Perhaps this is a stupid question re Body Fat %

keenercam

So, how does one have their body fat percentage determined? Frankly, I have not lost a net pound in months, but with all the weight lifting I've been doing, my hard-core workouts with a personal trainer, lots of cardio, including deep water aerobics, I know that my body is changing even if the scale is not.

BMI, of course, runs off of gender, height and weight, which just makes me crazy. Tell me there is another way to measure, please. Thanks!

Roadie2000

BMI is pretty useless in my opinion, it doesn't seem to account for muscle mass.

There are a bunch of different ways to measure body fat %, the easiest ways to do it yourself are usually done by measuring different body parts. It doesn't necessarily matter which one is the most accurate, as long as you consistently do it the same way every time.

This one works well for me:
http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/body-fat-calculator-usmc

leslisa

I don't use it. Instead I look at my *kitten* and go "that's a lot of body fat". :laugh:

Seriously, I just worry about my clothes fitting. If I was going to have a BMI as a benchmark I would probably have a doc or fitness trainer do it so it was accurate.

Klamber26

Jump up and down and track how much you jiggle.

happythermia

When I joined my gym they measured my BF%, and now I have a scale that supposedly measures it...but I don't believe it LOL.

I just know that I'm like 30% fat and I need to be way less!!!

hali1

I paid a lot of cash for a scale that figures it for me. It was worth it to me just for the extra information / motivation.

On the cheaper end of things, there are websites that will calculate an estimated % based on certain measurements, if I remember they ask for things like your waist and neck measurements in addition to height, weight, age, gender. I don't have any bookmarked links to copy easily for you but you can probably google "body fat calculator" or something similar and find one workable for you.

mlewon

You can get anthropic measurements taken by your doctor to determine your actual BMI.

JonesJennings

I got a toy that looks like a playstation controller. You hold it at arms length and it beeps and you and tells you how fat you are/arn't. It cost me about £30 ($40-50, I think). Seems to be reasonably consistent (+- about 5%).

secretlobster

BF% scales are useless, especially for women. The electric current can only measure the lower part of your body. So if you carry weight unevenly in your top and bottom halves (read: you are female), or if the amount of water in your body changes, it will be inaccurate.

I'm just under 20% body fat. The expensive scale at the gym puts me at 25-27% body fat. Why pay for a scale that tells you you're fatter than you are?

Leiki

Jump up and down and track how much you jiggle.

Lol, that is really cute. I know this only works for some people, though. My dad is 5'7" 125 lbs, without an ounce of fat on his body, bit he has a lot of skin that will jiggle, I assure you!

jenniet04

I use this

http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306C-Loss-Monitor-Black/dp/B000FYZMYK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1339625136&sr=8-4&keywords=omron

It's not as accurate as some, but if you're consistent when you take the measurement, you'll see a trend.

Irishmoonwitch

Me and my boyfriend use http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/ They have a few and we prefer using the Covert Bailey Body Fat Calculator.

Hope this helps. I actually got that website from someone on this site.

TrainingWithTonya

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainingWithTonya

Scroll down....way down....where I addressed this last year. Sorry, I'm having a lazy day and its easier to refer you to what I've already typed then to type it all again.

---

16 years Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor
9 years Certified Sports Nutritionist
Bachelors in Exercise Physiology with a Minor in Nutritional Science
ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist
NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

secretlobster

Seems to be reasonably consistent (+- about 5%).

Consider the difference of 5% body fat between the women in these images, and then tell me that your scale is still reasonably accurate

leslisa

Jump up and down and track how much you jiggle.

I need to try this.

rotnkat

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/cbbf/

This is what I use get my BF%. I know it's not as accurate as getting tested, but it's way cheaper!!!!

MissMollieD

There are several ways to figure it out:

1. Military Bf Guideline Measurements - Similar to BMI, this form fits your dimensions into a BF curve.
2. A scale with impedence - I recommend Tanita, after a lot of research, this was the winner
3. Calipers - accuracy is better by a trained professional, but if you are careful to do it the exact same way every time you will know if you are improving.
4. Hydrostatic - I just had this done and it's considered "The Gold Standard" in body fat percentage. You get in a tank of water and they compare your weight on the ground to your weight under water. Fat floats, everything else does not. The trick is expelling ALL of the air from your lungs (because air floats as well). Check out this website for services in your area: http://www.bodyfattest.com/
5. BodPod - Quickly becoming a favorite because of the difficulties with the hydrostatic. Uses air displacement instead of water.

I have done all but #5 recently and here are my results:

1. 28%
2. 27%
3. 17.9%
4. 21.5%

Other background, I'm female, 30, 135lbs, 5'4".

KC4800

I saw on TV once (that makes it true!) that the most accurate way to measure Fat% is to be weighed while sitting on a scale in a big pool of water.

What I would do with this information? Who knows. Play the lottery, perhaps?

heybales

See if any schools or gyms have a Bodpod in your area. Universities need them for their own research studies, so sometimes cheaper for use. Ours was $35.

One at beginning of journey, especially because with knowing your LBM you can get good handle on what potential BMR would be, and most formulas start there. Then near the end as last lbs can be tough and having same knowledge of LBM would be useful.

wareagle8706

I use body fat calipers.

They're easy, you do'nt need help, they are consisten as long as you are consistent and they are inexpensive.

