We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Callipers Body Fat %

wffolkes
wffolkes Posts: 186 Member
edited January 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Just had my bf% measured by callipers and i'm shocked as the machine I use to weigh myself said I was 24% however the callipers showed I was actually 16.2%.

This is fantastic as my goal was 15% bf.

My new goal is now 10%BF which means I only have 14lbs to go.

I'm Very happy I advise everyone to know there measurement accurately while tracking your progress.

You can see my progress here
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/923091-progress-not-yet-success

Twitter - @Mr_WDF

Replies

  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Just had my bf% measured by callipers and i'm shocked as the machine I use to weigh myself said I was 24% however the callipers showed I was actually 16.2%.

    This is fantastic as my goal was 15% bf.

    My new goal is now 10%BF which means I only have 14lbs to go.

    I'm Very happy I advise everyone to know there measurement accurately while tracking your progress.

    You can see my progress here
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/923091-progress-not-yet-success

    Twitter - @Mr_WDF

    Congratulations. I don't use calipers because they are notoriously inaccurate in the hands of an unskilled user. I use my scale. As long as the percentage goes down over time that's all I care about.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    I only use calipers to keep track of changes. For me, right now, they are relatively inaccurate. Most of my body fat right now is in my butt and upper thighs even a 7 point skinfold doesn't measure those places. I have been using calipers for quite some time so I know I'm using them right (plus I had friend who learned how to use them in a class teach me) and I get consistent results. By calipers, I'm around 21% bodyfat when I know that my body fat is closer to 25% (had a DeXA scan done not too long ago). My scale which uses bioelectrical impedence is even farther off in the other direction.

    Like I said, I use them to keep track of changes but I don't rely on them for an actual guage of my body fat percent. (I will note that they were more accurate when I was more overweight and will probably be fairly accurate again once I reach my goal weight).
This discussion has been closed.