Debunking the Myth

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Replies

  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
    I have the $120 Fitbit Aria scale as well, and my body fat percentage is all over the place on it. It's also dramatically different than my caliper test results.
  • Barbonica
    Barbonica Posts: 337 Member
    Came in expecting bible debate..






    ..silly me.

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • isaiahcool
    isaiahcool Posts: 7
    Your $120 scale was a waste of money. A scale can't calculate BF% accurately at all, bioelectric impedance is a sure crapshoot. You'll get different readings based off your level of hydration; the only way to get a real good reading is to essentially dehydrate yourself to a specific baseline and only measure BF% each time when your body is at that baseline. Even with calipers and a waist measurement, you're still at ballpark level. You need to a get bodpod measurement done, or hydrostatic weighing to get a real reading, and that's just a waste of money anyway.

    There's a thing called a clean bulk, and then there's a dirty bulk. You need fat to gain muscle, period. You need a caloric surplus, anywhere 10-20% over your TEE, to gain muscle, period. Theoretically, if you consume your TEE each day, you will maintain your weight due to incidental exercise/lifestyle...most people without the research would be surprised what their TEE actually is - MFP even does a semi-crap job at calculating this, mostly because it's not designed for those who want to bulk. You need to do about 5 minutes of grade school math to figure this out, using the mifflen st. jeor to calculate BMR, multiplying by an activity factor to get TEE, then upping 10-20% to get a ballpark cal figure for a proper bulk. Even then, it takes 2-4 weeks of weight measurement to get it right. Keep in mind BF% was never even involved in any of this. It's a stupid, outdated way of figuring out how "fat" you are, and only is relevant to those who are severely obese and need to calculate their macros based off of lean weight.

    For those guys out there dirty bulking, unless you are a serious huge person, it would be impossible to keep within your fat macros if each mean contained junk. Not to mention you'll be wacking out your cholesterol and sodium levels, as well as probably consuming trans fats. It's good for cals, cheap, and easy, but overall not too healthy. With a proper bulk, that "donut" around your midsection shouldn't be too noticable. And yes, it is acceptable. Your BF% needs to be under 10 for abs to show anyway. Pretty hard to get that on a bulk unless you're starting from a low point.

    The idea is to build up your body, the cut the fat around the muscles. At that point, you'll be able to bulk/cut in 5-10 week increments to maintain yourself properly, adding muscle with one program, then decreasing fat with another. You simply can't have both. It's just science.

    Read before you make assumptions, trust me your fitness will increase ten fold.

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