Body Fat % - What is it, and how to measure it!

[cbd88]

wish I could afford a bod pod test

[Dyvo1223]

Loving this thread, really great information. I sort of figured the hand tool BF calculator at my gym couldn't be all that accurate but I couldn't say why really. I've been getting readings between 18-20% Body Fat on that tool over the past couple of months, which is borderline between fit and athletic, but I want to lose down to somewhere around 14-15% - I feel heavy compared to other aerial dancers I work with and it makes a huge difference when trying to lift my body weight. Knowing that I have some extra weight in my hips/legs means that my body fat is probably higher than what the hand tool rated, so I don't feel so bad for wanter a lower % now =)

[faithandfit]

Okay after doing the calculations, here is what I got:
I am 98 lbs, 5'3", and my body fat came to 18%.
I used the Katch-McArdle equation and got my BMR as 1157.34.
This X 1.4= 1620.
Which is exactly what I normally have.
So to gain weight I should eat 1782 (rough around that area) with exercise? Or do I need to add calories for the exercise?

Protein- 107
Fat-44
Carb-200

My goal is building lean muscle. So do I add more protein grams?

[Botika]

I had a body composition scan today with a Lunar iDXA machine. Here are the results!

Scan Weight: 53.7kg (clothed)
Morning Weight: 52.5kg
Height: 165cm
Lean Tissue: 74% / 39.8kg
Body Fat: 22.6% / 11.6kg
Visceral Fat: 51g

Body Fat Colour Mapping:
Green < 25%
Yellow 25 – 60%
Red > 60%

Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): 1,294 cal/day

Relative Skeletal Muscle Index (RSMI): 6.09kg/m2

[Miranda]

I had a body composition scan today with a Lunar iDXA machine. Here are the results!

that's nice do you have a back pic, too? i'd like to see how it's distributed.

[Botika]

that's nice do you have a bac pic, too? i'd like to see how it's distributed.

Here is a pic from the back. You can definitely see the red areas!

[ang3li]

That's awesome. .Thanks so much for the information..
I want to get a DEXA scan to measure my body fat..
Found a few places in Sydney, Australia to get it done.. bit pricey though..

[Botika]

That's awesome. .Thanks so much for the information..
I want to get a DEXA scan to measure my body fat..
Found a few places in Sydney, Australia to get it done.. bit pricey though..

I paid $95 for the body composition scan. It took about 5 minutes to to the scan (it like lying in big computer scanner) and then I got the results straight after.

[mauiannie]

Darn it! I was pretty stoked about the little hand held machine at my gym that told me I only had 20% body fat. I had a feeling it wasn't very accurate. Oh well, something to work towards.

[saminaa]

Hi all,

I'm new on here, i have no idea about this sort of stuff so im prob gna ask some stupid questions (sorry in advance)...I'd like to know how to find out my body fat %age via the tape measuring technique - i know its not as accurate but its all i got right now. I have more weight on my stomach than on the pic and just cant shift it, i'm not doing any exercise atm but i try to eat protein mostly and i only want to work on my stomach and get some abs - about 15-17%. Do i need to send the bikini front and side pics to someone and do guys have access to this section?

x

[lilmisthang222]

Very informative post, thank you!

[Lolittchen]

would love a bodyfat estimation, please check my bodyspace pics of today. I know the lightning is not the best:

current weight: 136
height 5'6

doing only crossfit and olympic weightlifting, no cardio in the last months, started in bulk in August with 121, so up about 15 pounds. Having a hard time losing now, wondering if its due to a lack of muscle mass, or lack of discipline, tried to lose at about 1800kcal.

thx!

[chicagogirl1181]

Hello! I'm very new to all of this but would like to get stronger in 2013. I had my body fat tested recently via calipers and hydrostatic (here in Chicago at UIC) and both results put me at a 21% BF. I definitely do not look 21%!!! My goal is 16% by year end. Is this attainable???. I'd like to see defined muscle tone in my legs and arms and I wish my stomach too,but having been at 181lbs (my highest in 2009) and then lost the weight, it's left me with loose skin in my tummy that only a tummy tuck will fix so I'll have to live with that.

My tanita scale at home has me at 28%-29% depending on the day, so you can imagine how surprised I was to see that I was at 21%. per the calipers (5-site) most of my fat is in my arms and legs.

