Perhaps this is a stupid question re Body Fat %

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Replies

  • MissMollieD
    MissMollieD Posts: 130
    [/quote]

    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.
    [/quote]

    True. I don't have that in my area so I blanked it.
  • MissMollieD
    MissMollieD Posts: 130
    pictures don't tell the whole story:
    r8e0y9.jpg

    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.

    Do you understand how percentages work?
  • graelwyn
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
    They seem to have a pod pod at the local university here in my city, as part of their sports and nutrition department, but whether they ever allow a member of the public to be tested, I don't know. Worth finding out, I guess. By callipers, I am around 19%(but I was measured that way right after working out so might not be accurate). By the military one, I was 16.4%.
  • BigBrewski
    BigBrewski Posts: 922 Member
    Jump up and down and track how much you jiggle. :wink:

    LOL when I read this I instantly heard "wiggle wiggle wiggle" in my head..
  • Lee1265
    Lee1265 Posts: 15 Member
    I don't have an accurate answer, but I do have an experience with it! I had stalled...scale not going up or down...held steady. Friend of mine had helped me do the body fat, water weight, on one of the fancy scales mentioned.. When I got back on and did the body fat .... I had dropped 8 percentages. So putting on muscle mass but still dropping fat? He tried to explain it as a pound of fat and a pound of muscle weigh the same...but they take up less room. So the body is changing, body fat dropping and muscle being put on...it balanced the scale number out. I confused myself, wouldn't be surprised if I just confused you more! LOL, I tried though!!!!
  • NikoM5
    NikoM5 Posts: 488 Member
    pictures don't tell the whole story:
    r8e0y9.jpg

    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.

    Do you understand how percentages work?

    Yes, do you?
  • hali1
    hali1 Posts: 54 Member
    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?

    Part of me just thinks, crud, wish I'd known that before...

    But even if it isn't ideal, I probably still would've invested in it. I'm more interested in trends than the exact numbers at this point. Plus my husband uses it, so if it's fairly accurate for him, then it isn't a total waste.

    Also, I had guessed my BF% to be higher than my scale says it is... now I can imagine that it *might* be even lower than that. Which is not a bad feeling, lol.
  • happypath101
    happypath101 Posts: 534
    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

    Thanks for the post and thanks for this response. I'd actually never thought to look for this online; I thought you needed a machine. I'm a short, curvy, muscular girl and the BMI puts me at just overweight which I think is kind of BS. My % on this site is 20.73% So, YAY!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    I'm taking your question a different way. It seems to me that what you want is confirmation that your body is changing. For me personally, that's what I'm looking for. I couldn't care less what my true BF% is; I just want to look good with my shirt off.

    When I was doing the Insanity workout, my body weight only changed a few pounds. But I looked much different. Three things I did that I would recommend to you.

    1. Take photos of yourself on a regular basis (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly). Use the same mirror, lighting and pose(s)
    2. Use a tape measure and take and record your measurements. If you're gaining muscle while losing fat, you may weigh about the same even tho you're shrinking
    3. This is similar to #2. Put on a pair of pants and check the fit. You can even measure the slack if you want to accurately compare. Hopefully the pants will get baggier and baggier as you progress.

    I mean, you can spend a bunch of money and time getting water displacement tests if you choose, but most of what you probably want to know is in the mirror.
  • keenercam
    keenercam Posts: 321 Member
    Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to post a response. Hopefully, the question and answers were helpful to others besides me.

    Davidpulliam - I agree that the most reassuring measure I am seeing right now is the change in the mirror and the bagginess of my pants and the way my suit jackets now fit when they are buttoned. I guess I was also looking for some other "meaure" to counteract the discouraging BMI number that inevitably results right now from the scale not moving (and the fact that I can't alter my gender or height. LOL!)

    It is good to know the options available for measuring. Thanks again!
  • 2012asv
    2012asv Posts: 702 Member
    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!!!!

    Thank you! I used it, it was very helpful :D
  • 2FatToRun
    2FatToRun Posts: 810 Member
    pictures don't tell the whole story:
    r8e0y9.jpg

    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.

    Do you understand how percentages work?

    Is it just me? or does anyone else think they look like the exact same person just the one on the left has muscles lol That would make sense then why they have same fat percent. Muscle isnt fat. Take all those muscles off mrs.popeye there and put them on olive and you wouldnt be able to tell the diff lol
  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
    The best advice I've read is to judge for yourself where you're at by looking in the mirror. And then pick any method and track progress that way if it helps with goal-setting. It doesn't matter how accurate it is, you're just measuring against whatever your starting point was. And ultimately it's about whether you like what you see, so..

    (This is re aesthetics only, visceral fat that leads to health risk is something else. But doing the things to get visible bf down will help with that too.)

    edit: or, what davpul said.
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