Accurately measuring body fat??

miche_smash

My stats for example:
female
5'4"
144.4 lbs
BMI is 24.8
Right now my goal weight is 130.

My home scale says it measure body fat percentage and puts me anywhere from 30.5% to 33%. It seems to vary week to week and has been stuck in that range for awhile.

The other day I put my stats and measurements into this calculator-- http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/ --and it gave me 30.5%.

This morning I used the hand held device they have at my gym, put in my stats, and it said 23%! I was surprised. I was just hoping it would say under 30% but to be at 23%?

I figured the hand held thing would be the most accurate but now I'm not sure. I feel I still have a good amount of fat left to lose...

Thoughts??

DavPul

Just pick one (preferable not the home scale as those are terribly inaccurate) and use whatever it says as a baseline to measure progress or regression. Then you can easily tell if what you're doing is helping or hurting.

Whatever your actual number is, does it matter? If you gave me a device that said I was at 12%, but I still was unsatisfied with how I looked, I'd keep going. If the device said 30%, but women dropped like flies whenever I took my shirt off, I could care less about the number.

christinet8504

Whatever your actual number is, does it matter? If you gave me a device that said I was at 12%, but I still was unsatisfied with how I looked, I'd keep going. If the device said 30%, but women dropped like flies whenever I took my shirt off, I could care less about the number.

I LOVE that last part....hes totally right!

elprincipito

I've used this, I found it's pretty accurate for me.
http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306C-Loss-Monitor-Black/dp/B000FYZMYK/ref=sr_1_4?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1354471518&sr=1-4

x_JT_x

I've used this, I found it's pretty accurate for me.
http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306C-Loss-Monitor-Black/dp/B000FYZMYK/ref=sr_1_4?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1354471518&sr=1-4

That model is currently a lightning deal on Amazon - ends in 48 min but it's down to $21.29 at the moment.

jenniferinfl

I have that Omron handheld. It has always been very consistent. I would love to go pay to get measured in a bod pod and have a real number to compare to it, but, haven't gotten to it yet. It's consistent for me and what I expect at my current weight. It nudges down a little bit now and then, very gradually. Must be used at the same time of day for consistent results. Using it immediately after strenuous exercise can skew the numbers drastically though, so, it isn't accurate so much as it's consistent and good for tracking change over time when used at the same point in your day.

For an accurate number, you'd need to go somewhere that had a bod pod or similar apparatus.

miche_smash

Thank you for your advice everyone. I was just wondering if one of these is more accurate since the numbers were so drastically different... I figured the scale wasn't going to be the best. The Omron looks exactly like what I used at the gym. But I guess it really doesn't matter what the actual number is, it would just be nice to have a consistent way to measure.

jenniferinfl

Then that handheld is the most consistent way to measure at home. I had the scale before and it bounced around by several percentages from day to day. The handheld when used appropriately shows very gradual change over time.

soliddreams

The omron is probably the best "at home" thing to use to judge your BF%.

If you want a sure fire way to do it, you can get a DEXA scan or water pod, but those aren't something I would do constantly!

The thing you gotta remember is that the best time to check is when you're fasted (i.e. you just woke up from sleep, went to the bathroom, then hopped on/checked the OMRON.)