Fit vs. Fat?

[m4star]

I've read an article recently (sorry I do not have an excerpt to cut in here) about how most American women who are "thin" (I use that term in quotes because the author did not provide a definition of what thin is to them) are actually "fat"...meaning their body fat percentage was too high to be considered in good health.

This is something I deal with each day. While my BMI, body weight, and clothing size all indicate a "thin" woman, I feel (and my doctor agrees) that I could use more lean muscle mass and less body fat. Being larger chested, I realize that I will naturally have more body fat than a flat chested woman, but what are the opinions of this group on the fit vs. fat debate??

I train with weights, I do toning exercises, but still I would like to see my body fat percentage decrease. Am I crazy for thinking this? Do you agree that you can be fit but fat? (Please take into consideration that I'm talking about this questions ONLY in this case, not in an "I'm overweight but I exercise, so I'm fit" sort of a way) I'd love feedback/suggestions/comments on this one.

[BevP]

Sounds like you've read Covert Bailey. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif I agree completely that someone can be skinny and fat or large and lean. I also love Covert Bailey's approach to fitness. I think the BMI or a good Body Fat reading gives a much better idea. For me that sucks, because I'm on the edge of overweight on BMI and need to lose quite a bit of fat for body fat. But I really feel the scale does not give a good enough picture, especially as we so often focus on that number only.

By the way, different things can affect your goal body fat. If you take birth control or certain other drugs you're likely to have a couple % points higher naturally.

I would suggest you get a good body fat taken. That will tell you where you are and where you should be. Continue with weight training since that increases muscle.