How reliable are body fat machines/My TDEE/BMR ....

roxylola
roxylola Posts: 540 Member
in Introduce Yourself
A friend of mine has a body fat calculator (it's branded lloyds pharmacy). It calced me as being 27.5% body fat which I would agree with as I would have estimated myself as being in the 25%-30% bracket. Can't remember all the details for muscle tone and the like but she was pretty impressed lol! Came up with a bmr of 1865 bmi of 20.7 (I think)

I would say the figures are reasonable and in line with what I thought I was at. Although the BMR was higher than I expected

Anyone else had any experience with these?

Replies

  • simonc14
    simonc14 Posts: 76 Member
    My scales do pretty much the same....body fat %, water %, BMI and BMR.

    I think the BMI/BMR numbers are based on calculations based on your weight and personal details put into the scales (height, sex, age etc). These seem to me to come up with good consistent numbers that fit with various on-line calculators.

    The body fat % is, I think derived from the water % which is measured through electrical impedance. I'm less sure how accurate this is, as i've read on various forums that they can be pretty inaccurate. Apparently you need to have slightly damp feet for them to function at their best.

    In the long run, the mirror and your clothes will tell the story!
  • roxylola
    roxylola Posts: 540 Member
    Lol @ damp feet. To be honest I was in my bike gear so I have no idea what condition my feet were in!!!
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    I have a scale that provides a body fat percentage that seems to be reasonably accurate. Most people look at these percentages over fairly long periods to see trends. When my scale finally gives out I'll upgrade to a scale that distinguishes fat from water from muscle.

    In sum, they're a good tool, along with the scale.
  • shellylb52
    shellylb52 Posts: 157 Member
    They are not very accurate unfortunately. I just got "tanked" and found that there was a 9% difference from what my BF scale said. And it wasn't to the good lol. I believe that tanking and the Bod Pod are the two most accurate ways to get your true body fat %. In my area there is a mobile van that travels to various gyms. The cost was $45, not too bad. I'm not sure what the Bod Pod cost is. :wink:

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