Can only hope to lose 65% of excess weight???

Jachut · August 16, 2006

Same here Desiree - half a pound per week sure adds up over the months. I'd love to be dropping pounds per week now but like Jack says I"m also enjoying many of the benefits before I've gotten to my goal weight anyway.

I may not be the weight I want to be permanently but I"m now a "normal" sized person who can shop anywhere and if that was all I'd get out of this, I'd take it happily.

stinaNYC · August 16, 2006

Stina, I've never heard of lean body mass. How is it measured?

debi717: The most accurate way to measure body fat % and lean body mass is, unfortunately, the hardest to obtain. It's called Hydrostatic weighing (underwater weighing), and it uses the Archimedes Principle to come to a percentage. Your examiner first calculates your body density by measuring the amount of Water you displace when you immerse yourself in Water. Then a formula is used to calculate body fat based on your body density. The problem is finding a facility (University, major gym or fitness center) which has a hydrostatic weighing tank.

If you cannot find one, the second best method is a caliper test. It's cheap, and your doctor may be able to do it for you.

Some people use scales that send an electromagnetic wave through your feet to measure body fat, but these are HIGHLY inaccurate. I bought one (unfortunately), and it told me that I was about 10% *over* what my fitness trainer measured me at with the caliper test.

I would suggest asking your doctor if he/she knows where you could get the hydrostatic (underwater) test done. If they don't know, ask them if they know how to do the caliper test and if they could do it for you. Or, if you go to a gym, you could ask if their professional fitness staff can do it.

LapBandit · August 17, 2006

First of all...some SUPPORT group! I'm sure that lady was trying to be objective but telling someone they are being unrealistic wasn't really supportive! Secondly...I, for one, am going to do my darndest to try to lose as close to 100% of my excess weight as possible. I'm sure gonna try! So I say, sure...it's possible. Anything is possible!