Your Opinion on Body Fat %

gracielynn1011

Which one is more accurate for measuring body fat, a scale or taking body measurement and using a calculator?

I have used the 3 calculators on fat2fit radio, and it averages out around 26-27%. I just bought a scale and it said 32%. I am totally bummed by that, and can instantly look in the mirror and see the marsh mellow me instead of the slimmer me that I am becoming.

Just for perspective, I would like to get peoples opinions on which one you think is more accurate?

danifo0811

I like the measurements because my scale BF depends on how wet my feet are.

SeoulKim05

I am 27% at 218lbs. On my very sensitive scale it's 35%

Not sure what to believe......

EmilyEmpowered

The scale I had (forget the name brand) was very inaccurate. It would change by 5-10% in a day! I never went by that, I had mine tested with calipers by a trainer. recently and it seems to be accurate

mattashbrock

Make sure you are using the scale at one of the preferred times of day such as just after waking up or 2 or 3 hours after a meal/exercise. If so, the scale is most likely a more accurate measurement than the fat to fit radio calculators. In fact it even states on that website under the tools that water submersion/professional with calipers > scale > the calculators.

gracielynn1011

Make sure you are using the scale at one of the preferred times of day such as just after waking up or 2 or 3 hours after a meal/exercise. If so, the scale is most likely a more accurate measurement than the fat to fit radio calculators. In fact it even states on that website under the tools that water submersion/professional with calipers > scale > the calculators.

Good point about time of day. I just bought the scale and hopped on it as soon as I programmed my age and height. Lol. I will wait until Saturday to try again, as that is my normal weigh in day.

zlauerMom

Make sure you are using the scale at one of the preferred times of day such as just after waking up or 2 or 3 hours after a meal/exercise. If so, the scale is most likely a more accurate measurement than the fat to fit radio calculators. In fact it even states on that website under the tools that water submersion/professional with calipers > scale > the calculators.

Good point about time of day. I just bought the scale and hopped on it as soon as I programmed my age and height. Lol. I will wait until Saturday to try again, as that is my normal weigh in day.

Read the information that comes with the scale. It will tell you the ideal conditions for using the scale. If I weigh myself first thing in the morning, I may be down a pound or two, but my BF% will be crazy high. My scale usually gives me numbers close to the calculation method.

gracielynn1011

Thanks for the tip ZlauerMom. I will do that this evening when I get home.

bpotts44

Join Sarah's and Sidesteel group eat, train, progress here and they will estimate your BF for you off of pictures. That is as accurate as anything.

wildchild06241

I joined a new gym 3 weeks ago and finally started lifting. This was after 3.5 months of diet, exercise and strenght training. My trainer decided to measure my body fat. He used a hand held devise. I am 5'2" tall, 118 pounds and 56 years old. After plugging the necessary information in it came up with 30% body fat. Now I can not accept that after losing 20 pounds I'm still at 30%. That's nearly overweight! Is it possible that there was something wrong with his device? Also there was another trainer that said if I wanted that to change I needed to change my diet. My diary is open, help yourself and look at my foods. I think I eat healthy and I workout 1 -3 hours a day. Why on earth would my body fat be so high?

gracielynn1011

I joined a new gym 3 weeks ago and finally started lifting. This was after 3.5 months of diet, exercise and strenght training. My trainer decided to measure my body fat. He used a hand held devise. I am 5'2" tall, 118 pounds and 56 years old. After plugging the necessary information in it came up with 30% body fat. Now I can not accept that after losing 20 pounds I'm still at 30%. That's nearly overweight! Is it possible that there was something wrong with his device? Also there was another trainer that said if I wanted that to change I needed to change my diet. My diary is open, help yourself and look at my foods. I think I eat healthy and I workout 1 -3 hours a day. Why on earth would my body fat be so high?

See, I have this issue also. When I went to Curves a few years ago, they used that same device. It said I had 24% BF. I loved that, but I eat healthier and am so much healthier now that I just can't accept 30% now compared to then.

But I do know one thing, regardless of what the scale says, I am not satisfied with what my body shape is, so I will keep going until I am!

gracielynn1011

Join Sarah's and Sidesteel group eat, train, progress here and they will estimate your BF for you off of pictures. That is as accurate as anything.

Thanks for the tip. I will check out that group!

wildchild06241

I am happy with the way I look though. I'm in the best shape of my life. In fact some people think I'm too thin. My Taylor Body Fat Scale says 18%. I was happy with that. But 30%??????

Abells

I take measurements and use a caliper

the scale only takes into consideration your height and weight

Scale says I'm 29% and the other way says 22.7

TavistockToad

i dont know what my BF% is, i just stand in front of the mirror in my underwear. when i am happy with what i see i will stop trying to lose bodyfat!

how you feel is more important than a random number that noone else knows!

LeenaRuns

The scale I had (forget the name brand) was very inaccurate. It would change by 5-10% in a day! I never went by that, I had mine tested with calipers by a trainer. recently and it seems to be accurate

Same here

Lleldiranne

My scale has had me at 30-35% body fat for the last 15 pounds. I really don't believe it. It's possible that I've lost SOME lean mass, but I'm pretty sure that most of what I've lost is fat. So why isn't the thing changing? (And it varies up and down between those values, regardless of the weight variance). I vote that the scale is messed up.

And, the online calculators put me at 25% or so.

m4ttcheek

I take measurements and use a caliper

the scale only takes into consideration your height and weight

Scale says I'm 29% and the other way says 22.7

Agreed that calipers are the best way to do it at home.

