The Horrors of Getting my Body Fat Percentage Checked & a Shocking Announcement
The Horrors of Getting my Body Fat Percentage Checked & a Shocking Announcement
Hi there! It’s a lovely Saturday morning and the sun’s out. It makes me happy to sit by the window and write 🙂
I want to tell you a funny story yesterday. Not that you’ll actually care but it might make you smile.
So yesterday I was super duper tired because it has been a long, stressful (but exciting) week with the launch of the new blog layout. I’ve been staying up crazy hours (like to 9AM) fixing and writing and tweaking and checking. It gets addicting. REALLY addicting. But sister and I went to the gym anyway because I needed a good Friday evening energy-boost.
I was setting up our workout station when a personal trainer friend of ours came by to chat. Because I didn’t want to start our crazy workout yet, I intentionally delayed it by asking him if he could check our body fat percentages. Hahaha. Instead of caliper-ing we did the hand-held device:
When I was in Boston, I only used the calipers. But if you wanna know which one is I think is better, I will tell you this: both will have their own percentage of error. Human error or machine error. So my suggestion is to use just one method and track the changes. The progression will not lie.
So my sister went first as I was taking off my workout gloves. She got 18.2%. Then it was my turn. I was kind of nervous. I hadn’t had my bf percent in quite a few months. My lowest ever was 17.9% back in May (5 months ago) when I was doing my 8 week bikini body challenge. (Oh and just in case you’re wondering, the reason why I am not sharing the full diet plan is because I think there were some elements in the plan that I cannot personally recommend.) So I held on. Held on pretty tightly as I remembered back to posts such as “Feeing Fat and Failing” and all the foods I ate in the past few months that were restricted in my bikini diet. Would my number go up? Would it go up back to 24% before I started this all? Would all my hard work go to NOTHING because I wanted to eat some cheesecake and ice cream once in a while? It was like waiting in front of the principal’s office, waiting to know what you got in trouble for.
The screen blinked.
It blinked again.
It stalled.
And the number appeared.
18.2%
YES!!!!!!!!!
Wait what!!??
That’s the same exact number sister got. Down to the 1/10th percent!
Hahahaha we almost died. So it is confirmed. We are sisters 🙂
But whoa, hold on only a 0.30% change? Honestly guys, I’ve been pretty “bad” at times since I’ve moved back to CA. I’ve eaten lots of cheesecake, fro-yo, ice cream, oily chinese food, oily thai food, fried delights, my mom’s kitchen creations. A lot of things did change though. I have been running more than weight lifting. I did go veggie for over 3 months. I am only 1-2 lbs heaver than I was at my lowest. A smile smirked across my lips. I was able to maintain and still eat all of these “off-limits” foods??
Note: OK I don’t want you to get the wrong impression and think that I am totally obsessed with my weight and body fat %. For the new readers, please understand that I am working to find my own healthy living, fitness strength, and physique potential. Everyone’s goals are different and I respect that. As long as we do it in a safe manner, I’m all for it!
Wow! So what does this tell me? Even though Tosca Reno says that 80% of our physique is a result of our diet, how much of the 80% needs to be followed? Obviously it is not 100% of the time to maintain! I think I’ve been good like 65-70% of the time. That’s pretty decent. I’d like to bring that to 90% at least to reach to reach a new level of physique. Back during the diet plan, I was seriously like 99% good. It was stressful at times though. ESPECIALLY on low carb days. OMG I was the crankiest human alive!
So what’s the takeaway lesson here?
You can still eat bad, processed, salty, sugary, fried foods sometimes and maintain your weight and body fat percent. But read that with caution. I don’t recommend eating those foods on a regular basis. PLUS even if it doesn’t affect your physique you may be doing damage to your own health without knowing it. Just because it’s not visible does not mean its not affecting you. Go for whole, fresh, unprocessed foods as much as possible! But the occasional cheesecake is healthy for your soul 🙂
Also I’ve been dying to make an announcement. I hope you don’t get mad at me 🙁
Recently, I’ve been doing a lot of traveling and I find that it is extremely difficult to make healthy choices sometimes when I am restricted to just vegetarian options. Without preparation this can be “deadly”. I was faced with fried tempura vegetables versus grilled chicken breast at one point and ended up taking the tempura and peeling off the fried skin and squeezing the veggies in napkins.
So here it is. My official announcement. I no longer am going to label myself as a vegetarian. I want to be able to eat chicken breast when it is the healthier option. When I have a choice, I’ll go veggie. But I don’t want to be restricted by boundaries.
Phew.
