bod pod

chunt87

Ok guys, I have been thinking of trying to use a bod pod, its an egg shaped thing that is supposed to help measure body fat and how much you should eat a day to lose weight. I have hashimoto thyroid with a completely dead thyroid now. I would like to see if I am not eating enough or eating too much to lose the weight.

Have any of you tried this and was it worth it if you have?

toadqueen

I'm trying it Thursday. I'll let you know.

chunt87

thanks a bunch, I have been looking at it over and over again, I dont know how many times but its quite expensive to do where I live so I have been unsure.

bametels

The title of your post caught my eye because the name is catchy and I had never heard of it. I did a quick online search and found a couple of academic articles that had positive things to say about it. The link below is from the Sport Science and Wellness Education Program at the University of Akron. It was interesting to see that they offer the test at the University to members of the community for the cost of $25 which seems quite inexpensive. Perhaps there is a university or a nonprofit health/fitness related organization in your area that offers this to community members. I may look into it in my area. It sounds like a valuable assessment.

http://www.uakron.edu/sswe/programs/exercise-physiology/bodpod.dot

chunt87

Wow 25 dollars, thats cheap! I live near Berkeley, CA and that university charges 80 dollars. Thats why I have been going back and forth with it. Sigh, and they're the only testing facility near me.

CSARdiver

I'm a data geek and love this stuff. Highly recommend this to anyone as long as you use it as a motivational tool. We have a few between Milwaukee and Chicago and they sell package deals - 4 scans over 2 years and run ~$60/scan depending on the package. This also involves review by a sports med physician and nutrition/exercise plan.

editorgrrl

I'd never heard of it. The nearest is 65 miles from me: http://www.bodpod.com/en/test-site-locator

The BOD POD Gold Standard Body Composition Tracking System is an air displacement plethysmograph which uses whole-body densitometry to determine body composition (fat and fat-free mass). A full test requires only about 5 minutes, and provides highly accurate, safe, comfortable, and fast test results.

Easier than the "dunk tank," and way more accurate than calipers or home bodyfat scales. But it won't tell you how many calories to eat. Logging everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly—then charting your progress—will do that.

lindsey1979

I've heard good things in my lifting groups about the body pod as several of the members are competitive athletes, so accurately measuring when they're cutting for a competition is really important. From what I remember, they said it wasn't as good as the water immersion test but better than anything else out there. Some said there were significant differences depending on their hydration levels (though that's not supposed to be the case), so keep that in mind as a possibility.

It helps in the sense that you can figure out how much LBM you have and can measure cals and macros from there -- the more LBM you have, the most calories you can generally eat compared to a person of similar weight (i.e. those with more fat versus LBM need to eat less to lose). But, in the end, meticulous tracking about your food and bodyweight (and comp) over time will give you the best answers -- but, you've got to take in a lot of data to see the pattern and adjust and beware of water weight fluctuations.

toadqueen

Quick update. I'm still assimilating and have been busy, busy.

I took the test yesterday. It was interesting and I'm glad I did it to assuage my curiosity but I don't think it is worth the cost and effort. The effort was a 3+ hour drive mostly in horrible traffic. The test was at most 3 minutes. They weigh you first then have you sit in the egg in a swimsuit for 45 seconds without moving. Then they repeat the test.

The report is a measure of your weight in lbs and your body fat in percentages. It also calculated your BMR so that could be used to calculate calories to eat to create a deficit.

My results were that I am 46.7% fat!!! Needless, to say I'm horrified. It does not indicate water levels the way the bio-impedance analysis test does and I know that I have severe water retention.

My BMR was 1185. The test giver said I needed to eat at least 1200 calories but I know I always do better with less and have my doctor's approval to aim for 1000.

I have a scale that measures body fat which places me at 35.2%. Significantly different than the Bod Pod.

Like I said, I was just curious. I'm scheduled for 3 more tests that I already paid in advance to take. My next one will not be after a carb fest where I gained 15 lbs of water weight in 4 days.

chunt87

Wow so it is enlightening! that was what I was looking for. It may be worth my doing for the 80 dollars. I have been losing succesfully though, if anyone else is still having troubles. I reset the myfittnesspal macro settings to my bidding, 25% carbs, 40%protein and 35% fat. so far so good but it is only week one.

I think your test results could have been skewed a bit from your diet the previous day like you had mentioned. But its really good that it was broken down that far!

Thank you for letting us know how it went. I think it could be worth it to do for the 80 bucks now