Best way to measure body fat?

[bella38]

What way is the best to measure body fat? I have never done this and someone told me that calipers are not accurate?

I am struggling with losing fat and even though I now I have dropped inches and gained muscle the scale has not changed!! I now I need to throw the stupid thing away because it does not tell the whole story but I need to drop and start losing!!

I am coming up on a year lifting weights and not sure if I should be happy or disappointed on were I am at!!!! I think it all boils down to diet!!!!!!


Staying positive,
Barb

[Marius_Ursus]

If you have a good sense of humor, slap your thigh and count until it stops jiggling.

If not so much, total body immersion to check for displacement is the most accurate method.

Barring those two, somewhere in between, are the fat meter scales, calipers, and those impedence wheels you're supposed to hold in both hands.

[freebirdmac]

Losing inches = losing body fat. Scale not changing in the process = muscle gains. Congrats! You should be happy!

Scale weight is irrelevant. So are body fat measurements. What counts is if you like what you see in the mirror.

If you still have problem areas, use progress picts and measurements to help gage your progress. Forget scales and calipers.

[kimm4]

Getting results is all about the diet. Getting your bodyfat tested is ok to have a place to start, but it's not always accurate. If anything go by the mirror, measurements and take progress pics.

[ironwill2008]

You're correct about nutrition; it's about 90% of it. You're also correct in that as you lose bodyfat, and gain muscle, your bodyweight may stay about the same. What's important is that your body composition is changing. Don't be too worried about the scale, or your bf%, for that matter. Use the mirror, and the fit of your clothes as a gauge of your progress.

I'd post a guess of your bf%, from your avatar, but you didn't ask. BTW, that would be the best method I can think of, and it's cheap! There are many members here who can estimate your bf%, within a point or two.

[namtrag]

If you are OCD and you must know your exact bf%, a dexascan is the most accurate.

[asmolenski]

Hey Barbara. Measuring body fat is something that has been discussed at least once a week for the last couple years that I have been on these forums - you may want to do a search of the forums for some very good past discussions.

That said - I am a firm believer in measuring body fat with an accurate method like bodpod, hydro or dexascan at least once. That way you get an objective body composition that will tell you how much fat you really have and how much you need to lose to get into contest shape or just a new bikini if that is your goal. For me getting a test done was a wakeup call and motivated me to stay the course with fat loss. In my experience everyone underestimates their body fat by about 4 or 5%. Forget about calipers, tanita scales etc - they are innacurate and fluctuate by a few % from day to day and even from hour to hour depending on your body fluid status, skin hydration etc. As you get lower body fat levels then the mirror is probably the best measure of success - afterall when you are stage no one is going to measure your body fat - at that level its all about what you look like and how you can present what ya got. Good luck!

[ExCompetitor]

Best way..MIRROR.

[kimsquit]

What way is the best to measure body fat?

have it all sucked out and weighed on a scale


but Leon's advice is second-best

[vnmama]

What way is the best to measure body fat? I have never done this and someone told me that calipers are not accurate?

I am struggling with losing fat and even though I now I have dropped inches and gained muscle the scale has not changed!! I now I need to throw the stupid thing away because it does not tell the whole story but I need to drop and start losing!!

I am coming up on a year lifting weights and not sure if I should be happy or disappointed on were I am at!!!! I think it all boils down to diet!!!!!!


Staying positive,
Barb

Hi! You look great!

I am a numbers person and can completely understand wanting to have a concrete way to track your progress.

I use FatTrack II 3 pt calipers, and they work well for me. Even if they are not 100% accurate, if you do it the same way each time, you will have a basis for comparison.

[TDetroit]

Losing inches = losing body fat. Scale not changing in the process = muscle gains. Congrats! You should be happy!

Scale weight is irrelevant. So are body fat measurements. What counts is if you like what you see in the mirror.

If you still have problem areas, use progress picts and measurements to help gage your progress. Forget scales and calipers.

and,

if you want the real numbers, get a trained person to measure it for you with calipers. I like 5 point or higher tests, my gym uses a 3 point test - it puts a lot of weighting on my belly fat.

here is a website on different methods

http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

[Taichichuan]

What way is the best to measure body fat? I have never done this and someone told me that calipers are not accurate?

