Workout Newbie.. Low BMI, but high fat%?

[alone2venture]

Hello, I’m a 26 year old female, 5â€Â￾1 and weigh around 88 lbs. I’ve joined a gym recently (almost a month). I work-out three times a week (lifting weights). I get on the scale twice a week (beginning and end). BMI is underweight 16.4%. My body fat is high at 20%, muscles is at 28%. The numbers have gone up since I started. I stick to amount of calories I need (factoring in the workout), I consume roughly 88g of protein a day a lot of carbs (bread, rice and pasta) and drink 2L of water a day.
The questions:
1. How can I reduce the body fat without dropping the BMI and losing weight?
2. Is there a way to put on weight without affecting the total body fat %?
3. Should I just focus on gaining muscles rather than weight, thus raising the BMI?

Thank you in advance.

 

[kibastryker]

How are you measuring Body fat %? because there are very few accurate measurements.

You should ignore BMI because for most people it is not a very good measure. According to BMI I am obese, and i can garuntee that is far from the truth.

I would also throw some cardio work in either at the end of your lifting or on your off days. If you just lift weights and eat like you are, you are probably going to put some weight on, which may not be a bad thing either, because i think 88 lbs is getting a little too small. I wouldn't worry about necessarily "bulking" up and looking freakish, it is very difficult for women to really put on excessive amounts of muscle.

Also try swapping out the bread rice and pasta for whole wheat versions. That will get you some more wholesome calories and enriched flour versions.