Body fat calculator?

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hannamarie88
hannamarie88 Posts: 231 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I use this (http://www.livestrong.com/tools/body-fat-calculator/) body fat calculator because I don't have calipers or a gym where they would take measurements -- it is also the only calculator that didn't put me at like 28% body fat (which there is no way that can be true). As of today I lost 2% of the last number it gave me -- so yay for that :D

Does anyone else use this one? I'm considering getting a scale -- are those pretty accurate? (The ones that have the body fat indicators built in)

Losing body fat is very important and I just want to see where I stand right now -- the correct version of where I stand. Hard to trust things online.
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Replies

  • NathanielUK
    NathanielUK Posts: 61 Member
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    that one you indicated, gave me HALF of what my actual reading is. It might be just me, but thats what happened.
  • hannamarie88
    hannamarie88 Posts: 231 Member
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    Eep. Do you use a scale to get your number now?
  • KateRunsColorado
    KateRunsColorado Posts: 407 Member
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    I'm curious about this too - I have never calculated body fat, and would definitely like to!
  • Tiix
    Tiix Posts: 4 Member
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    I'm going to get this: http://www.fitbit.com/aria I use the fitbit flex now - and that automatically will put your weight on Fitbit (Which you can sync with MFP). It also calculates body fat, Per the Fitbit website's community it gets high praises.
  • mom2dzbnwe
    mom2dzbnwe Posts: 129 Member
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    The link you listed says my body fat is at 33.5 but says my bmi is in the normal range...I'm not too sure I'd trust it
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    I just had mine measured with calipers a couple of weeks ago and it was 26.7, I used the calculator you posted and got 39.2. Based on what my body looks like and how much I think I still have to lose, I'm guessing it's actually between those two numbers somewhere.

    My doctor said the most accurate method was by immersion in water. Check your local recreation facilities and see if they offer it. I found one near me that does. I'm going next month to have it done.
  • margojr4
    margojr4 Posts: 259 Member
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    Next time you're at your doctor's office, have him/her use body calipers to determine body fat. (for women they pinch the tricep, quad and lower belly). The website link you posted had me at 26%! Yikes! No way! Last I was measured in April by caliper at 21%.

    You can be a certain size but that doesn't count lean muscle mass vs. fat. I've seen myself at the same size, same weight with different BF percentages.
  • ChristinaR720
    ChristinaR720 Posts: 1,186
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    Online calculators aren't very accurate (BF scales are even less accurate), but I use Fat 2 Fit Radio (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/). Input your information into the 3 different calculators (Original, Covert Bailey, and Military) and find the average of the three calculations.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I don't think that calculator is accurate at all.

    Check out this thread:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet?hl=road+map+&page=10#posts-15694678
  • MrsK20141004
    MrsK20141004 Posts: 489 Member
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    Online calculators aren't very accurate (BF scales are even less accurate), but I use Fat 2 Fit Radio (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/). Input your information into the 3 different calculators (Original, Covert Bailey, and Military) and find the average of the three calculations.

    Yep me too.
  • hannamarie88
    hannamarie88 Posts: 231 Member
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    Thanks for all the tips everyone! I thought 28% was rather low and 46% was rather high. I will get it professionally done, I just don't know when I will be able to. I just moved recently and I don't even have a doctor yet.

    Edit: For now -- I will average out those calculators :)
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    The Army's body fat calculation via tape measurements is one of the better ones out there. Here's an online version of it. Note that you have to take each measurement 3 times. It generally gets closer than most other methods. The only accurate test is immersion. Short of immersion, very close to accurate, is the caliper or "pinch" test.

    Side note, I think the female test in the Army's method lost some accuracy when they took out the forearm and wrist measurements. But, still pretty good.

    http://www.free-online-calculator-use.com/military-body-fat-calculator.html#calculator
  • crista_b
    crista_b Posts: 1,192 Member
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    I've been using the one here: http://www.calculator.net/body-fat-calculator.html

    It gets me the same number as the one EricCowerthwaite posted and the Military one on the Fat2Fit Radio site that ChristinaR posted. The other 2 on that site give me way low numbers that I know for a fact can't be true for me.
  • kittyhasclaws
    kittyhasclaws Posts: 446 Member
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    I've pretty much given up getting a BF% from calculators. I have very small wrists and a very small neck despite my weight, so I get REALLY inaccurate readings (anywhere from 28.1% to 52.9%). I unfortunately don't have an immersion center or bodpod anywhere near me (we're talking hours away), so I'll just have to go by a lack of bulges to know that I'm on course.
  • ucabucca
    ucabucca Posts: 606 Member
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    Bump
  • 43932452
    43932452 Posts: 7,246 Member
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    Online calculators aren't very accurate (BF scales are even less accurate), but I use Fat 2 Fit Radio (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/). Input your information into the 3 different calculators (Original, Covert Bailey, and Military) and find the average of the three calculations.

    Was going to recommend this ^^^.
  • tomg33
    tomg33 Posts: 305 Member
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    OP, no offense but that bf% is a little low just looking at your pictures :) Although it's certainly not HALF as some have indicated it could be. I think the calculator is just faulty for you.

    All these methods are just trying to make a good guess based on a few pieces of information. They use formulas based on "averages" of populations but when it comes to individual body proportions, it is true that there is quite a bit of variance.


    There is no real reason to care about body fat %. I don't. I just follow my plan and continue to slowly and predictably lose weight while maintaining or gaining strength as the weeks go by.
  • Jennical
    Jennical Posts: 219 Member
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    Bump
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    Your calculator gave me a slightly higher number than what I get with my calipers.

    Generally the best thing to do is use several different methods and take the average.
  • Boogage
    Boogage Posts: 739 Member
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    I hope the Fat2Fit estimate is more accurate as it puts me about 2% lower than my scale this morning. I've noticed that often as I lose weight my bf increases according to my scale but I don't really see that I could have lost enough muscle in one week to warrant a 1.5% fat increase. Really with I could get measured properly.

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