Body Fat Percentage [Advice]

DaRealMcKoy
DaRealMcKoy Posts: 56 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! Question about tracking BFP. I notice that some track and some don't. Interested in hearing the pros/cons. I track my weight very regularly but wonder if BFP is another measurement that can be telling even when the scale isn't moving. Thoughts?

Replies

  • OsricTheKnight
    OsricTheKnight Posts: 340 Member
    I like tracking my body fat because I find often on days when I'm less satisfied with my weight the body fat view looks good. For example last weekend:

    2w.png

    The weight measures look a bit high, still below the line (good) but not an encouraging end to the prior week. The fat tells a different tale:

    wGJS7Rc.png

    Now the problem with measuring bodyfat in my opinion is that it bounces around like crazy, so you have to chart it with some kind of average or you'll lose your mind. But if you're OK doing more sophisticated charting (the charts above are from trendweight.com) then I think it's good to see how your fat and lean mass are changing as you diet so that you get a more complete picture.

    Osric

    P.S. edit to add: the above chart is actually fat mass; fat %age is even more variable looking:

    uKFyeTA.png
  • Ainar
    Ainar Posts: 858 Member
    Pros:

    Can be useful to measure how much muscle you gained, if that is your goal. If you increase in weight but your body fat does not goes up then you have gained muscle, or water weight. Then you can calculate how much fat and muscle you have gained and adjust your caories. Or you can use it to track if weight you lose really is fat instead of muscle or water.

    Cons:

    It can be very inaccurate. Even by using same skin caliper your body fat % may vary for like 5 or more % every time you measure. You have to be super accurate to use same spots. And even if you always measure same amount it does not mean that results are right, like you measure 20%, it could be closer to 30%.
    It has really no point unless you are advanced bodybuilder or fitness model and/or want to compete on stage. For average person who just want to look good it is not necessary. In that case you can just use mirror and you will avoid stupid hassle and stress about numbers while getting still great results.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Body fat percentage is the best way to determine fitness, but it's very hard to get it measured accurately.
  • tomcornhole
    tomcornhole Posts: 1,084 Member
    It is very good to track as it can give a good indicator of fat loss vs. weight loss. You want to lose fat. That doesn't always mean you are losing weight. It is also good to track several body measurements.

    As mentioned, measuring BF% is not very accurate, but it can be precise. In that I mean the only way to measure your BF% accurately is with an autopsy. But if you measure the same thing, the same way at the same time, you can certainly pick up trends. I measure it many ways and plot them all.

    BF20130927.png

    That's a lot of dots and a wide range of variability between the many methods I use to track BF%. Even the trusty BodPod gets a bit squirrely at times. But it sure is easy to spot the trend, isn't it?

    Tom
  • DaRealMcKoy
    DaRealMcKoy Posts: 56 Member
    Thanks all. Helpful information. I guess it's not something to measure Daily, but maybe once a week?

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