Body Fat

[Wizard1991]

Hi all,

I'm wondering how do you measure your body fat %

I been thinking of getting my body fat %

What do you think?

[Wizard1991]

It doesn't matter now, I weigh myself this morning and it also say the percentage of body fat

[Morrigainz]

I'm not sure how accurate the scale is in regards to testing bf%. My understanding is that it can vary depending on how much water you've had, as well as other factors. However, if you're concerned about bf, you can use the scale's progression to get an idea of where you're headed at least.

Other than that, I don't have any super ideas. I had mine measured at a gym using calipers but it was kind of half-assed.

[Waldo]

I'm not sure how accurate the scale is in regards to testing bf%. My understanding is that it can vary depending on how much water you've had, as well as other factors. However, if you're concerned about bf, you can use the scale's progression to get an idea of where you're headed at least.

Other than that, I don't have any super ideas. I had mine measured at a gym using calipers but it was kind of half-assed.

There are formulas out there that require a tape measure (flexible body measuring tape, not a carpenter's tape). While absolute accuracy is probably not too great with them, realtive accuracy is probably quite good. In other words, while the number may only be a ballpark number for real BF% and LBW, the change from today to last week to last month is likely to be much more accurate for most people (probably one of the most accurate methods in fact for relative accuracy).

There are two that I know of.

This One, that I don't know the name of, that forms the basis for most online BF% calculators (finding the actual formula is much more difficult than finding a calculator).

And the Navy Formula

They give fairly drastic different answers for LBW for me (13-14 lbs different, though the difference is declining a little as I lose weight), however the relative changes over time for both are really close. I kinda view them as a range, the first formula defining the lower limit, the Navy formula defining the upper limit.

[Morrigainz]

Huh. I might have to give one/both of these a try. Thanks for the links!

[Padraig]

I agree with MirGSS's idea to use the scale's progression as guide. Just make sure to weigh yourself at the same time and under the same conditions. I have a similar scale, but also got a Dexa scan (about $70) at the start to get a "real" understanding of my body fat. It turns out my scale was underreporting fat by a few percentage points, but now I know. As long as the fat keeps declining on the scale, I'm happy, and I can add back the extra points to get my true number.

[Corbab]

Tim Ferriss said (and I tend to agree) that it doesn't really matter whether your method of measurement is 100% accurate, as long as it's consistent. Unless there are major medical issues, BF% is mostly about appearance (I'm assuming), so take a look in the mirror and just use the numbers as a rough guide tracking your progress.

[Ryan Sannar]

This ^

[WhenWorldIsMine]

No method short of a DEXA scan is totally accurate. Calipers give decently reproducible results so over the longer term will give a reliable idea of your progress.

Bio-electrical impedance measurement on scales is easily thrown off by the amount of body water you have on board at the time of measurement as well as electrolyte levels. There'll be much more fluctuation in your numbers as a result but if you measure 1st thing in the morning before breakfast and at the same time each time that can be minimised. Still, over the long term your trend up or down should be reliable enough.