What do you use to measure Body fat % ?

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w33bl3
w33bl3 Posts: 284 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ive been using scales , I dont know wether to trust them or not .. is it normal to drop 10% in a week?
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  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    LOL no, it's not normal. Those scales are VERY inaccurate. I use calipers, which might not be totally accurate, but if you're precise with the way you're measuring, you can at least tell if your body fat % is going up or down.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    I stand in front of a mirror nekkid and jump up and down

    anything that isn't boobs that keeps jiggling is fat

    HTH
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited January 2015
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    PS I don't really, I was just amusing myself - scales are innacurate and shite in general
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
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    I just measure with a measuring tape and use this website fat2fittools.com/tools/mbf/. But I'm pretty sure it's an estimate, but at least I have an idea. :smile:
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    edited January 2015
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    w33bl3 wrote: »
    Ive been using scales , I dont know wether to trust them or not .. is it normal to drop 10% in a week?
    Nope--your scale may be a lemon, it may not be a good model, or you may not be following all the directions. Good scales have a single-use accuracy within 5% and a consistency within 1%.

  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    CA_Underdog wrote: »
    Nope--your scale may be a lemon, it may not be a good model, or you may not be following all the directions. Good scales have a single-use accuracy within 5% and a consistency within 1%.

    That's for weight. Not for body fat.

    None of the body fat scales on the market do even a halfway decent job of measuring body fat. The reason is that the method they use is really, really inaccurate.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    I just Googled body fat women images and tried to figure out which one I was closest too, and which one I wanna be.

    And measurements on a navy bf site. Says I'm 27% which "looks" real close to what I eyeballed.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    edited January 2015
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    .
  • NJGamerChick
    NJGamerChick Posts: 467 Member
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    Calipers, when there are batteries. Mine are digital.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    This article might be valuable reading for some:
    strengthunbound.com/measure-body-fat-easily-accurately-home/

    The nutshell version is, there are formulas that can estimate it based on measurements, but they're all flawed in some ways.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
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    My scale is extremely consistent and has slowly come down as my weight has come down. I don't know how accurate it is, but it gives me results in the middle of the various body measurement formula methods, and based on representative pictures I also think it's about right. You just have a defective scale.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    I pinch my belly, and a bunch o' other rolls and flaps with these:

    image_21602.jpg

    I'm dropping under 11% this week.

    Single digits here I come ...
  • ashleycde
    ashleycde Posts: 622 Member
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    Lasmartchika wrote: »
    I just measure with a measuring tape and use this website fat2fittools.com/tools/mbf/. But I'm pretty sure it's an estimate, but at least I have an idea. :smile:

    I do the same myself. I'm OK with it not being 100% accurate, but it gives me some kind of idea of my progress.

  • Bookbuyer2015
    Bookbuyer2015 Posts: 15 Member
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    Hand calipers (maybe $10 from Amazon) and the Aria Fitbit scale. The calipers put me at 35% and the scale at 38%. I'm treating it as a vague estimate for now and plan to measure once a month to see if I can track any reductions.
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Those BIA scales are very inaccurate (ie Fitbit Aria) and it is totally normal ... you have to remember that you get what you pay for. Unless you are using an industrial quality model you will get just numbers. For example .. mine says 10% BF at night and 16% in the morning. So the ONLY thing they are good for is spotting trends .. ie up or down. But the numbers .. no, as they have been shown in studies to be up to 8% +/- compared to the true numbers. And this is for "Body Fat" measurements .. your weight numbers can be relied upon if you have a descent digital scale. I do find that the muscle mass / water etc percentages are a little more stable than the body fat % numbers though.
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    edited January 2015
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    segacs wrote: »
    CA_Underdog wrote: »
    Nope--your scale may be a lemon, it may not be a good model, or you may not be following all the directions. Good scales have a single-use accuracy within 5% and a consistency within 1%.

    That's for weight. Not for body fat.

    None of the body fat scales on the market do even a halfway decent job of measuring body fat. The reason is that the method they use is really, really inaccurate.

    Actually, that's for body fat, and the study below shows even years ago it only took a $65 scale for BIA scales to score +/- 5.12% (w/ 95% probability) on single-use accuracy vs. a skinfold caliper's 4.2% single-use accuracy if done by the same person. Neither is so great, but I care more about the consistency which is within 1% and good enough for tracking progress.

    http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijes/vol4/iss3/2/

    rq56ijn8ctao.png

    The image above is a 10-day snippet from one intense period in my journey. Body fat trends were far more helpful to me for charting progress than total weight.

    Here's another thread showing how helpful they can be. :)

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10070645/body-fat-scales
  • shortiequinn
    shortiequinn Posts: 38 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I stand in front of a mirror nekkid and jump up and down

    anything that isn't boobs that keeps jiggling is fat

    HTH

    I should try this. Except my boobs are too small to jiggle.
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    edited January 2015
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    w33bl3 wrote: »
    CA_Underdog wrote: »
    Its A fitbit scale .. oh i dont really care.. i was wondering because it was such a huge drop and i normally go off measurements anyway ;)

    The Fitbit Aria's a decent enough scale. Maybe not as consistent as a Tanita, but more convenient. It's particularly sensitive to movement.. after a move, it takes 2-3 weigh-ins to recalibrate. In their instructions, they offer ten guidelines for more accurate body fat measurements. Mostly it comes down to, "Don't move it.", "Wear the same thing.", and "Weigh first thing in the a.m." :)

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