Body composition monitoring

magpie525

I've been looking into different methods of monitoring my body composition, and was wondering what people thought of products like Omron scales ( e.g. http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-514C-Composition-Sensing-Monitor/dp/B0020MMCDE/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top ) as a method of tracking changes in body composition?

I've also played around with online calculators using weight and various body measurments (US Navy, YMCA, etc) and they seem to tell me that I'd need to lose A LOT to see any change (what I'd consider unhealthy - I'm 5'5" 155 with 26.5% BF by most calcs and below 130 I'd still be above 25.9% using the measurments algorithms). I'm not concerned with an extremely high level of accuracy, more something I can do regularly at home to keep me motivated and chart progress.

darwinwoodka

I've seen several recommendations just to use profile photos. You can end up weighing MORE because of lean muscle mass, and still look better, so don't go just on weight. Remember most BMI and fat percentage measurements don't account for women doing strength training who end up with more lean muscle mass. I'm about your size and I see some ab and arm definition even at 150 pounds, although certainly not a great amount of it.

lacurandera1

If you're not looking for accuracy per se, but rather a tracking device, I say invest in a decent set of calipers. Pretty much all body fat measurement tools are inaccurate unless we're talking about water or air displacement methods. But a scale or calipers will at least show you your progress. I agree though, that pictures are a fantastic progress tool.