Just had my Body Fat % measured....have you done it?

kgagnon7779
kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
edited September 29 in Fitness and Exercise
I've always been scared to do this - not sure why. I've never been overweight, but I guess I was always scared that I'd find out I had more fat than I thought. ANYWAY - I sucked it up and got it done at the gym today. It was higher than I expected. 22%. The PT said it's really good and right where I want it - according to the chart it falls right in the middle of the "fit" category and I'm 2 points from "athlete". BUT, I'm still a little disappointed. Stupid to feel that way? Whose done it? Does this number really matter (unless of course it's like 40% and up)?
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Replies

  • leix
    leix Posts: 176
    Ive done ones online, where put in measurements etc but god knows how good they are, mind was 27%.
  • HaleyAlli
    HaleyAlli Posts: 911 Member
    22% is AMAZING. I've never had mine professionally tested but I think mine's about 35%. So you're doing GREAT. And losing 2% BF is not that hard, trust me :smile:
  • wendyannie1976
    wendyannie1976 Posts: 205 Member
    i have mine done every few months on a 7 point caliper basis, i'm low vbody fat and find it hard to lose weight because of that - means i generally burn muscle to lose weight - by body fat is 15.4% though bodyfat scales have me at 12.4% which would be only just in the essential fat range for a female of my age. its interesting and helps feel better about the weight on the scales
  • allenlisa
    allenlisa Posts: 96
    Be happy I'm at 28%. And yes I would say it matters. It helps you to see how healthy you are. You can be slim but still be "unhealthy" This helps you to keep your toning in check and be the healthiest possible. Plus most fat is not good for the body. But I'm not Dr just my opinion.
  • FabOma08
    FabOma08 Posts: 500
    22% is a great number! I did have it done several years ago. And many pounds ago! It was too high then and I'd be terrified to see it now!
  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,412 Member
    I had a full body scan done at my medical clinic. Wasn't terribly expensive and was really worth it. No guessing there, plus the pictures were 'cool'
  • Q9S7
    Q9S7 Posts: 74 Member
    I'm assuming they gym did the bf% test w/calipers? The only "true" way i've heard of is a displacement test..however..we don't have a facility w/that equipment in town. Most people grossly underestimate their bf%...22% is just fine IMO (and according to the charts) especially if you're consistently working out/working on reducing bf% slowly. Fitness is a marathon, not a sprint! :)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    for a 32 year old woman, 22% is very very good. You have nothing to be dissapointed about. Could you go lower safely? Sure, but 22% is very healthy and not a noticeable amount for a woman usually.
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
    Ive done ones online, where put in measurements etc but god knows how good they are, mind was 27%.

    So - I did one online this morning before I went to the gym and it said 22.4% - so, maybe they are pretty accurate? The PT was shocked that the online one was so close to the pincher one she did (don't know the right term) . ; )
  • CraftyGirl4
    CraftyGirl4 Posts: 571 Member
    I've always been scared to do this - not sure why. I've never been overweight, but I guess I was always scared that I'd find out I had more fat than I thought. ANYWAY - I sucked it up and got it done at the gym today. It was higher than I expected. 22%. The PT said it's really good and right where I want it - according to the chart it falls right in the middle of the "fit" category and I'm 2 points from "athlete". BUT, I'm still a little disappointed. Stupid to feel that way? Whose done it? Does this number really matter (unless of course it's like 40% and up)?

    I have had it done before. I was at 19% body fat.
  • DKev
    DKev Posts: 266 Member
    I've only ever calculated mine online by using my own measurements. It says mine is 21.69%.
  • LosingTheWeight2014
    LosingTheWeight2014 Posts: 173
    Mine is 28.45%, which is shocking to me because I was sure I was at least 50%...LOL
  • Hernandezedw
    Hernandezedw Posts: 284
    If you're going to have children, don't go much lower than that.
  • dragonflydi
    dragonflydi Posts: 665 Member
    I'm assuming they gym did the bf% test w/calipers? The only "true" way i've heard of is a displacement test..however..we don't have a facility w/that equipment in town. Most people grossly underestimate their bf%...22% is just fine IMO (and according to the charts) especially if you're consistently working out/working on reducing bf% slowly. Fitness is a marathon, not a sprint! :)

    That's what I was wondering too ... how was it determined (out of curiosity). I've heard the hand held machines are not reliable and that even using calipers is not great (at least not for tracking it over a period of time) b/c if you don't measure the exact same spot or put a little more or a little less pressure when guaging, it's going to be inaccurate. I wondered what the best way to do this would be? Displacement test ... maybe have to check into that!
  • leix
    leix Posts: 176
    Ive done ones online, where put in measurements etc but god knows how good they are, mind was 27%.

    So - I did one online this morning before I went to the gym and it said 22.4% - so, maybe they are pretty accurate? The PT was shocked that the online one was so close to the pincher one she did (don't know the right term) . ; )

    Oh thats interesting then thanks for that.

