How do you measure your body fat?

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doublezizzle
doublezizzle Posts: 42 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've found some online calculators to determine body fat, but they just don't seem right? Anyone use them and find them to be accurate? Or is buying a caliper really the only way to go? If so, any recommendations of what kind to buy??

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  • EatClenTrenHard
    EatClenTrenHard Posts: 339 Member
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    IT takes alot of practice to use caliper accurately.
    Muscle/Fat measuring machines arent accurate.


    Dont worry about bodyfat, you are a girl! You shouldnt worry about losing lean body mass.(you will not lose alot of it anyways)
  • Parks0613
    Parks0613 Posts: 27 Member
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    Online calculators are not accurate because they do not take mucle into consideration. You can have a personal trainer at a gym do you body fat or your doctor can request you to have it done by Hydrostatic Weighing which is done in water and the most accurate way to be done!
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    I use this one.

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    I use my body fat scale and Omron handheld monitor.
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
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    The statement about calipers is correct. Find someone trained in the use of calipers and ask them to help you.

    The comment about not needing to worry about body fat because you're a woman is ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT! :) Body fat is not a "guy thing." You WILL lose lean body mass/muscle if you lose too much weight too fast, or if you are only doing cardio and no strength training or even body weight resistance activities. I say this from experience because it happened to me--I lost my first 30 pounds rather quickly and lost lean body mass. I lost the last 13 pounds slowly and steadily and kept my muscle.
    IT takes alot of practice to use caliper accurately.
    Muscle/Fat measuring machines arent accurate.

    Dont worry about bodyfat, you are a girl! You shouldnt worry about losing lean body mass.(you will not lose alot of it anyways)
  • sarahbetherck
    sarahbetherck Posts: 270 Member
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    I've done hydrostatic body fat testing through a gym and it was excellent, they showed me exactly how much of my weight was fat and how much was lean mass, graphed it out, gave me stats that showed where I am as compared to a previous test as well as the norms/averages for other women my height and age. I'm doing it again in six months to track my progress.
  • Parks0613
    Parks0613 Posts: 27 Member
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    The statement about calipers is correct. Find someone trained in the use of calipers and ask them to help you.

    The comment about not needing to worry about body fat because you're a woman is ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT! :) Body fat is not a "guy thing." You WILL lose lean body mass/muscle if you lose too much weight too fast, or if you are only doing cardio and no strength training or even body weight resistance activities. I say this from experience because it happened to me--I lost my first 30 pounds rather quickly and lost lean body mass. I lost the last 13 pounds slowly and steadily and kept my muscle.
    IT takes alot of practice to use caliper accurately.
    Muscle/Fat measuring machines arent accurate.

    Dont worry about bodyfat, you are a girl! You shouldnt worry about losing lean body mass.(you will not lose alot of it anyways)


    exactly what I was thinking.....
  • rdsxgrl28
    rdsxgrl28 Posts: 165 Member
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    The trainer at the gym does mine - I compare it to my scale that does BF & Hydration - that are pretty close.

    Depressing but close!!
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
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    Did mine online, to see how accurate it was, the more measurements I provide, the closer it got to my correct results from the doctor, within 0.1 points.
    Question, is the amount of body fat, the same as BMI? Or is it a coincidence that my body fat percentage and BMI are both 27.1?
    Not bad eh? Started at a bmi of 39.5...
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    Did mine online, to see how accurate it was, the more measurements I provide, the closer it got to my correct results from the doctor, within 0.1 points.
    Question, is the amount of body fat, the same as BMI? Or is it a coincidence that my body fat percentage and BMI are both 27.1?
    Not bad eh? Started at a bmi of 39.5...

    Body fat is the amount of fat on your body. BMI is the ratio between your height and weight.

    This is the formula to use to find out your BMI.

    Weight
    _______ x 703

    Height in inches x Height in inches


    Example:

    Jane Doe is 5ft6" tall and weighs 205 pounds

    205
    _____ x 703 = 33 (BMI)

    66 (5 x12 +6) x 66 (5x12 +6) = 4356


    Sometimes a person's bmi and body fat percentage can be the same or close.
  • doublezizzle
    doublezizzle Posts: 42 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I've been doing mostly cardio but just added strength training to my schedule. I do want that toned and defined look so I think it's important that I monitor my body fat...even if I am just a girl :-)

    I don't have a trainer so I guess I'll either have to try the calipers myself or ask my doc to do it!

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