Total body fat???

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rebeccacaitlyn92
rebeccacaitlyn92 Posts: 1
in Getting Started
Hello everyone :smile:
I'm new to this site. I've been exercising for about three years now but I still consider myself kind of clueless in some respects. I'm 21 and currently 127 pounds. I'm not interested in losing weight, but I would like to gain some muscle. Just wondering how I can keep track of how much muscle I've been gaining. I've seen on some websites people tracking their % of body fat. How can I do this?
Thanks!! :heart:

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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    dexa scan and/or water displacement is the most accurate but those are expensive…

    calipers are fairly accurate and cheap…

    you can also get a tape measure and take measurements that way...

    If you want to gain muscle you are going to have to eat in a calorie surplus and lift heavy..

    what does your current work our regimen consist of?
  • jaymek92
    jaymek92 Posts: 309 Member
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    probably the most accurate, affordable method of tracking your body fat percentage is to buy a set of calipers and find somebody who's experienced at it to measure you once every month or two. otherwise, there's a bunch of different calculators online where you can enter your measurements and track your approximate body fat percentage. just make sure you stick with the same method (such as navy, etc.) and preferably with the same calculator.
    to actually track it on mfp, you just create a new measurement on the page where you track your progress.
  • dbarnese
    dbarnese Posts: 8 Member
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    You can buy a body fat scale - go to Amazon and search for "body fat scale" and you'll get several results.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    You can buy a body fat scale - go to Amazon and search for "body fat scale" and you'll get several results.

    notoriously inaccurate…even the expensive ones…
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
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    scale+mirror is really all you need... a tape measure couldnt hurt either... trying to figure out BF% is just a PITA

    even from that little avatar I can guess that ndj is ~13%
  • MrsJS5
    MrsJS5 Posts: 41 Member
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    If you are a gym member see if there is someone who can measure with calipers. I have a Tanita scale and research shows that the scale is more accurate than the Omron (Texas A&M - I think - did a study on Omron and they are not accurate for women). I measure my BF% every night at the same time and just track over time. Don't use it first thing in the morning as dehydration makes the % fat higher. I can't use the military measurement calculator as I have a thin neck and thin wrists and it will read 10 % higher than I have ever been on any measurement scale.

    They are all frustrating so you may have to go by looking in the mirror.

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