I hope you don’t think I am giving up on being Vegetarian. It wasn’t difficult for me. I truly enjoyed it, but what I didn’t enjoy was having to pick unhealthier options because of my boundaries. Realistically, I can’t pack my lunch ALL THE TIME. Do you understand? I hope so. I predict that I will still be veggie 80% of the time though as I have become accustomed to the colorful and bursting flavors of vegetables. I have discovered a new appreciation for them.
So that’s it! What do you think about my body fat % discovery and my breakage from Veggie-dom?
Love you, have a great weekend.
<3 Cassey
43 thoughts on “The Horrors of Getting my Body Fat Percentage Checked & a Shocking Announcement”
There are 43 comments posted by our users.
hi there…Percentage of body fat is a real factor in both health and fat loss. Knowing what percentage of fat you are carrying compared to your muscle can go a long way toward assuring that you are losing fat and not precious muscle as you drop weight.
You are such an inspiration 🙂 my bf% already dropped from 30% to 28.5% in just 2 weeks of doing the beginner calendar I can’t wait to measure myself again 🙂
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This post was so long ago, but I still have to say my two-cents:
No one should EVER be mad or think less of someone for their eating habits.
I’ve been vegan for..um..somewhere between 1 and 2 years and I love it!! But I get questioned about it EVERY SINGLE DAY. No joke.
Especially by my boyfriend {of 7 years might I add 🙂 } it’s almost as if I’m being interrogated.
Any who, the trick to any type of “not-ordinary” “diet” {more like a lifestyle} is to be prepared. It takes loads of hard work, time, and dedication but I feel like it’s so worth it! No matter where we go to eat I usually have to go online to find a menu or call/email ahead of time to figure out if there are things there I can eat. There are animal products hidden all over the place.
Even having just one vegan day a week, or even one vegan meal a week is beneficial.
<3 you and <3 everything you do!!
Cassey youre just amazing! Every time you blog or make a video i feel like were engaging in a real conversation! ahahaa Thank you oh so very much for everything you do for us POPsters:DD
I feel so inspired by you!!!! I’ve been telling everybody about it and after reading this, I feel especially closer to you because I believe a lot of us go through this. I just went through 12 weeks of counseling (special course, http://www.stophidingbehindthefat.com) after battling with body image and food issues for the past 20 years (I’m 32). Anyway, I love your videos, your energy, your honesty, your tips, and EVERYTHING!!!! Keep it up! I feel the pressure as well because I’m a fitness instructor, too. I still love my gym and am incorporting your calendar workouts into my daily workouts. Luv!!!! P.S. This is SO funny – my science friend didn’t know what “<3" was a heart and said, "Does that mean she's less than a size 3?" LOL! <3 Laura
Cassey,
Your honesty is so inspiring. When I read the fitness mags, I feel like OMG IF I HAVE ONE SCOOP OF ICE CREAM I WILL MOO FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!! But I’ve found in reality that hey, splurges keep me sane, and my number keeps going down as long as I’m doing it occasionally and eating healthfully for the rest of the day! I know the magazines say an occasional splurge is okay, but in the next breath it’s an article on how to avoid all of those Christmas treats. Maybe it’s because you’re honest and we feel like we know you a bit that your advice really hits home. Saying, “Hey, everyone has days they’re not inspired or feel fat” is an aspect of fitness that is like a dirty little secret we each have, but no one talks about. Thank you for talking about it, and making me feel normal. 30lbs so far, slow, steady, and healthfully!
Really love your honesty and courage, it must been hard to write that in your blog. But honestly, that makes me likes you even moreee. For me personally, diet is not a religion but having healthy body, mind, spirit and attitude is the most important in life (which I think you are).
Cheers
I am so glad you posted this today. I have gone from 189 to 173 in the last two months by eating every 2 to 3 hours and cutting out the junk. I exercise twice a week by hiking up a very steep mountain but I’m going to start your exercises 4x a week. Anyway what I’m getting at is, I ate the way I used to for 3 days and thought I was going to gain weight. I ended up losing another pound! I realized that once I raised my metabolism I can eat crap once in a while, ok, not for three days next time but you know what I mean. Today I blew it because I started out this morning having yogurt then this afternoon I had a bunch of salty tortilla chips and homeade bean and cheese dip (football munchies). I want you to know I’m going to be good and hike up that mountain again in about an hour from now! Thanks for your website and your positive energy, you help push me (:
You are doing what works for you. I say yay!!! It is a good thing to treat ourselves every once in a while . I call it balanced eating. That is really funny you both have the same %. What are the odds. Have a great day today.
