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

[Franswa]

the best way to measure is with a Body fat calipers its really cheap but the most accurate way to measure body fat you can look up tutorials on google on how to do it

[ng909]

So I just found a BIA scale at a thrift store and I was thinking of incorporating it in some way to monitor changes during a bulk. Yesterday I thought it was fine since the measurements compared well between me and my family members. But today it has jumped. I know they are not very accurate, but what would be the best time and way to use them?

As for actual measurements, I am 5' 6", about 116 lbs. Yesterday afternoon it measured me at around 20%, and now 29% first thing in the morning which is when I should be measuring it. Should I drink more water perhaps before measuring? Or just ignore it and use it for weight only.

[FemaleRyuzaki]

Great post. So helpful. Thank you!

[Valentinebaby83]

I have 12 point calliper measurement done every week by my trainer. It does give me my body fat but the main reason is to see where I am storing fat so I can adjust my nutrition accordingly.
It is known as the poliquin biosignature method and is fascinating.
If you haven't read any of his work try a google on him (can't post links yet!)

To me it is like weighing myself, the starting number may not be perfect but I am comparing like with like so the movement is measurable.

[Hempsky]

I use the callipers, gives you a rough idea

[Yoli23]

So after feeling quite shocked that my body fat percentage was both much higher than I had anticipated and immeasurably inaccurate whenever it even was taken, I finally realized that knowing my body fat percentage was just another numbers game. Its a numbers game just as much as weight, tape measurements and BMI are, because none of those numbers tell me if I feel good about myself and the way I look, only the mirror will do that!

And as much as I'd like to be able to track my progress in a much more "concrete" or consistent way (i.e. bf% or weight) I find that a number won't tell you your happy with your fitness goal, only what you see in the mirror

Good luck everyone!!

I agree with you 100%! I used to weigh myself and check my BMI weekly, getting really frustrated because I would tell me that I haven't made much progress but when I look in the mirror I can physically see I look better, and it used to constantly put me down. Now I don't even check any numbers other than the weights I'm lifting, the speed I'm running, and the macros and calories I'm eating...

Numbers are counted, progress is seen!

[Linase]

Thanks for this post! I need to get my body fat measured. Last time I did it was in high school & I was 7%...Anyone know where I can get it done now because I know I'm Way more than that now! Lol Thanks again!

[sbhf]

Well written, the only thing I would add is that underestimating ones bf is not an exclusively female problem. Just look thru the posts on this site at the number of males that profess to be 8-11 percent...

[FitGrrrl]

Thank you for this info! I had no idea how to set body fat goals.

[Taylanna]

Really interesting article, but I am going to run the risk of upsetting the apple cart and say I am not going to fret about it that much. The first time this forum asked I tried to judge it the the photos that are given when you create your profile and it came up about 15% then I used the measurement system and it came back at 25%, if working out your body fat % can very that much between the different methods that have been posted, I am sorry but I do not see the point in using that as a realistic goal to set my progress by.

[fihe]

I've had my BF% measured at my local gym. The machine they used I believe was a BIA. It had both a bottom part to step on, like a scale, and a hand-held component attached to it. It said that my BF% is 31.6%! I'm 5'5" and weigh only 130 lbs. but I'm apparently very "skinny fat". I last had it measured on May 30th, so hopefully it will be quite a bit lower next time I get tested, since I've started getting more serious about my diet and exercise routine since then.

I think I would like to get a DEXA scan sometime this year. I've heard my local university has a facility. I do own a caliper but am really not sure of how to use it.

[kabirmkta1]

great post emma

[Odysseus300]

Great post!

I have my BF% taken monthly by the trainer at my local gym, and I'm currently at 35.7% (down from 48.8%) in January. He uses the calliper method of calculation.

It's really encouraging to see people who are much smaller than me who have a comparable body fat percentage. I'm 5'7" and 256lbs (my weight loss journey began at 300 lbs).