    Well done on your number id love to be that one day :)
  • bikerchick2
    bikerchick2 Posts: 15 Member
    Don't be disappointed - 22% is amazing. Body Fat % is important to know if you do weight training because muscle weighs more than fat & a person that weight trains may tend to weigh more even though they don't have a lot of body fat. I had body fat % done years ago, on a regular basis. It helped me to lose weight & eventually I got to 21%... I too thought that was not good enough and eventually gained the weight back. So be proud with achieving a level of fitness that borders athletic!
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
    I'm assuming they gym did the bf% test w/calipers? The only "true" way i've heard of is a displacement test..however..we don't have a facility w/that equipment in town. Most people grossly underestimate their bf%...22% is just fine IMO (and according to the charts) especially if you're consistently working out/working on reducing bf% slowly. Fitness is a marathon, not a sprint! :)

    Yes on the calipers - I'm sure we don't have a displacement test or anything more sophisticated than the calipers. I went in grossly underestimating because I just didn't even understand the ranges. I was expecting about 18% - oh well, now I have a new goal to shoot for!
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
    I'm assuming they gym did the bf% test w/calipers? The only "true" way i've heard of is a displacement test..however..we don't have a facility w/that equipment in town. Most people grossly underestimate their bf%...22% is just fine IMO (and according to the charts) especially if you're consistently working out/working on reducing bf% slowly. Fitness is a marathon, not a sprint! :)

    That's what I was wondering too ... how was it determined (out of curiosity). I've heard the hand held machines are not reliable and that even using calipers is not great (at least not for tracking it over a period of time) b/c if you don't measure the exact same spot or put a little more or a little less pressure when guaging, it's going to be inaccurate. I wondered what the best way to do this would be? Displacement test ... maybe have to check into that!

    She did my tricep, my hip, and my thigh and she did each spot 3 times and took an average - so I think doing it that way makes a tad more accurate.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Ive done ones online, where put in measurements etc but god knows how good they are, mind was 27%.

    So - I did one online this morning before I went to the gym and it said 22.4% - so, maybe they are pretty accurate? The PT was shocked that the online one was so close to the pincher one she did (don't know the right term) . ; )

    called calipers. There is a more accurate way (3 more actually). Bod Pod (air displacement) and hydrostatic (water displacement) are both more accurate, and the best is DEXA or MRI which are almost exact. All of these are more expensive than a caliper test though, and MRI or DEXA is SUPER expensive (usually a couple hundred bucks or more), and not widely available.
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
    Ive done ones online, where put in measurements etc but god knows how good they are, mind was 27%.

    So - I did one online this morning before I went to the gym and it said 22.4% - so, maybe they are pretty accurate? The PT was shocked that the online one was so close to the pincher one she did (don't know the right term) . ; )

    called calipers. There is a more accurate way (3 more actually). Bod Pod (air displacement) and hydrostatic (water displacement) are both more accurate, and the best is DEXA or MRI which are almost exact. All of these are more expensive than a caliper test though, and MRI or DEXA is SUPER expensive (usually a couple hundred bucks or more), and not widely available.

    So, unless you're a bodybuilder, is there any reason to get that specific? I mean, what kind of margin of error are we talking about here?
  • CraftyGirl4
    CraftyGirl4 Posts: 571 Member
    If you want to have it done more than once to see how accurate different people doing the test with calipers are, you might consider checking out a local sports medicine program or nutrition program. Generally, the students are taught how to do body fat analysis in their second or third year. I was taught how to do one when I was in school.
  • hazelnutflav
    hazelnutflav Posts: 391 Member
    yes i have done this online and for me i seem to loose body fat much faster than i loose lbs, which is why i alway measure myself instead of stepping on the scale., the scale measures EVERYTHING bone, tissue,muscle, blood etc.. and just gives one number for it all not telling you what is muscle and what is fat and so on but if you go by body fat you can see the difference in the numbers each and every time you take measurements.

    if anyone wants to figure out your own body fat percentage here is the link:

    http://exercise.about.com/library/blbodyfatcalculator.htm
  • Rikki444
    Rikki444 Posts: 326 Member
    I had mine checked at Max Muscle last week. Scary indeed.:grumble:
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Ive done ones online, where put in measurements etc but god knows how good they are, mind was 27%.

    So - I did one online this morning before I went to the gym and it said 22.4% - so, maybe they are pretty accurate? The PT was shocked that the online one was so close to the pincher one she did (don't know the right term) . ; )

    called calipers. There is a more accurate way (3 more actually). Bod Pod (air displacement) and hydrostatic (water displacement) are both more accurate, and the best is DEXA or MRI which are almost exact. All of these are more expensive than a caliper test though, and MRI or DEXA is SUPER expensive (usually a couple hundred bucks or more), and not widely available.