I am struggling with losing fat and even though I now I have dropped inches and gained muscle the scale has not changed!! I now I need to throw the stupid thing away because it does not tell the whole story but I need to drop and start losing!!

I am coming up on a year lifting weights and not sure if I should be happy or disappointed on were I am at!!!! I think it all boils down to diet!!!!!!


Staying positive,
Barb

In the water tank! It's the best way!

[namtrag]

In the water tank! It's the best way!

dexascan is easier and more accurate.

An added bonus is you get your bone density tested as well.

[Skidmarx]

I wouldn't worry about bf%. Measurements are a better and cheaper option IMO.

[Capnwilliam]

Losing inches = losing body fat. Scale not changing in the process = muscle gains. Congrats! You should be happy!

Scale weight is irrelevant. So are body fat measurements. What counts is if you like what you see in the mirror.

Absolutely! How you look, and how your clothes fit, are what matters. A friend of mine used to say that he had no idea what his bodyweight was, nor did he care. When his pants were too tight he went on a diet. When they became loose, he was happy.

Jim

[Stevelegh]

Every bodyfat measurement tool EVER invented cannot give an accurate reading.

The question is:

Why do you care?

It's a bit like when people get on scales after working out a while and find they've put on weight bespite dropping an inch off their waist, then quit.

Your body does not care about percentages of fat it carries, nor does a mirror.

Here's a thread that 5KRunner started. I guessed him at 5%. The machine he used read 4.7%

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=110108161

[EBA84]

The mirror is the best body fat indicator available. Two people could have the same body fat percentage yet one looks great and the other one doesn't. It all comes down to how a person carries muscle and fat and we are all different.

Get rid of the scale too. Weight loss is not an indicator of fat loss. You could lose three inches off your waist yet the scale may not changed because you have gained muscle.

If you like what you see in the mirror then you are doing it right.

[namtrag]

Yes, but like someone said earlier, it is a great idea to get it done once just to establish a baseline, especially when a person is in decent shape.

Plus some of us are OCD and just have to know.

Right now, I would rather not know! lol

[Tr0ublesome]

The calipers aren't that bad. Supposed to be close enough, like off by 1%. So give or take what you think after the result.

[SR800]

This tape measure method works well, also look up navy test, there are several sites that have the formula. Very accurate and repeatable.

[winniebear7878]

Hi, I have never heard about such scan, any idea if it is avaliable in Australia free of charge on Medicare?

dexascan is easier and more accurate.

An added bonus is you get your bone density tested as well.

[QKal]

What way is the best to measure body fat? I have never done this and someone told me that calipers are not accurate?

I am struggling with losing fat and even though I now I have dropped inches and gained muscle the scale has not changed!! I now I need to throw the stupid thing away because it does not tell the whole story but I need to drop and start losing!!

I am coming up on a year lifting weights and not sure if I should be happy or disappointed on were I am at!!!! I think it all boils down to diet!!!!!!


Staying positive,
Barb

I use two different methods and track both.

I use a Lange caliper, which is medical grade, with the linear-software website body fat calculator (the Jackson/Pollack 4 site method).

And, I use a Tanita BC-1500. The BC-1500 tracks everything for me and shows me a graph. You have to measure yourself at the same time of day though, as hydration levels fluctuate too much otherwise and it ends up being inconsistent. I do it in the morning because I also want to know my weight first thing in the morning after peeing. The body fat measures are more accurate later in the day though, but I can still see from the graph if my body fat is slowly decreasing over time or increasing. So, I use the Lange caliper to get a more accurate measure of the body fat and the Tanita to see how my body fat composition is changing linearly over time.

Of course, you can also take a Tanita measurement later in the day as well, and then erase the results so it doesn't interfere with the consistency of the graph. I do that as well, and generally the Tanita and Lange come out fairly close to one another in values (maybe at most .2 off occasionally).

I track with the Tanita everyday, and generally use the caliper maybe two or three times a week. YMMV!

[Dilinja]

5 year bump?!

Impressive