One thing I'm confused about though; the "lean body mass" in our profiles on here - does that mean the weight of our bodies, if there was no fat on them at all? So just the weight of our bones and organs and stuff? Or does the LBM mean when fat percentages are within a healthy range? It's important for target setting to be clear on this.

[liftette]

Great post!

I have my BF% taken monthly by the trainer at my local gym, and I'm currently at 35.7% (down from 48.8%) in January. He uses the calliper method of calculation.

It's really encouraging to see people who are much smaller than me who have a comparable body fat percentage. I'm 5'7" and 256lbs (my weight loss journey began at 300 lbs).

One thing I'm confused about though; the "lean body mass" in our profiles on here - does that mean the weight of our bodies, if there was no fat on them at all? So just the weight of our bones and organs and stuff? Or does the LBM mean when fat percentages are within a healthy range? It's important for target setting to be clear on this.

I think LBM is anything that is not fat.

[Ariana1985]

great posts , i was wondering how will i do it - now i need to order the tool and start measuring

[Alien5]

i think i did mine wrong. always. its probably more like 18%

[liftette]

i think i did mine wrong. always. its probably more like 18%

Are you really 5'7 and 112? What is your goal and your eating like?

[Alien5]

Are you really 5'7 and 112? What is your goal and your eating like?

more like 5'6.5" but yea im 110-115 on any given day. ive gotten up to 120 for a bulk. im on dat dreamer bulk right meow. so we shall see...........im vegetarian but trying to eat fish. my diet is mostly veggies, pasta and proton powder.

MY GOAL IS TO GET HAYOOGE (at least some decent sized arms)

[liftette]

more like 5'6.5" but yea im 110-115 on any given day. ive gotten up to 120 for a bulk. im on dat dreamer bulk right meow. so we shall see...........im vegetarian but trying to eat fish. my diet is mostly veggies, pasta and proton powder.

MY GOAL IS TO GET HAYOOGE (at least some decent sized arms)

Last year I was 112 (at 5'6"). I was super skinny but I still had fat on my stomach. It was frustrating. So I decided to bulk instead. And I am a vegetarian too.

[leonameow]

Measurements:
5'3"
120lbs (on a good day)
32D

ttp://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6151063&d=1378002425
ttp://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6151073&d=1378002435
ttp://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6151083&d=1378002446
ttp://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6151093&d=1378002461

Sorry, I can't post links yet.

[POD444]

Hi,

just wanted to say 'Thank you' for this great post, it's really helpful!

[Ahri22]

So I had a DEXA done yesterday, and it was quite an awesome experience (although my results were NOT). I'm at 30.74% body fat (interestingly, very close to my Tanita scales, which told me 30.8%). What's most interesting is the fat distribution, which is apparently much higher on legs and arms and less so on trunk... this is probably why I don't really look like the 30% female body on the bodybuilding.com website (which is supposed to be used for estimating bf%).

It was nice to be told that my fat is actually in the "healthy" range, because by BMI I'm still overweight (yes, I DEFINITELY want to get my body fat down, but I've been considering myself overweight, or at least overfat, for a veeery long time now, and technically I'm not... overfat anyway). My fat free mass is apparently quite high (above the excellent range) which is probably why. I'm also happy about that as I have only just got seriously into body building (well, last week or so, and as I'm cutting... I haven't been building much at all). I've been doing Crossfit for a year, which is where I got most of the muscle from...

Anyway, if you're at all interested in your BF% then I'd definitely recommend a DEXA! Other methods might be pretty good at estimating, but none are going to tell you WHERE your fat is mostly distributed (if you'd asked me before, I'd have said mine was fairly evenly distributed over upper legs, upper arms, and torso... but apparently it's not).

[ceeco]

Great post!

There was some man rating men and women alike in another forum (photo-based) and it made me cringe to see women with minimal definition leaving the thread believing they were at 13% and ecstatic about it. Wish I had known about this, would have linked and quoted.

