body fat % calculator confusion

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tigerlily8045
tigerlily8045 Posts: 415 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I went to http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/ to find out my body fat. I did both the military one and the Covert Bailey . Wow The difference in the 2 results. Not sure which one to believe. The military one said that I was at 43.7 and the other at 31.5. OK so does anyone know which to go by???

Replies

  • ruststar
    ruststar Posts: 489 Member
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    The military one is probably more accurate, but I found it to be high. I've had my body fat tested via body impedence at my chiro and that was spot on with the military calculator, but I just did a hydrostatic body fat test and found I was 6 % lower. Since the hydrostatic is far more accurate than other methods, I'm going with that.

    Edit: I just checked again, and found the cover bailey was closer to what the hydrostatic test came up with, just a little lower. None were spot on.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    I use the other one, since it is a lot closer to what the calipers shows - and they use more measurements, which makes it a little more logic than just using three points on you body like the military one...
  • newlyknit
    newlyknit Posts: 28 Member
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    I wanted to chime in too. I calculated my body fat % using all three calculators on the fat2fit website. The military calculation showed a percentage in the 40s while the other calculators showed a percentage well below 30. Logically it seems like the calculation that requires more measurements would be more accurate, but according to that calculation I'm at a 'healthy weight' at 206 lbs (5'7" tall) and should go no lower than 180 to have a body fat % of 25.
    So frustrating and confusing.
  • Ding724
    Ding724 Posts: 791 Member
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    The convert bailey said i'm 21.8%

    The military said i'm 24.1%

    I'd say the miliary one is more accurate. I've tried all kinds of these sites & calipers lately and am always between 23-24. I'd stick to that one if I were you. But whatever you chose, then just only use that one from now on to measure so that you can see your results!!! :smile:
  • tigerlily8045
    tigerlily8045 Posts: 415 Member
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    I know that getting it done by calipers would be way more truthful but I don't have a gym membership and don't know if I can just walk in somewhere and say test me! LOL
  • markpmc
    markpmc Posts: 240 Member
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    I use the military calcs. Just stick with the same approach and you'll get the 'relative change'. ie I've dropped 5% of my BF via the military calc over the last 2 months. It doesn't matter where you start, it matters if you improve.
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,829 Member
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    I feel like I have NO idea what my bf% is right now. I got tested at my gym using one of those handheld things in January, it was at 35%, then in late Feb it was at 34%. I did the Military one and it said that now I'm at 36% (there is literally no possible way my bf% has gone up at all---I've lost nearly 3 pants sizes and 15 lbs since my last bf% test at the gym)...but then the Covert Bailey one said I'm down to 24%??? There is no way I'm that low yet.

    I guess I'm just gonna stick by what the one at the gym says since it's in the middle, and it's the measurement I've been going by throughout my whole journey. It might not be accurate, but at least it's consistent.
  • carpp107
    carpp107 Posts: 99
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    I got 15.7% on the military one......Ouch!!!! 7% to go....or 16 pounds to hit goal of 8%
  • leopard_barbie
    leopard_barbie Posts: 279 Member
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    33.6% on the military, the others are about 10% less so I'm using the military as worst case scenario and just sticking to that one to compare :)
  • tigerlily8045
    tigerlily8045 Posts: 415 Member
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    Part of why I ask this is because then to hit a "healthy weight" one says 145 the other 160..... so I am not sure where I should shoot for?
  • LovingLisa2012
    LovingLisa2012 Posts: 802 Member
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    the 2nd one says i should be 249 pounds to be 25 % fat

    military says i should be 129 for 25 %

    how ever for my age group the high healthy is 33% and military says i should aim for 145
    ( my goal is 150 - 175 and could go lower once i am there)

    im sticking with the military version .. even if its not 100% correct, its pretty close im sure
  • LovingLisa2012
    LovingLisa2012 Posts: 802 Member
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    Part of why I ask this is because then to hit a "healthy weight" one says 145 the other 160..... so I am not sure where I should shoot for?

    aim for 160, once you're there, you can re-evaluate
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,829 Member
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    Part of why I ask this is because then to hit a "healthy weight" one says 145 the other 160..... so I am not sure where I should shoot for?

    Yeah, if I go by the military result, it says my "goal weight" for my goal body fat % is 117 lbs, but if I go by the other, it says 138 lbs. That's QUITE a discrepancy!
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    All I know is that my bf% is way lower than 26% and I have way more than 97 pounds of lean mass, so I'm going with neither.
  • celtickarasu
    celtickarasu Posts: 76
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    I have the same problem. The military one says I should get down to 119 to be healthy. The other one says I should get down to 160. WAY different, though I think I would look horrible at 119. The military one says I have 91 lbs. of fat on me. The other one says I have 50 lbs. of fat on me. BIG difference.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Check city or county community services for caliper testing, usually around $10, just confirm they do the 7 site method for better accuracy, and come prepared right, first thing morning, not dehydrated from workout night before, ect.

    Gym I'd be concerned they want your business, and the worse you are, the better chance they have. That's why they seem to love the handheld estimator - probably the least accurate method.

    Might also check out Bod Pod locations around you. Some are down around $35.

    The formula's can be decent depending on body type.
    Once you do the Bod Pod or caliper in trained hands, do the measurements again and see which is most accurate, and see what the multiplier is to make it correct.
    http://www.gymgoal.com/dtool_fat.html
    Now when you measure in the future, same multiplier can help keep it closer.
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,829 Member
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    Check city or county community services for caliper testing, usually around $10, just confirm they do the 7 site method for better accuracy, and come prepared right, first thing morning, not dehydrated from workout night before, ect.

    Gym I'd be concerned they want your business, and the worse you are, the better chance they have. That's why they seem to love the handheld estimator - probably the least accurate method.

    Might also check out Bod Pod locations around you. Some are down around $35.

    The formula's can be decent depending on body type.
    Once you do the Bod Pod or caliper in trained hands, do the measurements again and see which is most accurate, and see what the multiplier is to make it correct.
    http://www.gymgoal.com/dtool_fat.html
    Now when you measure in the future, same multiplier can help keep it closer.

    That tool seemed a LOT more accurate with the average. I did get measured via handheld device at the gym (last said I was at 34%) so my average of 31.2% seems totally plausible based on that #. I guess as long as the # is going DOWN, regardless of the way it's measured, that's good!
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
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    The covert-bailey said I'm 22% while the military said 22.5% so I guess not much difference for me but as per BIA, I have 19.7%. However I still think there are some overestimates in the calculator since it only suggests that the lower your measurements, the lower your body fat percentage is which is not always true. Like my waist & thigh measurements for example, I can't pinch an inch off my thighs because of muscles but when I measured it, I came up with 19.5 & my tummy area is not soft either, I have abs but my waist measurements on navel is 27, natural waist is 26 & I don't think my body would let me have a 24 inch waistline. Meanwhile many runway models have lower measurements but no muscle tone so literally if they would be measured using those calculators, they would have lower body fat percentage but in reality their body fat percentage can be much higher considering that many of them have bodies that consist of entirely skin, bones & fat with very little muscle.
  • kalynn06
    kalynn06 Posts: 368 Member
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    This is so interesting. The military one is really not accurate for me, but it's way lower than either of the other calculators, self measuring with calipers or a visual estimation. It's because I have a small waist and a petite frame. The Covert Bailey is 5% higher and the calipers are higher than that. The important thing, to me, is that they are all going down.

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