According to the BB.com calculator when I created my profile, I would have to weigh 128lbs to be at 16% BF. is that right??? it just seems like a really low weight. I'm 5'6 and medium framed. Will try to post full body pics later.

for me, my ideal goal weight was always 135lbs because under that I start looking too thin and gaunt.

I currently workout 6x a week doing strength based workouts at a bootcamp here in Chicago (all free weights), cardio HIIT 30mins a day 3x a week. I've calculated my BMR (and per Emmas post it was actually very close to the actual number I received when I did the testing where you breathe into a mask) and activity level calories per Emma's post and put myself at a 20% deficit to lose some more weight. (currently eating 1300cals, 130-140g of protein, 114g carbs, 36g fat - I track in my fitness pal). about 40/35/25 split. I'm just really confused on where to go next. ie. keep dropping weight, keep doing cardio, or just focus on strength. I'm dropping weight slowly about .5lb a week, and am burning about 3200cals a week (I wear a HRM).

[amiaow]

Hiya,

Fat loss comes down to diet, lean muscle mass also comes down to the combination of your diet with resistance training. Having a good finished look comes down to having enough muscle mass to look good once body fat is dropped. 9 months is a reasonable time frame for your fat loss goal. Building muscle takes a long time and doesn't occur in a calorie deficit. If you're not seeing any muscle at 21% BF, it's probable that you don't have a lot of it. Do you have any progress pics?

You are really not eating enough to support your exercise load and prevent burnout. Have a look at this sticky on calculating your calorie requirements- you need to use a heavy exercise multiplier for what you're currently doing. http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703921 . Less is often more when it comes to weight-bearing exercise as recovery time is when the muscle gains and muscle repair occurs.

If you're doing strength training 6 days a week, and determined to continue with that, you may benefit from a split program rather than general boot camp type stuff. However, if you're a weight training beginner we can recommend some good programs for you- just post a thread in the main female section. Good luck!

PS. Also ignore the BB.com calculator, it is completely skewiff

[moogs]

Hi all!

Anyone want to take a stab at my bodyfat?

Ive had 2 DEXA scans done before and during my cut but now that I am finished dieting I wonder where I am at. It's too hard with my schedule to get another DEXA so any opinions would be great.

27% by DEXA



17.2% by DEXA



Today [what's your guess?]

[Botika]

I have no idea Moogs but you are looking fantastic!!

[moogs]

I have no idea Moogs but you are looking fantastic!!

Thanks! The diet is officially over

[Miranda]

Anyone want to take a stab at my bodyfat?

do you have a better/flexed back pic? it's shadowy, and your hair is in the way. can't really see definition in back of arms/rear delts and your lower back.

[Middlewt]

wish I could afford a bod pod test

My bod pod test only cost about $35US. They give a discount if you "buy" two of them (which only makes sense). I won't have the next one done until well into April.
My results were disappointing but NOT surprising, if that makes sense. And what was MORE surprising to me, was that my BIA scale (FitBit Aria) was NOT THAT FAR OFF. Still, I know now that my scale will differ greatly from hour to hour, day to day.

[mid20sgirl86]

I'm not even sure how I can measure mine at the moment. I don't think mine is too accurate. As I've said in previous posts, I have a huge gut but none of it is fat. It is an ovarian cyst that weighs about six pounds and I look about five months pregnant because of it. I am probably about six or seven pounds more than I should be because of it. Not a big deal for this site, but the problem is I joined a weight loss competition before I knew what it was. I can't back out now otherwise I'll let my team down. So I plan to just be careful with the weight loss, and then I will suddenly have six/seven pound weight loss with the cyst removal anyway. So it will help us out with that. The problem is, the competition measures both body fat percentage and weight loss. So we are good for weight loss, but I am not so sure about the fat percentage. I could be more or less than 25%

[Slwoodruff]

This is so helpful! I've always had to use the tape method and struggled with the differences in measurement from one calculator to another. So honestly it's just a guess! Which makes me feel like and idiot. I don't compete or lift professionally but knowing my
Body fat percentage is important to me. Although I frequently hear that I shouldn't care.

[discdoggie]

. I don't compete or lift professionally but knowing my
Body fat percentage is important to me. Although I frequently hear that I shouldn't care.

It's just another number to obsess over. How exactly does knowing it help you?

Bragging rights (if it's low) i suppose.

