Body Fat %

lesockie

Hi all - I'm just trying to expand my knowledge of body fat %. Is it a good measure of fitness? Is using a measuring tape an ok way of estimating body fat %? Can body fat % be estimated from photos? I posted some starting photos on my profile to document this journey and I would love to know what my body fat % is! Or is there another measure that you would prefer to use to determine overall health and fitness? Feel free to friend me as I embark on this journey!

sardelsa

I wouldn't say the number itself is particularly useful, but having a certain bodyfat% in many cases will be good for health and aesthetically pleasing (to an extent of course... an extremely low bodyfat% especially in women can be very unhealthy longterm)

I personally do not track it, but I use the mirror, progress photos, measurements, how clothes fit as well as my scale weight. I look at myself and think "am I happy with my body composition?" and go from there.

If you want to improve or lower your bodyfat%, best way to do it is a calorie deficit (nothing too steep), adequate protein (0.8-1g per lb lean body mass or lb goalweight) and following a progressive weight training program.

lesockie

Thanks for the insight! I will try to commit to multiple means of measuring progress as you suggest in addition to incrementally lowering my body fat %.

TavistockToad

I would say it's a measure of health but not fitness.

I have a trend weight app and go by how my clothes fit and the mirror to measure progress.

dancefit2015

I don't think it's necessary for everyone, but personally I like to go to the gym every few month and have a caliper test to find out what mine is. I tend to view myself as bigger than I am so on a mental aspect it's important for me to have numbers and proof that I am making progress, otherwise I won't see it and I won't believe others telling me.
I like the caliper test for finding BF%. Do you have a gym membership anywhere? They might offer fitness tests where they test for body fat and other things.

dancefit2015

Also, if you have a fair amount of lean body mass, that can increase your BMR. My gym gives BMR estimates with the test and on one I scored around 36% and my BMR was close to 1,700. But at the same weight with a BF of 25% my BMR shot up to a little over 2,000 calories. It's nice to get a more accurate BMR with that number involved.