I think it’s really great that you are strong and confident enough to make your own life choices, and not feel pressured by others. As long as you are healthy and happy it is the right choice for you! Much love xo
If it makes you feel any better, I’m vegetarian (nearly vegan), but really if other people stop and think about what they’re eating and make the best choices that they can for themselves, then I’m happy, even if that does involve some meat. If you could choose free range/ethically raised when you can that would be wonderful 🙂
Heh, and I’m so with you about eating what you feel like at least some of the time! In our house we’re “good” from Monday to Friday and eat what we want on the weekends, think that’s about 70% good! Works for us 😉
Love your workouts and posts Cassey, thanks for helping to keep me motivated and making it fun. I don’t want to lose weight, but I do want to be strong! My little sister is also totally jealous of my arms now, love that, hah!
I love the satisfaction of having nice arms!! It’s one of my hardest areas to tone!
yay! cassey.. you know what? even though i have hired my own personal trainer, doesn’t mean that i still don’t want to treat myself to chinese takeout, or ice cream once in a while— i think thet whole part of living a healthy lifestyle is to realize that ‘rome wasn’t built in a day’- and neither will a new lifestyle– i tend to eat healthy 85-90% of the time– & when it comes time for a splurge; i eat in moderation, and just go back to the gym tommorow–i agree with you too…i’m not vegetarian; but i limit the amout of red meat you have 🙂 bravo
I actually really appreciate you posting this, thank you Cassey! It was an eye opener for me to see that nothing actually happens by not eating “healthy” all the time, something that I need to learn and stop being scared of.
I always wondered why you are vegetarian though.. Because if our digestion system allowed to eat a chicken breast boiled, than it supposed to be natural. Love u!
Hey, vegetarian is fine! I’ve been pescetarian for four years without ever cheating (ever!) and I’m perfectly healthy. Your digestive system can handle greasy bacon, but that’s not healthy! Personally, I’m vegetarian for the environment.
I totally know how you feel about checking your body fat. I know mine isn’t great (not that I have checked). But I’m just too scared to get it checked. Do you know how much body fat % a 5’2 girl like me should be to be toned? I’m trying to get toned, but sometimes I have my bad days with food .
I just posted a chart on my tumblr, blogilates.tumblr.com. Check it out!
Hi! I just found your blog and I love it. We have very similar interests and websites 🙂 I appreciate your honesty in this post on so many levels. I appreciate how you share where you’re at, where you’ve been and what you’re experiencing with your body and habits. It’s so important to keep it real in this industry and you’re doing just that! Cheers!
It is hard bc I was afraid to announce this in fear that my veggie followers would be upset. But it is what it is! Thanks for appreciating my honestly. And thanks for commenting 🙂
So happy to read about this, especially concerning “diet”. You are correct to say, that there shouldn’t be a particular diet that we all need to adhere to. Food is food. It is meant to nourish and satisfy you, but never make you feel guilty and horrible etc…I do on occasion, make not so smart choices and I am trying to follow a clean diet on most weekdays and allow myself a splurge day on the weekend. I try to stick to your workouts almost 5 days a week. It has helped me so much; I feel a little bit stronger bit by bit. Sometimes, it catches me off guard and I haven’t realized that my body is changing. What an amazing feeling! I can’t wait to see my progression as the months go by and you know what? This has been more of a life change that I decided to make and you and this blog, plus the pop pilates site, has helped me tremendously—thank you!! BTW, I love chicken and the more I stick with that, I find myself staying away from read meat. Just the smell and taste of it seems different now :p
Hey cassey ! Ok I think this was a great post! I am one of thoes people who lost about 50lbs on the atkins low carb diet it was great but i hated not being able to eat bread and all the yummy stuff i enjoy and when i did I would beat myself up over it but at the end of the day it was how I looked in the mirror which is soo not how it should be. Couple that with having to make a certain weight to fight and I was on the verge of an eating disorder. I try my best to eat healthy and I am an exercise fanatic not because I have to do it but I LOVE doing it. So after I got off the atkins diet and starting eating normal again I gained back some weight…..which sucks since it took about a year to get the 50lbs off….so I am working at making healthy choices and cheating when I feel like it….it feels great lol! Its soo important to not look at the numbers and pay more attention to how your body feels. If your craving chocolate…have a few hershey kisses (just not the whole bag) I am just glad that becky told me about you so i can work on toning and have a great time while doing it. Like you said the key is to workout, eat healthy , cheat when you want, and love yourself no matter how you look.