Disagree on the way the scales work. They use an electrical signal. They also have best practice rules that manufactures don't seem to publish.


The equations online are pure guesstimates.

Lleldiranne

I joined a new gym 3 weeks ago and finally started lifting. This was after 3.5 months of diet, exercise and strenght training. My trainer decided to measure my body fat. He used a hand held devise. I am 5'2" tall, 118 pounds and 56 years old. After plugging the necessary information in it came up with 30% body fat. Now I can not accept that after losing 20 pounds I'm still at 30%. That's nearly overweight! Is it possible that there was something wrong with his device? Also there was another trainer that said if I wanted that to change I needed to change my diet. My diary is open, help yourself and look at my foods. I think I eat healthy and I workout 1 -3 hours a day. Why on earth would my body fat be so high?

See, I have this issue also. When I went to Curves a few years ago, they used that same device. It said I had 24% BF. I loved that, but I eat healthier and am so much healthier now that I just can't accept 30% now compared to then.

But I do know one thing, regardless of what the scale says, I am not satisfied with what my body shape is, so I will keep going until I am!

The caliper is only as accurate as the person using it. And they should take into account age and gender (my trainer did all the measurements and then had a chart that she referred to). I can't say how good your trainer was who measured you, but keep that in mind.

Bottom line - as someone else said, it is just another number, and may not even be accurate. Go mostly by how you look in the mirror, your measurements (are they getting where you want) and how you feel.

Edit - I reread and see that you're talking about the handheld device, not a skin fold caliper. Those are notoriously inaccurate! The go off the same basic method as the scales (electrical impulse with biometric impedance). Yeah, don't trust them

TheApocalypse

Using a scale for body fat % is about as creditable as using the BMI scale to know if you are overweight...

ninerbuff

The bioelectric scales' readings will depend on how "hydrated" your body is. The more water you have in your body, the "lower" your bodyfat % will read.

IMO, Dexa and hydrostatic are the most accurate ways to get bodyfat % readings, however the mirror is one of the best ways to gauge your progress.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

tomcornhole

Try this site:

http://www.foodcomputer.com/ComputeBodyFat.aspx

Not sure how well it works for others, but it has matched my BodPod results for the last 2 visits.

Also, my Omron handheld, when held correctly, matches perfectly as well as long as I take the reading first thing in the morning.

And to be honest, comparison to pictures has worked great for me, too. I have a normal body type, so it's easy to compare.

iiijeniii

In the morning you are more dehydrated (hopefully) than during the day when you are actively drinking water. The fat percentage goes down the more hydrated you are. My scale also measures water percentage and I can be anywhere from 25% BF if my water percentage is over 50% to 33% BF in the morning when my water percentage is 47%.

iiijeniii

The bioelectric scales' readings will depend on how "hydrated" your body is. The more water you have in your body, the "lower" your bodyfat % will read.

IMO, Dexa and hydrostatic are the most accurate ways to get bodyfat % readings, however the mirror is one of the best ways to gauge your progress.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

^^^ yeah ... what he said!

Sorry ... didn't read all the way to the bottom of the thread before responding!

artex1024

i dont know what my BF% is, i just stand in front of the mirror in my underwear. when i am happy with what i see i will stop trying to lose bodyfat!

how you feel is more important than a random number that noone else knows!

Exactly!! ^^

JNick77

The hand-held and scale devices that determine body fat are crap, don't bother. Either take measurements to keep track of your progress or find a professional trainer or somebody that understands how to use bodyfat calipers. My bodyfat by one of those devices is 20% to 21%, by calipers I'm about 11% to 12%, HUGE difference.

Edit: Ideally as somebody else mentioned, the hydro test is ideal but I believe it can be expensive and not easily found unless you live near a university.

NaughtyForties

By and large, apart from a DEXA scan, all measures are estimates whether scales, online calculators, bodpod etc. I too used fat2fit calculators which was 5% out when I took a bodpod test (http://tinyurl.com/cthyput) for a more accurate reading.

Even the bodpod is an estimate, albeit a more accurate estimate if there is such a thing (which means the margins of error are smaller 1% I think to a DEXA scan). However I'm not surprised you report a 5% difference it sounds about right based on my own experience and many report higher differences dependent on their body weight.

I think you are correct to monitor your BF% as this does the real damage to your internal organs and although one can look fine on the outside i.e. slim, personally I would prefer to know that I'm not skinny fat. IMO scales should be only used to show a downward or upward trend which should hopefully ring alarm bells.

Going back to your original question, which is more accurate, the scale or fat2fit? Quite possibly fat2fit is more accurate as it takes into account your measurements also (but you'll also have to use a 5% margin of error). One approach is to be consistent when taking readings e.g. only use fat2fit or only use your new scales. Either way you'll have commonality between readings.

In closing, should you be so inclined, you can also get a bodpod test which I found very useful. l will take my second test in May / June and that will be my first Bodpod comparable. I'm not suggesting its the only way, but I am suggesting it's another way to monitor your BF%. Whatever you decide be consistent and good luck. )

CoachColin

I use both myself as well. Personally I think the scale is pretty accurate however when my water weight is high it says my body fat percentage is higher than it actually is.

smantha32

i don't know what to believe. My doctor and my trainer both have those hand held professional measuring gadgets. One says 33%, the other says 37.4. I think I'll just go by the mirror.

jc1961AA

bump