Scales that track Body Fat %

kristle00

Hey all! I've been counting calories and working out consistently for almost a month. I'm not losing weight as fast as I'd like...only down about 5lbs so far but I was curious about scales that track your body fat %. I can feel I'm getting stronger, I didn't measure myself but I can tell my waist is smaller, so I have the feeling that I'm gaining muscle as I am lifting weights as well as my cardio.

My question is that I'm looking at getting myself a scale that tracks your Body Fat % and was wondering if anyone else owns one and what they think of them. I figure if I'm not seeing that i'm losing weight but I can see that percentage go down a bit it will definitely help me on the mental front. I know everything takes time and to be persistent and in time it will come. I'm okay with that. But just looking at what else I can do, how else I can track my improvement.

Any information on what you guys think of these types of scales, whether you like them or not, how accurate they are etc... would be awesome - Thanks

~Kristle

VegasFit

The scale that I have tracks body fat. It's an older model, Tanita, I think, about ten years old. I like it. I don't think it's reliable as other methods but for home use and to track myself it does what I need. I always weigh at the same time under the same conditions. First thing in the morning, haven't drank or eaten anything yet, etc. It's been a long time since I read my manual but I know it can have a lot of variations depending on water weight, time of day, etc., so I just keep it consistent. Measuring and just how your clothes fit are always good tools too.

kristle00

Well I always weigh in once a week, same day every week and same time to try to be as accurate as I can - I know that there are other ways for testing that can be more accurate but if they sell scales, multiple brands that do it, you'd think there has to be some accuracy to it anyways! I just ordered one-figured if anything it wouldn't hurt anything

VegasFit

Agreed! I like tools and gadgets and if they don't break the bank I say why not!

cwolfman13

Scales that track Body Fat %

Are not remotely accurate. Those scales cannot tell the difference between fat and water which is why your BF% on those scales will fluctuate all over the place pretty routinely. In real life, you don't gain and lose BF% like that. Dropping BF% is extremely gradual...more so than pounds coming off of the scale.

Your best bet for BF is a decent pair of calipers and a measuring tape...also your clothes. I can tell you right now that I was 186 Lbs yesterday and 182 today (water weight and I'm well within my maintenance fluctuation)...and did not drop even a fraction from BF%

Chagama

I have one, and while I doubt it's 100% accurate, I don't see the fluctuations that other people are talking about, so I do think it's good for trending, even if the number itself is probably not accurate.

HappyStack

They aren't accurate, and will likely fluctuate quite a bit over a given time period. It's not a good way to measure progress, imo.

If you want a good indicator of body fat... just look in the mirror. You'll see the difference over time.

just_Jennie1

Scales that track Body Fat %

Are not remotely accurate. Those scales cannot tell the difference between fat and water which is why your BF% on those scales will fluctuate all over the place pretty routinely. In real life, you don't gain and lose BF% like that. Dropping BF% is extremely gradual...more so than pounds coming off of the scale.

Your best bet for BF is a decent pair of calipers and a measuring tape...also your clothes. I can tell you right now that I was 186 Lbs yesterday and 182 today (water weight and I'm well within my maintenance fluctuation)...and did not drop even a fraction from BF%

Calipers aren't accurate either. Have you ever looked at the chart that they use? Your BF% is determined by your age. I used to have mine done with the calipers all the time. Then I watched them pull out their handy dandy sheet, find my age and the number that they came up with and there was my percent. Funny thing is that the same number under a younger person gave a lower BF%. How is that possible? Also if you have your measurements done with calipers you need to make sure that the same person does the measurements all the time. Different people do it different ways. I learned that too. Knowing all this I just used it as a tool. I didn't put much faith or stock in it. Just like using a scale and taking your measurements is a good tool.

FrnkLft

5 lbs in a month is good progress... I loose at about 1 lb a week. It's not a sprint, no matter how much we would like it to be.

Are you eating at least 1200 calories?

About the scales, they are notoriously inaccurate/inconsistent due to the way that they estimate your bf%. A professional using calipers in multiple locations is fairly reliable and cheap.

Otherwise the BodPod is by far your best option. Usually for around $50 at a local university or sports lab. Official site can help you find one.

Otherwise just use the scale as a general estimate.

Just looking at your photos, I would say reasonably around 25-30%. Absolutely beautiful girl though

VegasFit

I have one, and while I doubt it's 100% accurate, I don't see the fluctuations that other people are talking about, so I do think it's good for trending, even if the number itself is probably not accurate.

I don't see a lot of fluctuations in mine either.

Cortelli

I have a 6 or 7 year old Omron and it is all but worthless, IMHO. The BF readings were miles off my hydrostatic testing numbers, and my scale seems to rely heavily on height / weight profiles as opposed to relying significantly on any electrical impedance. I am 5' 9" and for fun I created a profile for a male, same age, but 6' 1". Step on as 5' 9" and get one reading. Switch to 6' 1" profile and step right back on -- voila, dropped multiple percentages of body fat. Amazing!

