Can you please help me...so confused which is the best..

lisamarie2181

Hey everyone!

I have been following the eat more to lose approach for about 4 weeks now. I haven't lost any lbs (but have not gained), and last week my bf% went down and I lost inches, so I am hoping this is finally starting to work for me.

My question is, how do I know which site is the most accurate for calculating my info? I did mine on fat2fit radio off of dan's In Place of a Road Map thread, but I keep seeing this scooby site and others, and wanted to make sure I am using the best one.

My other question is - I get weighed on a scale that give me my BMR, BF%, LBM, bone density. etc. This is not a $30 scale from the store, it is a high quality one, which I trust more then my little bathroom scale. Should I go off these numbers it gives me or would the calculators be more accurate because they go off my measurements?

I want to make sure I am doing this right and I know you have to adjust once the weight changes, so will most likely have to keep referring back. Want to ensure the best I can that I am doing it properly.

Can you please just check this because I am not sure which BF% and BMR is correct or if I should be using a better site.

Here are my stats -
228lbs
5'5
Neck - 12.5 inches
Waist - 35.2 inches
Belly - 37.9 inches at navel
Hip - 45.8 inches
Thigh - 24.2 inches
Forearm - 11 Inches
Calf - 18.5 inches
Wear size 14/16

According to Fit2Fat -

Original BF calc gave me 27.5%
Military BF calc gave me 46.5% (way higher then all other ones!!)
Covert Bailey calc gave me 26.5%

Tanita Body Composition Scale I get weighed on says 33.9%.

When I put in each BF% into the calculator my BMR with the Harris Benedict all measured 1809
The Katch-McArdle are all over -

Original BF Calc - 1990
Military BF Calc - 1568
Covert Bailey Calc - 2019
Scale Calc - 1853

All came out to 2804 TDEE for moderate activity. I zumba or walk Mon, Friday and Sunday and Heavy lift Tues, Thurs, and Saturday, wednesday is a rest day. This would be considered moderate activity correct? And if I cut 20% from TDEE I get 2243.

IDK if this will help any, but here are my scale readings from my last weigh in on 10/4

Body Fat % - 33.9
Body Water % - 49.7
Muscle Mass - 144lb
BMR given - 2086

Can someone please let me know if this sounds correct? should I maybe try a different calculator? When I spoke to dan he said I can eat 2000 cals, but the TDEE calc is telling me 2243, which is almost 250 more, so would it make a difference? I have been trying to stick to around 2200 but some days fall a tad short, and have some off days around 1900. Is this going to stall my progress not eating right at 2200?

Also, can my bf% drop 4% in a week? According to the scale I weigh on - On 9/27 it was 37.9% and on 10/4 it was 33.9%, is that really possible? Seems like a lot in one week, but not sure lol


Please I would love your input so I can make sure I am doing this accurately and I can get the best results possible. I have been trying super hard not to let the scale weight not moving affect me, and I am definitely hoping this drop in BF and Inches last week wasn't a fluke.

lisamarie2181

Anyone bump!!

wfte

Personally I'd say using Katch McArdle with your BF% is the best way to go. A 300lb person of pure lbm would have a higher BMR than a 300lb person with 50% lbm.

lisamarie2181

Thank you for your input.

I had alot of questions though, so not to disregard your response in anyway lol

Anyone else that can answer my questions? I can never seem to get responses when I post topics in the groups, don't know why that is, and I don't want to put it in the main forum and get ripped apart, so I hope someone can help me out!! PLEASE :flowerforyou:

Raynn1

Regardless of how much money you shelled out for the scale, it is not an accurate measurement of body fat %... Even the high tech things they have in the gyms are notorious for being incorrect. The best and most accurate way of measuring BF is by calipers.. the second best would be using your measurements...or so I have been told..:)

I believe the one most recommended for online calculations is the Military one.

Since they all basically gave you the same TDEE, that is what I would use for your TDEE and then make your cut 10-15% less of that and give it a shot for 4-6 weeks. 20% is pretty high and you maybe find its too big of a deficit to hold up.
However your activity level really depends on how many hours you are doing activity.. if you are working out 6 days a week, for an hour a day, you are at Strenuous Activity, and your cals would need to be higher, or you need to cut back on the workouts.

lisamarie2181

I know it isn't completely accurate, but definitely trust it more then my cheap scale lol

I do not have calipers to check and that is why I am confused on which BF% is most likely close to accurate, that is quite a big range of numbers I have gotten!

My issue with the military one was it only asked for like 2 or 3 measurements, where in the others asked for about 7. Wouldn't having more measurement info give you a more accurate number?

Here is my workouts -

Monday, Friday, and Sunday - Zumba approx 650 burned in an hour, if I walk it is more around 450-500
Tuesday, Thursday, and Sat - Strength Training and some light ball (stability) activity. burn around 350 cals, mostly from ball stuff, don't think the strength estimates I get on my BMF are just from the strength training.

So do you think that would be considered high activity? I am only doing cardio 3 days a week, moderate said 3 to 5.

Sorry just want to make sure I am doing things correctly!

lisamarie2181

Is there really no one here that can answer my questions?? I really want to make sure my numbers are correct, anyone??

KarenJanine

Most people in this group by the scooby caluculator. I don't know how this compares to the other caluclators you've mentioned but from my own experience, I compared my TDEE given bymy fitbit to the TDEE calculated by scooby and they are a pretty spot on match. Obviously fitbit has fluctuations as activity naturally varies from week to week but taking an average over a month's readings the numbers are within just a few calories of each other.

You mention using a BMF, how does the TDEE this estimates for you compare with the online calculators you've used? I would be inclined to trust the one that's nearest to the BMF readings as the BMF is measuring how active you are. If it matches well with one or more online calculators then it suggests the readings are fairly reliable.

Regarding BF% calculators, there is always going to be a wide error margin when using these as people all store fat differently so it's impossible to create an accurate calculator that is a 'one size fits all' measurement as there's so much variation in the population. As mentioned above, callipers are the best way to measure body fat, and they are a great way to measure your own progress as you can compare your personal readings week by week. Converting the readings into a BF% will still only be a rough guide but as long as the readings are changing in the direction you want then you know you're making progress.


(nb a quick search on Amazon shows the basic callipers can be purcahsed very cheaply).

lisamarie2181

Thanks so much!! It is pretty close to my BMF readings, like u said it does flucuate daily depending on my activity but i was in another thread before and people are like those are useless and not accurate blah blah blah lol i thought they would be the most accurate because i have it on all the time!! So i think i might be in the right range of cals, just wanted to make sure I was doing everything the right way, like i said i havent had a gain and lost inches and if the scale was right my bf on there went down 4% so i am hoping this is the start of my body finally kicking into gear!!

Thanks again for your response!! I appreciate it