Body Fat Percentage

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theredcliche
theredcliche Posts: 233 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Do you guys trust the body fat calculation on your scales at home? I don't really know how it measures it, but mine has changed, I just don't know how reliable it is. I know I could go to a doctor and measure my body fat with calipers and stuff, but I'm not that unsure of the my scale - just wondering what you guys think.... Oh and mine was 22% (145 lbs) before beginning Jillian Michaels' Body Revolution and now it's 19% (136 lbs).
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Replies

  • TZE731
    TZE731 Posts: 18
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    Do you measure it at the same time? Best time is when you wake up in the morning before you eat.
  • theredcliche
    theredcliche Posts: 233 Member
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    yep - after using the bathroom ha ha :)
  • chervil6
    chervil6 Posts: 236 Member
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    actually the best time to get your bmi is the middle of the afternoon
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Body fat calculations from digital scales are very inconsistent and inaccurate. They have a margin of error of over 5%. I've actually seen a supposed 5% change in body fat in a 24 hour period, just to see it swing back the other way a few days later. They use electricity to measure water content, and calculate it based on that. Any fluctuation in water retention will screw up the reading.
  • annameier8706
    annameier8706 Posts: 572 Member
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    Personally I wouldn't really trust anything that is simply using you height, weight, and age to measure body fat % accurately...
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    actually the best time to get your bmi is the middle of the afternoon

    BMI is not he same as BF%, BMI does not account for the amount of muscle and is just a function of height and weight.

    that being said the scales can be way off, so your BF% is probably not what it says you are, but as long as it is moving in the right direction you are making progress, regardless if the number is accurate or not.
  • mawmawandlovingit
    mawmawandlovingit Posts: 45 Member
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    Wow, you have done an awesome job, I bet you are excited! I don't have a scale that measures body fat but would love to know what my percentage is. I am kinda scared to know though!! I'm 5'2 and 135 lbs.......I think my goal weight would be 115 but I don't want to be skinny fat so I really don't care about the lbs as long as my fat percentage is good.
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
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    I've heard water weight can make a big difference in those scales' readings. might be worth it to go somewhere where they can measure you w/ calipers!
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    Body fat calculations from digital scales are very inconsistent and inaccurate. They have a margin of error of over 5%. I've actually seen a supposed 5% change in body fat in a 24 hour period, just to see it swing back the other way a few days later. They use electricity to measure water content, and calculate it based on that. Any fluctuation in water retention will screw up the reading.

    ^^ THIS. If you can't get your BF% measured accurately, get a pair of calipers and measure monthly. Even if you measure wrong, as long as you do it the same way consistently it'll show you a change and is far more accurate then showing you water fluctuations in your body as your scale does.
  • triplejay1
    triplejay1 Posts: 84 Member
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    Yea, i took mine back to walmart after 3 days of wild swings in BF%, it could be off by 3-5% weighting back to back, so i have them do it at the Dr. office or at the gym now.
  • jamesblood13
    jamesblood13 Posts: 175 Member
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    Personally I wouldn't really trust anything that is simply using you height, weight, and age to measure body fat % accurately...

    High Tech scales don't use height weight and age to measure BF%. There's usually little electrodes on the scales that send a small electrical signal throught your body. Water, muscle and fat all conduct electricity differently.
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
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    If you can get it/afford it, the immersion test for body fat % is the most accurate method out there. The next best is callipers, followed by the hand-held gizmos, then finally the scale that measures through the feet. My scale bf% goes up when I go down in weight. Figure that one out!
  • Mrs_TrimWaistFatWallet
    Mrs_TrimWaistFatWallet Posts: 486
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    Well even if it has a margin of error, the trend was that you lost that number +/- 5%. That's a significant drop, so congratulations! Most body-fat measurement techniques are inaccurate, but if you use the technique consistently and see a drop, then you probably had a significant drop. I'd just leave it at that..
  • mrsmoreno05
    mrsmoreno05 Posts: 16
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    I've heard water weight can make a big difference in those scales' readings. might be worth it to go somewhere where they can measure you w/ calipers!

    This is VERY correct. My Dr. once told me if you have drank a lot of water, your BF % Can be wrong. I have a handheld one like you see in the gyms. I don't trust the scale ones. My scale has one, it is slightly off.
  • staceyseeger
    staceyseeger Posts: 783 Member
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    See if the Bod Pod test is offered in your area - It's 2nd best to the Immersion...I had it done last Sept & will be re-tested in May.
  • lilyvale68
    lilyvale68 Posts: 96 Member
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    I hope it's incorrect because according to your numbers you lost 3 lbs of muscle since the beginning of Jillian's program.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I hope it's incorrect because according to your numbers you lost 3 lbs of muscle since the beginning of Jillian's program.

    While losing fat you will lose lean mass, not all of the 3 lbs of lean mass will be muscle, but some will) Lean mass is everything that is not fat.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Do you measure it at the same time? Best time is when you wake up in the morning before you eat.

    I understand that weight can vary greatly throughout the day, but why should your body fat % fluctuate? Things like water weight and food can change your weight, but those don't change BF%.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Well even if it has a margin of error, the trend was that you lost that number +/- 5%. That's a significant drop, so congratulations! Most body-fat measurement techniques are inaccurate, but if you use the technique consistently and see a drop, then you probably had a significant drop. I'd just leave it at that..

    That's the problem with the margin of error. A 22% measurement could be anywhere from 17-27%, and a 19% measurement could be anywhere from 14-24%. So even though the scale shows a 3% drop, it could easily be a 5 or 6% gain, and you'd never know.
  • theredcliche
    theredcliche Posts: 233 Member
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    lol - thanks guys for all the answers!!! i'll look into a better method! :)

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