Whoa...New Scale. Why Are My Readings This Way?!

Jourdan_Rystrom

So I just purchased an Omron Scale/Body Fat Percentage high-tech thingy that measures the fat in your body from your feet/heels to your hands (HBF-514 style). It was expensive, and rated high in stars on Amazon so I'm assuming that it gives accurate readings.

Anyway here's what I got:

Weight: 137.4
BMI: 23
Body Fat %: 32.6
Skeletal Muscle %: 28.9
Resting Metabolism: 1328
Body Age: 27 (ugh...I'm 20)
Visceral Fat Level: 4 (Normal)

I followed the directions for programming in my height, age, and gender. I took these measurements after waking up in the morning with no food in my tummy and when I usually weigh myself.
Why is my BF% so HIGH?? I am freaking out because my last BF% in late November at the gym (using just a hand-holding monitor) was 24.5%. I have been on a high-protein low-fat diet and have not been starving myself. I eat 1200 net calories a day and eat all my exercise calories. Granted, lately I have been eating out once here, once there...but would it REALLY make my fat percentage get that much higher? I am a pretty overall healthy person. This is worrying me, because it is on the VERY HIGH percentage of "Normal", and .4% away from being "High".

Any advice?

Jourdan_Rystrom

Oh...and I work out and do STRENGTH TRAINING all the time!!! Strength 4x a week...so I thought my body fat would drop drastically this weigh-in...

Dafrog

i honestly dont see how any scale can tell you how much BF% one would have. Calulate it with measurements or actually us the hand held guage.

Jourdan_Rystrom

-_-

It does have the hand-held gauge ALONG with the scale reading from your feet, so it should be even MORE accurate.

NoAdditives

The best way to measure body fat is to have someone else (like a doctor or trainer) use calipers on you.

Mirabilis

According to the brand new scale I just bought, it's an electric resistance test through your lower body (using tiny amounts of current).

As far as I'm concerned, it's magic, even if I don't like what it tells me.

SweetCharity

I don't really trust the BF% reading on my scale. Considering it changes DAILY - and I mean drastically, not just a little bit - I don't think it can be very accurate. I would stick with either calipers or using body measurements to judge. I use the calculator on this webpage ----> http://bit.ly/byOVX8 and it's closer to what my calipers say - so I tend to believe it more so than my fickle scale.

Jourdan_Rystrom

Thanks so much for that link! It says I have 22.8% Body Fat based on my information

Azdak

First of all, I give you credit for posting so many pictures. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself up to such public scrutiny (and the results are pretty good, let me say...... )

Now--to your numbers. The body fat % you report indicates a lean body mass of about 93lbs. At your height, in my experience, that is a little lower than average, but it's not that low that I can say--yeah, your scale is really off. It could mean that you have a small frame or lower than average muscle mass as well. You say you do a lot of strength training, but that doesn't guarantee that you increase muscle mass. I don't know how quickly you lost your weight, but if you are maintaining a large calorie deficit, lifting weights may help conserve muscle mass, but it won't increase it much.

Based on your pictures (sorry if this sounds weird, but it is what I do for a living), you appear to be slimmer, but not at a level of muscle definition that would suggest a really low body fat % (say, under 20%). I mean you look really great and have made awesome changes, but I am just discussing this within the context of your body fat reading.

Body fat scales can vary quite a bit. They are really not intended for single measurements, but for serial measurements done frequently so that one can determine a rough "average". I don't know what you expectations were, but they are not precise instruments. And this is one instance where the average Amazon reviewer is not qualified to render the best evaluation.

Bottom line: I think the scale is a little high. I would estimate you are in the 24% to 27% range. If you can ever find someone experienced, you would be an excellent subject for skinfold calipers.

foxyforce

Agreed, you look great! I am at 145 and am dreaming of the 135 mark, congrats!!

First of all, I give you credit for posting so many pictures. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself up to such public scrutiny (and the results are pretty good, let me say...... )

Now--to your numbers. The body fat % you report indicates a lean body mass of about 93lbs. At your height, in my experience, that is a little lower than average, but it's not that low that I can say--yeah, your scale is really off. It could mean that you have a small frame or lower than average muscle mass as well. You say you do a lot of strength training, but that doesn't guarantee that you increase muscle mass. I don't know how quickly you lost your weight, but if you are maintaining a large calorie deficit, lifting weights may help conserve muscle mass, but it won't increase it much.

Based on your pictures (sorry if this sounds weird, but it is what I do for a living), you appear to be slimmer, but not at a level of muscle definition that would suggest a really low body fat % (say, under 20%). I mean you look really great and have made awesome changes, but I am just discussing this within the context of your body fat reading.

Body fat scales can vary quite a bit. They are really not intended for single measurements, but for serial measurements done frequently so that one can determine a rough "average". I don't know what you expectations were, but they are not precise instruments. And this is one instance where the average Amazon reviewer is not qualified to render the best evaluation.

Bottom line: I think the scale is a little high. I would estimate you are in the 24% to 27% range. If you can ever find someone experienced, you would be an excellent subject for skinfold calipers.

fitnessGETZeasy

Hi, Jourdan. Based on your photos, we have very similar body types. I had a health assessment at my gym and was shocked that my body fat% was higher than I expected. Even at 131 pounds, the trainer recommended I lose 5 pounds to be at an "optimal" body fat%. Through a lot of research and a much needed reality check, I discovered the strength training I was doing just wasn't enough. Sure, I could kick butt in my sculpting classes, but when it came to hard core lifting, I was pretty weak. I started really focusing on strength training with REAL weights about a month ago and it's made a tremendous difference. By that I mean, I lift as heavy as I feel I can without compromising good form and do the moves slowly focusing on the muscles I'm building. Previously I was primarily concerned in cardio and just took a few sculpting classes a week (which I've recently found didn't really "build" a lot of muscle since they're usually done quickly and with lighter weights.) Anyway, this made a huge difference for me, so I thought I would share. Don't get discouraged. It's a marathon, not a sprint, as they say. :-)

jimmydeanbakker

I don't trust those body fat scales; and from the looks of your latest photos, you don't have anything wrong with your body. Just keep doing what you're doing, and you'll be fine. For women, a body fat between 21 to 33 percent is considered healthy, and you're fitting into that range perfectly.

Jourdan_Rystrom

Thanks for the responses guys...but I found out that the scale is really whack for athletic people. All of the 1 star ratings of it on Amazon were from people who worked out every day and they were also getting crazy 30% body fat when they knew they were 19-22. One guy who has 9% body fat got a reading of 25%!

I went to the website she shared and it said I'm at 22.4%, which is what I was thinking I really was. I was 26% a month ago and have lost even more weight since then but have really grown muscle mass too. I lift heavy weights and I don't do sculpting classes for the exact reason pushing4more said - too little weights and too fast. I ALWAYS move my weights slowly and focus on the muscles working...I love that feeling.

I will be returning the scale back to Amazon