If you like toys and gadgets, by all means get one if it will make you happy. But do not expect to get very accurate readings (or readings that are accurate at all).

stealthq

I have one, and think it's crap for %BF. It's always told me I've been anywhere from 28% to 32%. There's been no trend downward since I started losing weight.

Based on the fact that I lift and have lost enough to have defined muscle everywhere except my belly, I'm realistically anywhere from 22-24%. Even if my estimate is wildly off, there is no way I'm anywhere near 30% BF at this point.

grizzly63

I have been thinking about getting this to measure body fat. It tracks body fat and muscle quality per area of body.

http://www.skulpt.me/

Stripeness

I have one, and while I doubt it's 100% accurate, I don't see the fluctuations that other people are talking about, so I do think it's good for trending, even if the number itself is probably not accurate.

This is also my experience. (have an Omron scale). Also, the trend matches that of measuring tape/calculations, even if the percentages are SEVERAL numbers apart. That just amuses me, and it's the trend that counts :-)

SirDoctorofTARDIS

I like mine. As long as you stay properly hydrated the error rate is 5%. The key is to maintain proper hydration. Thick callosus can also throw off the accuracy.

They are as accurate as calliper (skin fold measurtement) which are also at a 5% margin of error.

DEXA and BodPod are around 3% margin of error.

I believe that hydrostatic weighing is around 4% error.

editorgrrl

I've had a Fitbit Aria Wifi scale since September. My BMI is 24, but the scale says I'm 37.1% fat. I've lost 7–8 lbs. in that time, but only .7% fat.

I ignore the body fat %. (But I do love never having to log my weight.)

nikkihk

5 lbs in a month is good progress... I loose at about 1 lb a week. It's not a sprint, no matter how much we would like it to be.

Are you eating at least 1200 calories?

About the scales, they are notoriously inaccurate/inconsistent due to the way that they estimate your bf%. A professional using calipers in multiple locations is fairly reliable and cheap.

Otherwise the BodPod is by far your best option. Usually for around $50 at a local university or sports lab. Official site can help you find one.

Otherwise just use the scale as a general estimate.

Just looking at your photos, I would say reasonably around 25-30%. Absolutely beautiful girl though

What he said. 5 pounds in a month is right on track!!

nicoleashleyfit

I have a scale as well as an omar. one reads 20% and the other reads 22%. Water test are the only accurate way of testing your bodyfat. However, Why does this really matter? As long as you are using one piece of equipment at roughly the same time of day the accuracy of the actual result doesn't matter... just the change in the number proving that you are losing body fat.

WalkingAlong

I hate mine and never use it. It never changes, even when weight does. I have a calipers, too. I imagine it does slightly better but I never used it for long so can't really say.

kristle00

5 lbs in a month is good progress... I loose at about 1 lb a week. It's not a sprint, no matter how much we would like it to be.

Are you eating at least 1200 calories?

About the scales, they are notoriously inaccurate/inconsistent due to the way that they estimate your bf%. A professional using calipers in multiple locations is fairly reliable and cheap.

Otherwise the BodPod is by far your best option. Usually for around $50 at a local university or sports lab. Official site can help you find one.

Otherwise just use the scale as a general estimate.

Just looking at your photos, I would say reasonably around 25-30%. Absolutely beautiful girl though

Thank you Yes i'm eating 1200 calories, I actually upped it to 1500 because different sites ranged me from 1300-1700 so I went with the middle! and I try to eat more when I burn a lot at the gym...I try to burn at least 400-500 a day, more on days before or after I know I can't hit the gym or get an at home workout in. I just see a bunch of people talking about body fat % and I figured a scale wouldn't be ALL that accurate but it could give me some sort of idea anyways - I live in a small town and my gym doesn't offer anything like that nor do I have anywhere around here to kind of measure it - I can tell from working out and doing weights my waist has gotten smaller and my belly isn't as far out and I know i'm getting stronger as I've started to up my weights already I just kind of feel like I should have another idea - so i'll have to check into getting a good BF% from my dr. or another center in the closest city to me and then since I already ordered my scale because i'm impatient and get an idea in my head I run with it, I'll have to compare...IDK if it makes a difference but I ordered a bowflex one - supposed to read Body Fat %, BMI, Muscle Mass and I think it said something about Body Water weight? idk we'll see how it goes - but thank you all for the info, help and kind words, I know 5lbs in a month is good, I just felt like most of it was from detoxing and the last two weeks I went down .8 lb only to go back up .4 this week - so i'm curious as to what I really am and how far I have to go

LisaBannister421

I just purchased one from Aldi a couple of weeks ago. Waiting to see if that muscle and fat number changes. I'll let you know. I huge thing is measuring. Measure the next time you get the scale and write it all down. Do the measures and scale at the same time. I started pictures this time and I see a difference in one week even though I have only lost 2 pounds. Good Luck!