Calculating body fat percentage

Lifeisgood1105

Hi.. How do I calculate body fat percentage without use of the special scale that you would find at Goodlife. I don't have callipers either. Is there a way to do it? Thanks

lynn_glenmont

Not really. There are photo galleries online of people at different BF% that you could compare yourself to (or better yet, have a trusted third-party compare you to, because many of us don't have realistic images of how we look).

ETA: I assumed "not using a special scale" covered the use of other specialized equipment (like handheld devices that work on the same principle as body fat scales) or a lab visit for an expensive test.

ccsernica

The only way to get better than a very rough estimate is to get yourself hydrostatically weighed. Even those scales, which try to determine your body fat based on impedance, are only approximate.

Rammer123

Every type of test is going to have inaccuracies, even the hydrostatic weighing. If you buy a little handheld impedance machines, and just track it consistently and compare.

I'd recommend weighing and doing the impedance calculation daily and then taking and average at the end of the week, and comparing the averages.

Daily fluctuations in weight and the body fat will change based on many factors, but generally, taking an average week to week and comparing them week to week over a couple month period, you can get a pretty good idea of how much you're actually losing. I think they can be an awesome guide of how much progress you're making.

Not saying the actual number on the calculator is accurate, actually think they are incredibly inaccurate.