Get them at GNC

happythermia

Seems to be reasonably consistent (+- about 5%).

Consider the difference of 5% body fat between the women in these images, and then tell me that your scale is still reasonably accurate

Is that true? damn. if so that is really helpful! I'm closer to 30% :S
*measured by one of those pinchy things by my gym*

wareagle8706

I saw on TV once (that makes it true!) that the most accurate way to measure Fat% is to be weighed while sitting on a scale in a big pool of water.

What I would do with this information? Who knows. Play the lottery, perhaps?

This is true, that's one of the most accurate ways. It just costs a lot of money. Not something you can do to measure progress over time...

leslisa

There are several ways to figure it out:

1. Military Bf Guideline Measurements - Similar to BMI, this form fits your dimensions into a BF curve.
2. A scale with impedence - I recommend Tanita, after a lot of research, this was the winner
3. Calipers - accuracy is better by a trained professional, but if you are careful to do it the exact same way every time you will know if you are improving.
4. Hydrostatic - I just had this done and it's considered "The Gold Standard" in body fat percentage. You get in a tank of water and they compare your weight on the ground to your weight under water. Fat floats, everything else does not. The trick is expelling ALL of the air from your lungs (because air floats as well). Check out this website for services in your area: http://www.bodyfattest.com/
5. BodPod - Quickly becoming a favorite because of the difficulties with the hydrostatic. Uses air displacement instead of water.

I have done all but #5 recently and here are my results:

1. 28%
2. 27%
3. 17.9%
4. 21.5%

Other background, I'm female, 30, 135lbs, 5'4".

I'd hesitate to go with the military one. My son is having to drop lean muscle mass to join the military because their system was developed in the 1800's and they never changed it. He's actually gotten a little bit more "fatty" because he's always been pretty darn lean, always lifted, but he has to lose mostly based upon his height (they did raise it for him, I mean really, he can lift his shirt and you can tell he's not fat).

Partially it's because the bones in our family are very dense. For example, I'm usually about a size 2 or 4 at 125 lbs and I'm only 5'1". When I get down to say 105 - which most 5'1" women can carry, I'm wearing a size 12 in girls and look like I'm gonna keel any moment.

stephl21uk

If ur in the uk, boots pharmacy have scales that you can pay 70p to use and it measures ur body fat, it'poblanoob not 100% accurate but it will give you a good idea or at least help you to judge if you're losing any week by week if you keep using them. I use them once a week for my 'weigh in' and they are the only scales I use so I know that diff ones aren't going to measure/weigh me differently or wrong xx

HMVOL7409

I actually went and had mine measured via Bod Pod. It's not as easily accessible in some areas and depending on that factor, it can be expensive. However it was only $100 for 6 sessions and my husband and I go every 4-6 weeks as we can share the package. I probably will stop bc I reached my goal but I know he's still working on it. I've also had mine done with the callipers in the past but I honestly didn't care for that method.

amysj303

pictures don't tell the whole story:

NikoM5

BMI is terrible. According to it I'm obese. Get a good body fat caliper and learn how to use it. In general, you take a reading from three different locations on your body. then re-test 3 times, and take the average.

I use this. No guesswork or math.
http://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Digital-Body-Mass-Caliper/dp/B00488FDO8

NikoM5

pictures don't tell the whole story:

Yes and no. These women may have the same total amount of BF but there's no way they have the same BF percentage. The added muscle of the lady on the left will skew her percentage lower.

MissMollieD

There are several ways to figure it out:

1. Military Bf Guideline Measurements - Similar to BMI, this form fits your dimensions into a BF curve.

I'd hesitate to go with the military one. My son is having to drop lean muscle mass to join the military because their system was developed in the 1800's and they never changed it. He's actually gotten a little bit more "fatty" because he's always been pretty darn lean, always lifted, but he has to lose mostly based upon his height (they did raise it for him, I mean really, he can lift his shirt and you can tell he's not fat).

Partially it's because the bones in our family are very dense. For example, I'm usually about a size 2 or 4 at 125 lbs and I'm only 5'1". When I get down to say 105 - which most 5'1" women can carry, I'm wearing a size 12 in girls and look like I'm gonna keel any moment.

Anything that form fits you to an average curve is not going to work for everyone (thus, outliers). I wasn't implying that it would, just one way to determine. As you can see from the results I have posted, it may or may not be accurate for me depending on which one you think is most correct.

bert16

There are several ways to figure it out:

1. Military Bf Guideline Measurements - Similar to BMI, this form fits your dimensions into a BF curve.
2. A scale with impedence - I recommend Tanita, after a lot of research, this was the winner
3. Calipers - accuracy is better by a trained professional, but if you are careful to do it the exact same way every time you will know if you are improving.
4. Hydrostatic - I just had this done and it's considered "The Gold Standard" in body fat percentage. You get in a tank of water and they compare your weight on the ground to your weight under water. Fat floats, everything else does not. The trick is expelling ALL of the air from your lungs (because air floats as well). Check out this website for services in your area: http://www.bodyfattest.com/
5. BodPod - Quickly becoming a favorite because of the difficulties with the hydrostatic. Uses air displacement instead of water.

Actually, the most accurate method is currently the DEXA body scan, but those aren't available everywhere and are expensive. They're more accurate than any of the above, though.

jenluvsushi

From what I have read, the DEXA scan is the most accurate....I am going to have mine done soon and can't wait!