Aria - body fat question
baybeejulia
Posts: 218 Member
So, the pattern has been if my weight goes up, my body fat percentage goes up, and vice versa.
I've started heavy lifting now and I've been told to follow body fat rather than weight, because muscle weighs more than fat so I'll probably gain weight.
Question is, is the Aria accurate enough to show me the correct body fat (which should be lower) while I will be heavier weight wise?
Anyone with experience?
I've started heavy lifting now and I've been told to follow body fat rather than weight, because muscle weighs more than fat so I'll probably gain weight.
Question is, is the Aria accurate enough to show me the correct body fat (which should be lower) while I will be heavier weight wise?
Anyone with experience?
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Replies
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My Fitbit Aria wi-fi scale is utter crap at measuring body fat—I just ignore it. It sends a pulse up one leg & down the other, then guesstimates your upper body.0
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editorgrrl wrote: »My Fitbit Aria wi-fi scale is utter crap at measuring body fat—I just ignore it. It sends a pulse up one leg & down the other, then guesstimates your upper body.
Oh great, I just bought it for this reason lol.0 -
I don't know how accurate the actual percentage is. I don't put much faith in that part. It has been giving me a downward trend since I got it though and based on pictures, I'd have to agree with it that my BF% has decreased. I just don't trust the number it gives me. I could be higher or lower, but I'm not really wanting to fork over the money to go get it tested.0
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baybeejulia wrote: »Oh great, I just bought it for this reason lol.
It's not a total waste of money—you never have to log your weight again. And it syncs with Trendweight.com. (Which is free.) Unlike MFP's "in five weeks" nonsense, TW + my Aria helped me lose the weight & maintain for a year.0 -
editorgrrl wrote: »baybeejulia wrote: »Oh great, I just bought it for this reason lol.
It's not a total waste of money—you never have to log your weight again. And it syncs with Trendweight.com. (Which is free.) Unlike MFP's "in five weeks" nonsense, TW + my Aria helped me lose the weight & maintain for a year.
I do use TrendWeight and love it.
But I've started heavy lifting and BF% will be my primary focus - which will be hard if I can't accurately measure it lol.
Did you find TrendWeight's predictions accurate?0 -
shadow2soul wrote: »I don't know how accurate the actual percentage is. I don't put much faith in that part. It has been giving me a downward trend since I got it though and based on pictures, I'd have to agree with it that my BF% has decreased. I just don't trust the number it gives me. I could be higher or lower, but I'm not really wanting to fork over the money to go get it tested.
That's true, I guess it will ultimately be a downward trend.0 -
baybeejulia wrote: »Did you find TrendWeight's predictions accurate?
100%.
Can't you use photos & measurements to gauge your progress?0 -
editorgrrl wrote: »baybeejulia wrote: »Did you find TrendWeight's predictions accurate?
100%.
Can't you use photos & measurements to gauge your progress?
Yep - I guess I will rely more on those than the BF%.
My gym does free assessments so they take my measurements (woo), and I'll take my photos.
Depressing about Trendweight though, it predicts it'll take me till October to lose 6kg and get to my goal weight lol.0 -
I have an older body fat scale. I don't believe the percentage that it gives me, but... The general trend is down and frequently when my weight goes up, or stays the same, despite the fact that I've been reasonably good about staying within my calorie goals, my body fat % will often go down. Then, when I get a big "whoosh" of weight loss - more than I'd expect - my body fat % goes up.
So, I think it has some utility for seeing a trend in body fat, but the absolute number is probably worthless. Measuring body fat % accurately is hard and it isn't going to happen with a relatively inexpensive piece of consumer electronics.0 -
My experience with my aria has been that it's pretty spot on with my body fat percentage. But the women I know that have tried them (I'm male) say that it's all over the place for them. No idea whether that's indicative of a general trend or not... But as I said, it works for me...
All of that being said, even if the numbers are out, they're generally pretty consistent. So whilst you won't be able to know for certain what your bodyfat level is, you can see the trends just fine, especially if you're already using trendweight...0 -
I have an older body fat scale. I don't believe the percentage that it gives me, but... The general trend is down and frequently when my weight goes up, or stays the same, despite the fact that I've been reasonably good about staying within my calorie goals, my body fat % will often go down. Then, when I get a big "whoosh" of weight loss - more than I'd expect - my body fat % goes up.
So, I think it has some utility for seeing a trend in body fat, but the absolute number is probably worthless. Measuring body fat % accurately is hard and it isn't going to happen with a relatively inexpensive piece of consumer electronics.
I guess I will have to stick with tracking a 'trend' - I'll eventually get the DEXA body scan, I am really interested to know!My experience with my aria has been that it's pretty spot on with my body fat percentage. But the women I know that have tried them (I'm male) say that it's all over the place for them. No idea whether that's indicative of a general trend or not... But as I said, it works for me...
All of that being said, even if the numbers are out, they're generally pretty consistent. So whilst you won't be able to know for certain what your bodyfat level is, you can see the trends just fine, especially if you're already using trendweight...
I am not surprised @cyronius, everything seems simpler for men! I guess with all the excess water weight and fat (boobs) we carry, it makes sense that yours would be more accurate.0 -
You can at least help it to be consistent, even if not accurate.
Only use valid weigh-in days to minimize expected water weight fluctuations, which count as LBM or non-fat mass.
Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.
Lifting heavy will make that last bit difficult, may need 2 rest days, or at least 2 non-lifting days.
Because body repairs a good workout by retaining water.
So if sore, don't even bother getting a bogus measurement, it's bad data.
You can also check consistency for you. Get on, get BF%, get off, get on again and see if it matches.
Read the manual - different makers use different formulas and recommend different times to do BF%. Morning is not always best for BF%, though it is for weight.
You'll know what part of the month to skip entirely as extra water will make BF% go down, but then you'll be discouraged when it goes back up.0 -
I've been hydrostatically weighed (the gold standard BF% measurement), and, considering that it is just a bioimpedance measurement, the Aria is surprisingly consistent with the hydrostatic weighing. I'm going to repeat the hydrostatic weighing sometime in the next month or two to compare them again, with my new body shape.0
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You can at least help it to be consistent, even if not accurate.
Only use valid weigh-in days to minimize expected water weight fluctuations, which count as LBM or non-fat mass.
Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.
Lifting heavy will make that last bit difficult, may need 2 rest days, or at least 2 non-lifting days.
Because body repairs a good workout by retaining water.
So if sore, don't even bother getting a bogus measurement, it's bad data.
You can also check consistency for you. Get on, get BF%, get off, get on again and see if it matches.
Read the manual - different makers use different formulas and recommend different times to do BF%. Morning is not always best for BF%, though it is for weight.
You'll know what part of the month to skip entirely as extra water will make BF% go down, but then you'll be discouraged when it goes back up.
I see what you mean, I weighed today after heavy lifting Monday and Wednesday and am 6% heavier in body fat! That cannot even be a little bit right!0 -
I really like my Aria. I like the fat percentage weighing too. I know what to aim for 18% and it is pretty consistent in weight body fat even if it tells me +-1%. If it were -+5% between 1minute weighing, I would be questioning things. I like the automatic syncing a lot.
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