    So, unless you're a bodybuilder, is there any reason to get that specific? I mean, what kind of margin of error are we talking about here?

    ahh, I like to, I mean, not really any reason that you would need to, but I like to know, so I get a bod pod done every couple of months. Even for body builders you really don' t need to as they are judged on the look, not the actual percentages. The one good thing about body fat % is that if you are accurate, you can judge whether you are truly losing the right kind of weight (fat) as opposed to losing muscle mass and LBM. But with calipers and online, there's such a high margin for error, you can't really do this and trust the results (well, if the calipers are in the hands of the right person, the error factor can be relatively low but...), even still, it's not worth it to do it more than every few months as really you won't receive tangible changes that fast unless you have a LOT of weight to lose, and in that case, you can SEE the results, you don't need to measure them.
  • simbatlion
    simbatlion Posts: 2
    I had it done at the gym once with calipers but the guy must have had no idea what he was doing. It came back at 12% and it didn't even seem to phase him.

    One time I tried the measurment thing online (did it again right now so I could post this). It was amusing.

    "your body fat percentage is estimated to be 21.15 % using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, or 33.85 % using the formula developed by the YMCA, or 64.14 % using the U.S. Army body fat algorithm, or -0.16 % using the U.S. Marine body fat algorithm. "

    So I could be anywhere from fitter than a marathoner to an amorphous blob... or have negative fat? :p
  • torregro
    torregro Posts: 307
    I've had the Bod Pod analysis done, and am thinking of doing my next body composition analysis at EMU, which offers a DEXA scan for a cost of between $30-$50, depending on whether you are student, faculty or a community member.
    I've had caliper measurements done, and the accuracy REALLY depends on who is using them and what their motivation is.........when selling gym memberships, you can certainly get some interesting results. ;-)
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    I had it done at the gym once with calipers but the guy must have had no idea what he was doing. It came back at 12% and it didn't even seem to phase him.

    One time I tried the measurment thing online (did it again right now so I could post this). It was amusing.

    "your body fat percentage is estimated to be 21.15 % using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, or 33.85 % using the formula developed by the YMCA, or 64.14 % using the U.S. Army body fat algorithm, or -0.16 % using the U.S. Marine body fat algorithm. "

    So I could be anywhere from fitter than a marathoner to an amorphous blob... or have negative fat? :p

    HILARIOUS!!!!!! I would be so confused hahaha. Cause i'd like the 21, but id be like ...odds are its much higher LOL
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
    I had it done at the gym once with calipers but the guy must have had no idea what he was doing. It came back at 12% and it didn't even seem to phase him.

    One time I tried the measurment thing online (did it again right now so I could post this). It was amusing.

    "your body fat percentage is estimated to be 21.15 % using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, or 33.85 % using the formula developed by the YMCA, or 64.14 % using the U.S. Army body fat algorithm, or -0.16 % using the U.S. Marine body fat algorithm. "

    So I could be anywhere from fitter than a marathoner to an amorphous blob... or have negative fat? :p

    HILARIOUS!!!!!! I would be so confused hahaha. Cause i'd like the 21, but id be like ...odds are its much higher LOL

    Totally made me laugh out loud!!
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
    I'm assuming they gym did the bf% test w/calipers? The only "true" way i've heard of is a displacement test..however..we don't have a facility w/that equipment in town. Most people grossly underestimate their bf%...22% is just fine IMO (and according to the charts) especially if you're consistently working out/working on reducing bf% slowly. Fitness is a marathon, not a sprint! :)

    Best test is a hydrostatic test. I have had mine done and I Stijl around 16-18% but shootin for 8%!

    This is the proper way to go about figuring out your body composition not by bmi or online scales using measurement. I don't even recommend calipers. I could go into why but I'd be typing forever on my phone.
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
    Ive done ones online, where put in measurements etc but god knows how good they are, mind was 27%.

    So - I did one online this morning before I went to the gym and it said 22.4% - so, maybe they are pretty accurate? The PT was shocked that the online one was so close to the pincher one she did (don't know the right term) . ; )

    called calipers. There is a more accurate way (3 more actually). Bod Pod (air displacement) and hydrostatic (water displacement) are both more accurate, and the best is DEXA or MRI which are almost exact. All of these are more expensive than a caliper test though, and MRI or DEXA is SUPER expensive (usually a couple hundred bucks or more), and not widely available.

    So, unless you're a bodybuilder, is there any reason to get that specific? I mean, what kind of margin of error are we talking about here?

    ahh, I like to, I mean, not really any reason that you would need to, but I like to know, so I get a bod pod done every couple of months. Even for body builders you really don' t need to as they are judged on the look, not the actual percentages. The one good thing about body fat % is that if you are accurate, you can judge whether you are truly losing the right kind of weight (fat) as opposed to losing muscle mass and LBM. But with calipers and online, there's such a high margin for error, you can't really do this and trust the results (well, if the calipers are in the hands of the right person, the error factor can be relatively low but...), even still, it's not worth it to do it more than every few months as really you won't receive tangible changes that fast unless you have a LOT of weight to lose, and in that case, you can SEE the results, you don't need to measure them.

    Good to know. Thanks for all the info.
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