I also can't count the number of times I've been involved in group conversations that tried to explain BF% sex differences to others - athletes and non-athletes. Now I can bow out of the conversations and just send them here.

[xByrdiex]

Hey Folks! First post I signed up for my gym and apparently their machine was "somewhere else" so I couldn't get my bf estimate. Hoping I could get one here (looks like eyeballing it seems to be more accurate anyway ) I'm guessing around the 30% mark but I'm really not sure. The photos are in my gallery as I'm too new to post them here. (I would imagine.)
Thanks so much!

[liftette]

Hey Folks! First post I signed up for my gym and apparently their machine was "somewhere else" so I couldn't get my bf estimate. Hoping I could get one here (looks like eyeballing it seems to be more accurate anyway ) I'm guessing around the 30% mark but I'm really not sure. The photos are in my gallery as I'm too new to post them here. (I would imagine.)
Thanks so much!

Do you know what your waist and hip measurements are?

[SugarFree1]

So I had a DEXA done yesterday, and it was quite an awesome experience (although my results were NOT). I'm at 30.74% body fat (interestingly, very close to my Tanita scales, which told me 30.8%). What's most interesting is the fat distribution, which is apparently much higher on legs and arms and less so on trunk... this is probably why I don't really look like the 30% female body on the bodybuilding.com website (which is supposed to be used for estimating bf%).

It was nice to be told that my fat is actually in the "healthy" range, because by BMI I'm still overweight (yes, I DEFINITELY want to get my body fat down, but I've been considering myself overweight, or at least overfat, for a veeery long time now, and technically I'm not... overfat anyway). My fat free mass is apparently quite high (above the excellent range) which is probably why. I'm also happy about that as I have only just got seriously into body building (well, last week or so, and as I'm cutting... I haven't been building much at all). I've been doing Crossfit for a year, which is where I got most of the muscle from...

Anyway, if you're at all interested in your BF% then I'd definitely recommend a DEXA! Other methods might be pretty good at estimating, but none are going to tell you WHERE your fat is mostly distributed (if you'd asked me before, I'd have said mine was fairly evenly distributed over upper legs, upper arms, and torso... but apparently it's not).

Keep in mind with the exception of DEXA all other testing methods only test subcutaneous fat. DEXA tests both subcutaneous and visceral fat. DEXA is very accurate but because its testing in a different manner you dont want to compare the results to things like BMI indexes or what we think of for average BF%'s towards physical appearance.

On average my DEXA results will be about 3% lower then other testing methods including bodpod, military tape testing and dunk tank methods. My wife comes in about 10% higher with DEXA

[SugarFree1]

I'm pretty obsessive about body fat testing and have tried just about every testing method available including scheduling different types of testing to be done on the same day just to compare how different the results can be between different methods.

DEXA is definitely great but as I said in a previous post you cant use it as a basis towards certain things such as 10% = athetletic, 15% = average, 20% = fat (mens stats). Also DEXA testing locations and price can be less convient then some other methods. My favorite is actually bodpod testing (air displacement). Locations are more available then DEXA and price usually runs between $25-50. I found the results to usually be dead on where I think I should be in terms of appearance.

Here is a link if to find testing locations in your area if interested. http://www.cosmed.com/en/test-site-locator

[Leia360]

Great info. I need to update my bf%.

[lindswic]

Great post. I was wondering if anyone could give me an estimate. The tape methods ive tried say between 22-25 but im thinking its actually higher

[SugarFree1]

Great post. I was wondering if anyone could give me an estimate. The tape methods ive tried say between 22-25 but im thinking its actually higher

I know by military standards the 3 measuring points for females is your waist at its narrowest section, hips (actually the largest area of you butt) and neck size. Without asking to see pictures of you butt, I'd say 22-25% might be right.

The tape testing standards work pretty well but it's easy to throw it off by for example pulling the tape to tight etc.