Measuring Body Fat % after losing 150 lbs..

[NicolaiP]

Hey all, I have an interesting problem here. About 3 years ago I began losing weight and lost about 150 lbs in less than a year. Since then I've been maintaining, but have recently began to lift more (Using All-Pro's beginner's workout).

So because I use to weigh so much I am very very very very self conscious about gaining weight. I know that muscle weighs more than fat and such, so I should expect to gain weight if I want to get stronger. However this past week I have gained about 1.5 lbs and it freaked me about because I am currently eating at a calorie deficit.

I know that BF % is a much better way to track progress, but there is a problem. Because I lost so much weight I have a TON of extra skin, as you can see in my bodyspace photos. Okay so here is my question, finally. So is there an effective way to measure my BF %? I currently have a cheap BF scale but I feel that it is not even close to the best way to measure my BF.

Any help would be awesome!!

[d3votion]

Hey all, I have an interesting problem here. About 3 years ago I began losing weight and lost about 150 lbs in less than a year. Since then I've been maintaining, but have recently began to lift more (Using All-Pro's beginner's workout).

So because I use to weigh so much I am very very very very self conscious about gaining weight. I know that muscle weighs more than fat and such, so I should expect to gain weight if I want to get stronger. However this past week I have gained about 1.5 lbs and it freaked me about because I am currently eating at a calorie deficit.


I know that BF % is a much better way to track progress, but there is a problem. Because I lost so much weight I have a TON of extra skin, as you can see in my bodyspace photos. Okay so here is my question, finally. So is there an effective way to measure my BF %? I currently have a cheap BF scale but I feel that it is not even close to the best way to measure my BF.

Any help would be awesome!!

That 1.5 lbs could be anything. Water retention being the big one. Extra skin shouldn't get in the way of measuring fat with skin-fold calipers. They're a good investment. I've been stuck at 176 or so for a long time but thankfully to my skin-fold calipers, I noticed my bf% went down. How many calories are you eating and what is your TDEE?

[NicolaiP]

Good idea, I've never actually used the skin-fold calipers before.

My TDEE right now is 2730, and thats a conservative number. I chose to base it on a "lightly active" lifestlye, but I work-out 6 days a week, 3 training and 3 for Army ROTC Physical Training. I also bike to and from campus which is about 45 - 60 minutes a day.

I try to eat at about 1800-2300 calories a day so that I can cut down some fat.

[d3votion]

Good idea, I've never actually used the skin-fold calipers before.

My TDEE right now is 2730, and thats a conservative number. I chose to base it on a "lightly active" lifestlye, but I work-out 6 days a week, 3 training and 3 for Army ROTC Physical Training. I also bike to and from campus which is about 45 - 60 minutes a day.

That's what I calculated for you too. You could probably up yourself to the next activity level. I found that I'm right on the lightly active scale as I sit around most of the day... You appear to be much more active. Skin-fold calipers are super cheap. About $14 online. Well worth the value

[NicolaiP]

That's what I calculated for you too. You could probably up yourself to the next activity level. I found that I'm right on the lightly active scale as I sit around most of the day... You appear to be much more active. Skin-fold calipers are super cheap. About $14 online. Well worth the value

Awesome man! Thanks for the info, I'll definitely invest in one of those.

[nicklyne]

Hey all, I have an interesting problem here. About 3 years ago I began losing weight and lost about 150 lbs in less than a year. Since then I've been maintaining, but have recently began to lift more (Using All-Pro's beginner's workout).

So because I use to weigh so much I am very very very very self conscious about gaining weight. I know that muscle weighs more than fat and such, so I should expect to gain weight if I want to get stronger. However this past week I have gained about 1.5 lbs and it freaked me about because I am currently eating at a calorie deficit.

I know that BF % is a much better way to track progress, but there is a problem. Because I lost so much weight I have a TON of extra skin, as you can see in my bodyspace photos. Okay so here is my question, finally. So is there an effective way to measure my BF %? I currently have a cheap BF scale but I feel that it is not even close to the best way to measure my BF.

Any help would be awesome!!

Just use these forums(upload photos), id say people are 99% more accurate then using %bf scales bought online or in store..

[Retoaded]

while you are waiting on your skinfold calipers, you can hit www (dot) weightrainer (dot) net, go to body calculators and anthropomorphic model...all you need is a tape measure. Its not the best, but its by Casey Butt who is a PhD and a natty bodybuilding expert.