Body fat scales, says I'm too big to measure?

bella_lizzy

Hi
I got some scales that are supposed to measure my body fat % and I keep getting this error which means that I am too high to measure. I looked at the manual and the maximum
It measures is 60%. Could I really be more than 60% body fat??? This has kind of freaked me out. I'm 5'6 female and 110 kg (242lbs).

Thanks

misskarne

Those scales are notoriously inaccurate.

bella_lizzy

I hope they are. They worked on my mum who is 5'5 and 81 kg (178lb) and said she is 55% fat. Seems so high

30kgin2017

I have fitbit aria scales and have also been on the BF scales(cant remember actual name but it was still bio impedance measuring) the at the dietician (one with hand held attachments). My scales and his gave pretty close results. Comparing these to online calculators where you take various measurements and visuals they both seem about right. While I agree they might not be accurate they do give me an idea of where I am heading and I havent had wildly different readings if I measure under the same conditions. If I've had a big night the night before or am sore from exercise or what ever I skip weighing all together.

That being said I am just under 5'4 and 92kg and my body fat is 43-44% at the moment. So looking at your results they do seem really high!

Whitezombiegirl

I have a tanita innerscan and find it to be reliable. Im 5ft0 and at 135lbs it had me t 30%. At 94lbs it was 11%. It tracks really well imo. The only issue is that when im constipated my bodyfat figure goes down! Other than that i trust it for progress tracking.

PAV8888

Deep breath!

I will attempt to answer your question; yet, at the same time, i will categorically state that it doesn't matter!

We don't know your age, which is a major component of any attempt to calculate your body fat percentage. A common, not particularly accurate (but better than nothing) formula exists to calculate your body fat knowing your BMI.

Adult Body Fat % = (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x Age) – 5.4 (for females)
Adult Body Fat % = (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x Age) – 16.2 (for males)
This tends to be most accurate for people aged around 30 and in the middle of the pack in terms of height and weight. It gets worse the further away you move from these values.

Since your BMI is 39, this formula will probably come back with a value in the 50% range.
Which is really NOT UNEXPECTED for a female of BMI of 39.

As you can see here: http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women
For the 50%+ Body Fat range: hip Circumference may reach 45+ inches, and waist circumference 40+ inches, and thighs above 30+ inches.

Now. Why does it not matter*** whether it is 45%, 50% or 60%?

(*** It does matter; but, only so that in 2-3 years from now you can look back at where you were and compare to where you will be then!)

It doesn't matter because at a BMI of 39 regardless of whether you are very athletic, of regular musculature or have never exercised a day in your life and are below averagely muscled... regardless of all that... we KNOW that your health will benefit from moving to a BMI in the overweight range. i.e. to a bmi of 30 or below.

And regardless of the amount of lean mass you currently have we know that you can best achieve this weight reduction by creating a caloric deficit equal to 15 to 25% of your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).

So... plug the top end of normal weight for your height into MFP and say you want to maintain your weight and see how many calories a day this gives you.

Then set a deficit for your own stats such that the number of calories you're given to eat is somewhere around what a (top end of) normal weight person of your height and age would eat as lightly active.

Eat somewhere around that for now and as you lose weight... re-evaluate!

(Do not start by eating 1200... you do not need to go to that extreme in order to lose weight! You have a long way ahead of you; but, I can guarantee you that not only will 2-3 years go by in NO time, but, after a few months of losing 1+lb a week you will feel on top of the world well before the first year is done!)

lemurcat12

bella_lizzy wrote: »

I hope they are. They worked on my mum who is 5'5 and 81 kg (178lb) and said she is 55% fat. Seems so high

This seems way off. It would make her lean mass only about 80 lb, and I am only 5'3 (and not well-muscled at all), and my lean mass is around 95 lb (according to a DEXA). It was probably more when I was heavier, too.

Basically, the scales aren't trustworthy, and I'd ignore it and just focus on the weight loss for now. (If you weigh at the same time and under the same conditions every day it can show a trend nicely, though, so if watching the BF numbers go down is satisfying you can look forward to that.)

robininfl

One thing to remember is that healthy body fat levels for women are higher than you may think, logically. I am quite lean, and thin, and at 21-23%. If I stand next to my fiance, who is the same height and bodyfat %, he looks much fatter than I do.


So 50% does not sound out of line at all if you are fat now, most of what you will lose when you lose weight is fat (and water).

rainbowbow

PAV8888 wrote: »

Deep breath!

I will attempt to answer your question; yet, at the same time, i will categorically state that it doesn't matter!

We don't know your age, which is a major component of any attempt to calculate your body fat percentage. A common, not particularly accurate (but better than nothing) formula exists to calculate your body fat knowing your BMI.

Adult Body Fat % = (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x Age) – 5.4 (for females)
Adult Body Fat % = (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x Age) – 16.2 (for males)
This tends to be most accurate for people aged around 30 and in the middle of the pack in terms of height and weight. It gets worse the further away you move from these values.

Since your BMI is 39, this formula will probably come back with a value in the 50% range.
Which is really NOT UNEXPECTED for a female of BMI of 39.

As you can see here: http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women
For the 50%+ Body Fat range: hip Circumference may reach 45+ inches, and waist circumference 40+ inches, and thighs above 30+ inches.

Now. Why does it not matter*** whether it is 45%, 50% or 60%?

(*** It does matter; but, only so that in 2-3 years from now you can look back at where you were and compare to where you will be then!)

It doesn't matter because at a BMI of 39 regardless of whether you are very athletic, of regular musculature or have never exercised a day in your life and are below averagely muscled... regardless of all that... we KNOW that your health will benefit from moving to a BMI in the overweight range. i.e. to a bmi of 30 or below.

And regardless of the amount of lean mass you currently have we know that you can best achieve this weight reduction by creating a caloric deficit equal to 15 to 25% of your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).

So... plug the top end of normal weight for your height into MFP and say you want to maintain your weight and see how many calories a day this gives you.

Then set a deficit for your own stats such that the number of calories you're given to eat is somewhere around what a (top end of) normal weight person of your height and age would eat as lightly active.

Eat somewhere around that for now and as you lose weight... re-evaluate!

(Do not start by eating 1200... you do not need to go to that extreme in order to lose weight! You have a long way ahead of you; but, I can guarantee you that not only will 2-3 years go by in NO time, but, after a few months of losing 1+lb a week you will feel on top of the world well before the first year is done!)

I would agree with this completely, although at your current size i would say a calorie deficit that falls in line with 1% of total body weight per week would be accurate. In your case you can safely lose 2.4 pounds per week at your current size or you can have roughly 1,000 or 1,500 calories less per day than your TDEE.

Assuming you are completely sedentary your tdee is estimated to be: 2,371 calories per day

I personally would eat around 1,200-1,400 calories at your current size.

Francl27

I had a friend use one two weeks in a row. First week it said 17% body fat. Second, 25% (and she had lost 2 lbs that week - probably water weight from exercising more though). I'd say she's probably 26-28%ish.

So yeah... don't trust it one bit.

CafeRacer808

misskarne wrote: »

Those scales are notoriously inaccurate.

This. Bioelectric impedance, which is what all body fat scales use, is not an accurate way of measuring body fat %. You'd be much better off using body calipers.

mcraw75

Grab a fabric tape measure and use this, http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/mbf/ works as well as anything else.