you are becky are such lovers 😛
Whatever works for you! 🙂 Some people feel that they want animal products in their diet and that is totally cool 🙂 I think everyone should feel comfortable to make their own choices without having others look down on them or criticize them. Love the blog Cassey!! And that is totally funny how you both had the same percentage! LOL 😛
I KNOW. hahaha
i think that meat is very good for you- and im talking lean ones, the problem is not the meat its that everyone over does it. its all about moderation! i had that ppl think just bc its vegan or vegetarian that means its good for you. i lived in atlanta for a while… their restaurant “soul vegetarian” is so super fattening yet everyone thinks its a healthy alternative. i think you look great, and have the ability to make smart decisions so do ure thing sister! its obviously working well for you 🙂
Hey Cassey! I recently had to break from veggie-dom too. I have thyroid disease and my doctor told me that eating too much soy will effect the way my meds work. I was also tired of having to eat fried veggies or something just as un-healthy instead of steamed fish or grilled chicken just to keep away from meat. I heard a new term “flexitarian” (http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/f/flexitarian.htm) that I think we can both use. I love doing your workouts and reading your blog and getting ideas and the inspiration I need!
L
Oh? Flexitarian? Me likes.
first of all : congrats for you body fat percentage! good job!and congrats to your sister!
and what you say just confirm what I have recently realized : body and mind are connected, if you wanna lose fat for sure (not just for a month and then take it back) you have to FEEL good, so once and a while, just do /eat what you want, if it’s good for you mind and feeling, it can’t be so bad for your body! I realized that a strict diet wasn’t for me, yes I lost weight, but then, I was so frustrated, that I HAD to eat sweet things and my effots were ruined (plus I am FRench and Italian, so food is REALLY important for me!lol) . Now, if I wanna eat somethnig, I do, even if it’s not really really clean, because that helps me to eat clean on a longer time! (not sure to be really clear here.) anyway..I totally agree with you!
It makes me really sad that you’re leaving the vege lifestyle..It’s a personal decision which I have to respect though =// It’s hard as a student as well, but it’s a lifestyle that I strongly want.
Anything is possible as long as you want it hard enough 🙂 So good job on following through!
Sorry Chels…but just know that after this experience, I have a new found love for veggies and they will be the bulk of my diet. I just don’t want to create restrictions.
Congrats on your bf %! I’m one of those people that totally agree with cheating once in awhile so I’m happy that you’re proof that it doesn’t really affect anything if you balance it properly.
But I’m in the same “vegetarian situation” as you are… as much as I’d love to be a vegetarian, it’s way too difficult. So I did some googling and according to this website (http://www.veggievisitors.com/vegetarian-types.htm) there are actually quite a few types of vegetarians that I’ve never even heard of!
Go for it!
I have reduced my amounts of meat intake by tons myself, but I just can’t live completely without it. (well ditched red meat completely) And it does make some choises alot easier. Do what’s the best for your health and your body, cause that is the main idea after all, right?
I got no idea what my body fat% is, but yours seem about right according to the amounts of activity you are doing and with your diet!
When I was done with my weighloss I was at a shocking 9% bodyfat.. and I was demanded to gain a few to recover it. I haven’t had it checked since, my weigh is about the same as it was then, but I know I have alot more muscle mass now.. so kinda dreadding having it checked. I am constantly freezing and I love heat more than anything in the world! (And yet I live in a majorly freezing country :P)
I am gonna go to my healthcare centre and have it checked out next week! And Ill keep ya posted 🙂
*Hug*
9%!!???!!! OMG!!!!! Do you have a photo of that? That’s crazy! I mean, not in a good or bad way, but whoa!
Hmm, I will have to check on my computer at home when I get back! I don’t have any body shots, (was still too selfconsious about my weigh and my new body etc to have any taken) just facial ones. Dunno how much you can tell from them, probably by my cheekbones and my collar bones 🙂 Ill see what I can find
I could never be a vegetarian. I’m anemic & the doctors prescribe steak for me. For real! Plus…I just love meat!!!
The doctor prescribes steak. Haha, I love that.
What do I think? I think you are awesome and I am so happy I found your site.
yay!
Yay for you! Be confident in your decision, your only obligation is to yourself and what works best for you. I’ve been raw, vegan, vegetarian…and realized years ago that not one single dietary plan works for me. I consider myself to be flexi-raw, and the only label I’ll subscribe to is “healthy”. Also, I’d recommend re-testing your BF. We worked with the handheld devices a lot in college (comparing them to hydrostatic/caliper) and the only time they seemed to be accurate was when the subject had tested out first thing in the am. Before water, food, or any type of movement. 🙂
Ahh yes! I used to always check first thing in the morning before water, food, and exercise. Miss those Sunday morning weekly checkins 🙂