I think, deep down, we all know if we've
Gained muscle or lost or gained body fat. We (I) don't need to pay to verify the info.

[chicagogirl1181]

I was DEXA scanned yesterday and surprisingly my body fat number was pretty close to what the calipers and hydrostatic testing told me (had that done a month ago).

Being a financial analyst for a living, I'm all about the numbers...am I on the right track with this?

Tissue 130.9
Lean 101.4
Fat 29.5
Bone 6.9
Weight 137.8
BF 21.4%

The bone number is static because I'm not going to lose bone mass, so the only variables that can change are Lean Muscle, Fat, and Weight right?

I want to be at 16%. Realistically, can one lose 2lbs of fat a month and gain 1lb of muscle at the same time? Using my trusty excel spreadsheet, I could theoretically be at 16% by July (assuming of course that I am on spot with my nutrition and workouts). or does it not work that way? ie. i can lose fat and gain no muscle?

Totally unrelated to the number crunching, I found it really interesting that my implants showed up on the scan that shows my skeleton! I went with my partner and when we were comparing scans I was like "oh look you can see my boobs and all the fat" [the implants show up as two round circles], and she looked at hers and said "no, i dont think thats fat. those are your implants! mine doesnt show anything"

see attachment. pretty neat huh? dexa.gif

[carolinebakker]

Thanks again for your helpful post!

[PoisonParadox]

the tape measure method tells me i have 30% body fat

Don't feel too bad, My tape measurements say i'm 36 % because Of my skinny neck. I would think about getting a caliper. They're roughly about 4 USD- (forgive me, I don't know what the currency is over there.)

[kaybee919]

Don't feel too bad, My tape measurements say i'm 36 % because Of my skinny neck. I would think about getting a caliper. They're roughly about 4 USD- (forgive me, I don't know what the currency is over there.)

My tape measurements tells me I'm 26% even though I've lost weight since my last testing which was 25% from the hand one at my gym.
I'm starting to just not care about my percentage!!

[tishica14]

Great post with some very helpful information, thanks!!!!

[Justakis18]

Based on your pics you are higher than 23%. Probably closer to 27-28%. [If you scroll up to Miranda's pics - she is DEXA confirmed 23% and you can see you are still holding a good deal more BF than she is].

With regards to measurement sites - all are pretty inaccurate. And they usually quote a rate of error about 5% either way (ie: you could be MEASURED at 23%, and be anything from 17-28% in real life). They are especially inaccurate in those who have 'odd' bone structures (eg: not your typical female 'hourglass' figure).

As such - I would not use them at ALL to give a bodyfat %, rather, use them to measure TREADS in body fat (ie: is it going down or up over time), and circumference changes.

Some online methods:
NAVY method is not

There are also ones here:

If you REALLY must know, and if you are in Sydney - there is a place you can get DEXA scans done for cheap - let me know and I'll pm you the place.

Well none of them work except one. I scored at my heaviest 17% rounding as a girl. And at my lowest weight was 12.6%.
I've done the navy one on another site and got similar results

[teenahoo]

Ladies,
I just had my DEXA scan couple weeks ago. I am 31 y.o., 60 kg, 173 cm.
The measured BF is 25.7% (OMG!!!)

You look so good!! And your DEXA put you at almost 26%?? fdaldhfhdjsakdf

I'd like to go despair in a corner... I knew something was super fishy when I signed up for my new gym and the BIA told me that I was at 19%, second time at 17% third at get this, 14.8%. Then calipers measured out at 16%. These measurements were all taken within a week of each other. Seriously, seriously?

SERIOUSLY.

I'm no where near that!!

I feel so frustrated, and am looking for an appointment with the nearest DEXA to me STAT. Looking at my current photos, I'm guessing I'm much closer to 26% to 28% then maybe? Any clarifications would be great, even with the crappy photos. I'll do my best to get some better pictures in a bikini with front/back/sides ASAP. But any insights you can give to me in the mean time would be great appreciated!

I'm currently 5'1 and 104 lbs.

[amiaow]

I've just been DEXA'd at 18%. Stats were 63kg lean, 14kg fat for 77kg total. 182cm tall. Arms & legs around 20%, trunk 15%, head 20%. BMI 23.2. Bone density great. Current pics on my BodySpace, or if you're reading this in the future look at pics from April 2013.