Do body fat scales actually work? If not, what does?

adiostrasero

I'm on a tight budget, but I think my scale is going bad (not just because I disagree with it.) I'm wondering if it's worth the extra $20 or so to get a scale that claims to measure body fat percentage. If those type of scales do not work, is there something affordable that does? My gym doesn't have the electronic calipers.

I'm asking because I'm not losing weight and my measurements aren't changing, but I swear I feel thinner somehow. If body fat isn't decreasing, then I'll know I'm just delusional.

Sporks42

Mine matches up with my scale pretty well, I think it comes down to how evenly your fat is distributed, mine is pretty evenly all over me. If you carry a lot of fat in certain places, it won't be as accurate. I think they are pretty stable though, so loosing body fat will lower the percent pretty accurately, even if the number is wrong. I could be talking crap, but I have one and it works for me

MyChocolateDiet

Mine didn't. But then I got a sharpie and wrote 18% where the body fat shows. It works great now.

adiostrasero

Mine didn't. But then I got a sharpie and wrote 18% where the body fat shows. It works great now.

loooool

adiostrasero

Mine matches up with my scale pretty well, I think it comes down to how evenly your fat is distributed, mine is pretty evenly all over me. If you carry a lot of fat in certain places, it won't be as accurate. I think they are pretty stable though, so loosing body fat will lower the percent pretty accurately, even if the number is wrong. I could be talking crap, but I have one and it works for me

My fat is also evenly distributed, to a disturbing degree. Although this is one time when it's apparently an advantage! Thanks

eddie8131

I had a Bod Pod done (supposedly super accurate) and it matched up close to my scale which cost about $50. But I've read in general the bodyfat bathroom type scales are not terribly accurate. So maybe getting the bod pod done once now to see where you are at and again in 6 month or a year, and just use your same scale. Bod pod is not terribly expensive and usually there is a lot of useful information it gives you in a printout.

herblackwings39

If a scale that reads your body fat ends up being off, but it's the only thing you use to measure it then it would still work to show you a downward trend. It may not be exact, but if the number goes down you're going in the right direction.