IF everyone tracked body fat instead

VeganZombie13

I track everything. My weight, my BMI, my fat% and my muscle%.

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

A huge percentage of threads are about people not seeing enough weight loss on the scale and wanting to quit, give up and just cry. The replies are always the same-

check your measurements

you are retaining water, etc., etc., etc.

If you take the time and some expense ( a bod pod test costs about $40) to get your body fat tested, you will have a much more accurate indicator of your fitness and health.

Your actual weight is relatively meaningless in terms of health when compared to your body fat percentage.

When you track and work to reduce your body fat, things like time and patience take on more meaning and allow you to see the bigger picture which will ultimately help you deal with the fact that this process does take time.

For me, tracking body fat is a much better motivator than that arbitrary number on the scale.

I agree

I have been on the same weight since December last year but my clothes that I bought from last year's Christmas are now too big for me.

katevarner

Bod pod isn't necessarily accurate. A $40 scale or hand held monitor that does body fat analysis is probably a better investment for people to use to track body fat percentage over time. Getting a bod pod analysis once a week or even once a month would get expensive.

true that once a week would be expensive and that would defeat the purpose of learning to deal with the time issue. We didnt get over weight in a week and changes wont happen in a week either.

whatever method you use to track body fat is not the point.

I would do it every 6 months or shorter (like 3 months) depending on the circumstances

My gym does a fitness assessment every 3 months, including the bodpod. I think my bodpod measurements are wrong, particularly considering that the last one I had said that my body fat was a little under 9% and I am a 47 yr old menopausal female and I don't look anything like a fitness model. I think perhaps that it was user error by the trainer or that they have it set on athlete instead of normal person since when I set my scale on athlete, it says I have somewhere between 8 and 10% body fat. Gonna keep getting the bodpod measurement done to track progress, but not going to try to convince myself that I have single digit body fat. I'm really just tracking trends at this point.

Dave198lbs

I agree

I have been on the same weight since December last year but my clothes that I bought from last year's Christmas are now too big for me.

that is the coolest thing when you go to button your jeans and they are looser

Dave198lbs

Bod pod isn't necessarily accurate. A $40 scale or hand held monitor that does body fat analysis is probably a better investment for people to use to track body fat percentage over time. Getting a bod pod analysis once a week or even once a month would get expensive.

true that once a week would be expensive and that would defeat the purpose of learning to deal with the time issue. We didnt get over weight in a week and changes wont happen in a week either.

whatever method you use to track body fat is not the point.

I would do it every 6 months or shorter (like 3 months) depending on the circumstances

My gym does a fitness assessment every 3 months, including the bodpod. I think my bodpod measurements are wrong, particularly considering that the last one I had said that my body fat was a little under 9% and I am a 47 yr old menopausal female and I don't look anything like a fitness model. I think perhaps that it was user error by the trainer or that they have it set on athlete instead of normal person since when I set my scale on athlete, it says I have somewhere between 8 and 10% body fat. Gonna keep getting the bodpod measurement done to track progress, but not going to try to convince myself that I have single digit body fat. I'm really just tracking trends at this point.

Im surprised the operator didnt run the test again..

to be at 9% for a female (male too actually) it would be pretty obvious because that is ultra lean

nphect

cause low body fat doesn't necessarily mean fit

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

cause low body fat doesn't necessarily mean fit

and so does lower BMI

CkepiJinx

Tracking body fat is great especially for smaller people but for someone like myself who is obese, I started this journey at 293 pounds and i am now at 255, if my weight stayed at 293 but i was exercising that is still a problem. Even with body recomposition I need to lose weight on the scale period. Don't get me wrong I think people need to pay attention to both but to say forget the scale as a blanket statement is doing a disservice to some people and can give them the idea that they don't really need to lose weight when they do.

RiverDancer68

yeh but weight is still a good way to measure progress for someone who is consistant with what they eat and how they exercise.

