Any Decent Way of Determining Body Fat %

brit1329
brit1329 Posts: 293 Member
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I hear a lot of people say, and I feel that body fat % is the most important thing to worry about when you are losing weight. I don't want to lose a bunch of weight, but at the same time keep the same BF%. My question is, how am I supposed to keep track of it so that I can see if I'm making any progress in that area. I have a scale that is supposed to calculate it. I know that isn't a very reliable method but figured it might at least show a trend. Well, now I'm not so sure because it has either stayed the same or gone up as I've been losing weight. I also started taking measurements and most places have gone down .5 to 1 inch. If I put those measurements into various website calculators I get everything from 21-42 %. I have seen people suggest calipers, but I have a hard time trusting my ability to do it right and always measure the same spot. Also, wouldn't the online calculators be just as various with that method too?

Replies

  • JohnnyNull
    JohnnyNull Posts: 294 Member
    The simplest answer is to use your eyes. That is, in the mirror. If your weight is staying the same, but it looks like you're building some muscle, I'd say it's pretty likely your BF% is going down.

    The callipers are the most accurate thing you'll find, apart from very expensive, very time-consuming work in a lab. However, I've also heard that people need to be trained to use one properly. I've not bothered to look into it.
  • jane77
    jane77 Posts: 489
    Yes the mirror looks great but"............I'd really like a number is there really no way to find out and if not why is it such an important number?
  • jwstew007
    jwstew007 Posts: 67
    There are scales that measure your BF%, it works by passing a small electrical current through you, measuring the resistance. Not entirely accurate, but close enough, just as scales typically have a 1-3% deviation

    Can find them on Amazon pretty easily.
  • brit1329
    brit1329 Posts: 293 Member
    There are scales that measure your BF%, it works by passing a small electrical current through you, measuring the resistance. Not entirely accurate, but close enough, just as scales typically have a 1-3% deviation

    Can find them on Amazon pretty easily.

    I have a scale that supposedly does that. I thought even if it wasn't entirely accurate I could at least see a trend. The problem is from day to day it fluctuates about 5% and it has pretty much stayed the same and even gone up with me losing weight. I can actually feel and see my muscle developing a little more so I can't imagine that I with losing 15 lbs my body fat% hasn't gone down at all. If so that is very discouraging.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    I have a scale that does that as well. I know it is not very accurate. I have the same sort of question. There is a place in a city near us (London ON) that has the Bod Pod but they want what I consider a huge amount of money to test. I am thinking phoning gyms and see who uses caliper measurements and if they would do it for non-members.
  • brit1329
    brit1329 Posts: 293 Member
    Yes the mirror looks great but"............I'd really like a number is there really no way to find out and if not why is it such an important number?

    That's what I'm looking for. It doesn't even have to be super accurate, as long as I can see that it is going down.
  • brit1329
    brit1329 Posts: 293 Member
    The simplest answer is to use your eyes. That is, in the mirror. If your weight is staying the same, but it looks like you're building some muscle, I'd say it's pretty likely your BF% is going down.

    The callipers are the most accurate thing you'll find, apart from very expensive, very time-consuming work in a lab. However, I've also heard that people need to be trained to use one properly. I've not bothered to look into it.

    I have such a hard time noticing any change looking in the mirror. I probably won't really notice much change until I'm close to my goal weight.
  • brit1329
    brit1329 Posts: 293 Member
    I have a scale that does that as well. I know it is not very accurate. I have the same sort of question. There is a place in a city near us (London ON) that has the Bod Pod but they want what I consider a huge amount of money to test. I am thinking phoning gyms and see who uses caliper measurements and if they would do it for non-members.

    Yeah, I don't really want to spend a lot of money to find out. I'd rather have something I could use regularly to see some progress. I haven't thought about the gym idea though. Maybe I could see about that. Thank you.
  • JohnnyNull
    JohnnyNull Posts: 294 Member
    I have a scale that does that as well. I know it is not very accurate. I have the same sort of question. There is a place in a city near us (London ON) that has the Bod Pod but they want what I consider a huge amount of money to test. I am thinking phoning gyms and see who uses caliper measurements and if they would do it for non-members.

    If you ask about "training", please post about it. I'm now a little curious.
  • Bridgetc140
    Bridgetc140 Posts: 405 Member
    http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

    Try this website
  • jbqueen
    jbqueen Posts: 89 Member
    I think someone above was referring to a body fat analyzer, like this:
    http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306C-Loss-Monitor-Black/dp/B000FYZMYK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300417234&sr=8-1
  • kbloodworth
    kbloodworth Posts: 107 Member
    Yeah, I don't know about the body fat% scales. I have one and I use it every morning. My body fat ranges from 23%-39% day over day. Hydration and moisturized skin seem to play a huge factor in the % that is displayed.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
    I have this one.

    http://www.amazon.com/Milliken-Medical-OMR183-Analyzer-Silver/dp/B000K892WO
  • pandafoo
    pandafoo Posts: 367 Member
    i have an omron body fat scale and it's good to see a downward trend. but for greater accuracy, i do monthly fitness check-in tests at my gym that are provided at no cost. i get on a professional version of the omron scale so i can see how many pounds/ounces of muscle and fat i have, and then they do caliper measurements at 7 different sites. at the end, i get a printout with the results which is awesome because i can track my progress compared to the previous month. if you go to a gym, ask if they have such services for members. if not, getting a caliper is prob best, and find a friend or trainer who can teach you how to use it properly.
  • spcopps
    spcopps Posts: 283
    http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

    Try this website

    I went to this website and it was only .5% less than my scale that figures BF%. My scale doesn't change from day to day like others mentioned and has gone down 2% over the almost 2 months I have been tracking but I do check it at the same time of morning each week.
  • brit1329
    brit1329 Posts: 293 Member
    I have this one.

    http://www.amazon.com/Milliken-Medical-OMR183-Analyzer-Silver/dp/B000K892WO

    Does the handheld kind seem to be very accurate or at least not jump around a lot? We used to use those at a gym I worked at, but that was a different town and I don't have access to it anymore.
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