standards for themselves.

You, with your awesome physique, many accomplishments and cast-iron confidence may not worry about your bf%. However, as someone who was absurdly obese, I do, because every point lower is a personal victory. Perhaps when I’ve been happy with both strength and appearance for long enough, I’ll lose my “fat chick” mindset. Right now, it still matters to me. Honestly though - I’m not looking at bf% as an absolute measure of physical perfection, just wondering where others feel good.