Nope, its not! My weight is UP with 4KILOGRAMS since last summer, but I wear a size smaller pants.....And obviously I exercise and am consistant with my eating....I'm also perimenopausal, which wreaks havoc with water retention and "weight gain"...
If I had to look at weight on the scale only, I would have been down in the dumps since last Christmas and probably had given up completely......

This is totally me! Perimenopausal, and have noticed that just recently my old eating habits are having a different effect on my body. I am a scale addict, so I have to hide the scale and only use my measuring tape...I recently had an injury and haven't been able to work out as much...my scale is way up (yes I was weak and used it once), but my tape measure only shows a small increase, which makes me not beat myself up so much about something I had no control over in the first place! My goal is 17% bodyfat :drinker: I need to find a place to have it professionally done, rather than relying on online calculators.

Dave198lbs

Tracking body fat is great especially for smaller people but for someone like myself who is obese, I started this journey at 293 pounds and i am now at 255, if my weight stayed at 293 but i was exercising that is still a problem. Even with body recomposition I need to lose weight on the scale period. Don't get me wrong I think people need to pay attention to both but to say forget the scale as a blanket statement is doing a disservice to some people and can give them the idea that they don't really need to lose weight when they do.

I agree when there is a large amount of weight to lose then sure, the scale can be helpful to see progress but when then is a large amount to lose, it is also easier to lose. But body fat is still more important than scale weight as a true measure of healthy progress.

you wouldnt want to be losing too much muscle mass as you drop the weight which happens with rapid weight loss.

InnerFatGirl

I don't exercise, so I doubt I'd see that much change in my body fat. I like the scale.

Dave198lbs

I don't exercise, so I doubt I'd see that much change in my body fat. I like the scale.

I hope you will soon take the time and learn how your body loses weight including body fat. You are so young that you will have an advantage for a long time to come.

. Controlling our weight will be something most of us do for the rest of our lives. Learning how our bodies work makes it more interesting and sustainable.

good luck

Dave198lbs

I don't exercise, so I doubt I'd see that much change in my body fat. I like the scale.

Okay lets follow the logic. If you weigh less(from what the scale tell you) and your body fat i the same... what does that mean?

be nice Pu...she is only 19

nexangelus

For me, tracking body fat is a much better motivator than that arbitrary number on the scale.

Me too. It is more healthy in a lot of ways also, less obsessive as you do it once a month or so...not everyone prefers this method of measuring success though. Some of us do, to each their own, old methods die hard I guess.

Jaulen

Agree fully.

Personally, while we have to track weight on here, I'm much more concerned with blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, body fat %, and my measurements.

Goal is to get my bp back into the 90s/60s, blood sugar is still low normal so okay there, cholesterol is still in normal range (<170) but I'd like to be back in the 140's (my good to bad ratio is always great, and triglycerides are always great), and body fat to around 22% (lots of work to do there). Weight and measurements will take care of themselves as I lose body fat.

TIDDYBEAR

Is the "bod pod" as bad as the charts that they give you to measure? The charts give absolutely NO ACCOUNT for your frame size!! All it asks for is your height, sex and weight. I pay no attention to it!

LoveAlwaysAlisa

my scale checks body fat, water %..etc...and tracks it all while i'm losing weight...I also measure as well ..I would recommend a scale like this

P.S. if you're not losing body fat......you're losing muscle....NOT GOOD.

zyxst

Stupid question, but where do you people go to get these bod pod tests? Gym? Nearest university? Doctor's office? Hobo behind KFC?

athensguy

The main difference between tracking body mass and body fat mass is that body mass can be accurately measured.

Dave198lbs

Stupid question, but where do you people go to get these bod pod tests? Gym? Nearest university? Doctor's office? Hobo behind KFC?

while I am not pushing the bod pod as the only method to measure BF%, you can google bod pod and then there is a locator which shows the nearest location nearest you