Does BF% vary much?

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justlistening
justlistening Posts: 249 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
In addition to tracking my weight I am also tracking my BF%. My scale lists my weight and probably uses a small electrical charge to compute my BF%, water %, BMR, muscle mass and bone density. I know your weight fluctuates throughout the day and can be easily influenced by several characteristics. My question is does you BF% also have the same tendencies? What can influence your BF% given the way my scale works ?

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  • hollywoodguy99
    hollywoodguy99 Posts: 25 Member
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    Yes, it is a much better wayto track yourself when you get closer to your goal weight.

    See the following link for better more info. The whole site is fantastic.

    http://www.builtlean.com/2010/05/04/ideal-body-weight-formula-how-to-calculate-your-ideal-weight/
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
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    BF formula has your weight factored in along with height and gender. so it changes a little with your weight changing but not as big a change since it's just part of the equation.
  • hollywoodguy99
    hollywoodguy99 Posts: 25 Member
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    I believe vtmoon is speaking of BMI formula.

    Body Fat Percentage should only be taken every few weeks/monthly. A accumeasure caliper from Amazon is like $7.

    See Link.

    http://www.amazon.com/AccuFitness-Accu-Measure-Body-Fat-Caliper/dp/B000QURRUK/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1349976666&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=accumesasure
  • wilsonm24
    wilsonm24 Posts: 26
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    In addition to tracking my weight I am also tracking my BF%. My scale lists my weight and probably uses a small electrical charge to compute my BF%, water %, BMR, muscle mass and bone density. I know your weight fluctuates throughout the day and can be easily influenced by several characteristics. My question is does you BF% also have the same tendencies? What can influence your BF% given the way my scale works ?

    If you are using your scale to measure BF% and it is sending some sort of pulse through your feet to make it's calculation, then it may fluctuate. The Bioelectrical Impedance that these tests use are very dependent on a stable water levels in your body. Since the water levels vary continuously it is very difficult to get consistent readings from these things.
  • justlistening
    justlistening Posts: 249 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I'm not sure how to use calipers but they sure are inexpensive and seem less influenced by other factors.

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