Ok, so how does one measure body fat and how do you know how much fat you have?

You don't. You don't want to know. :)

There are many ways to measure body fat. From what I've learned - the most accurate way is to go to a sports med doc and have them use the calipers to measure. But I'm not sure how accurate any of it is.

I'm with GR...you don't want to know!

Well, I do wanna know! :P

Here's Lena's Method:

Lay in tub full of water. Since fat floats to the top (in this case my gut)....I can grab 2 handfuls. Now, my hands measure from bottom of palm to tip of middle finger 6 1/4 inches. In width, they're 3 1/2 inches. How much fat would that be? That's how much I'd like to lose. Hehehe...forget the fancy doctors! Maybe a little trimmed of the thighs wouldn't hurt....

I just read up on this. There are several methods, the caliper method that GR mention is the most common and within 3-4% accurate.

The are more accurate and costly methods such as low density and high density x-rays that will conrast and give you a very accurate percentage. Or there is a water method that is a little bit more accurate, but very hard to do.

Heather and I are going to the gym to have the fitness guy measure ours with the calipers, having that done is pretty difficult too. I was thinking of buying heather one of those for christmas, so she could keep track of it, but after reading up on it, It says you should have a consultant do it, cuase if you don't pinch in the right spots the right way, your results will be very innaccurate.

This will cost us $10, we figure we will do it about every 6 months to measure our progress.

Lena,

I measure my bodyfat on a weekly basis with calipers, and quarterly hydrostatically. I compare my caliper measurements with the hydrostatic measurements and I've always been with 0.5% or better of those measurements. I only measure one point, but many people measure multiple points. I don't find this useful. Keep it simple. I follow Tom Venuto's way to measure bodyfat.

For me, to know this allows me to know whether I'm progressing in the right direction or not. If I appear to be making right choices, but my bodyfat is not going lower, then there may be something else that is going on that I'm not aware of. Taking regular bodyfat measurements has actually helped me better my health because I appeared to be doing all the right things, but the fat was not coming off.

Anyway, I could make this a really long post.

Hydrostatically, I get it done by a company called Fitness Wave. You can find info on them at www.getdunked.com. There may be similar companies in your area that do this. The cost for me in AZ is $35 a time. I think Justin discounts this for me, as I've been a repeat customer to him for a few years.

If you can learn to use the calipers, that's much easier. I have a cheap pair by Accu-Measure. I think it costs me $5-8 like 5 yrs ago. I doubt the prices have gone up. You can probably get on eBay for that price.

You can also buy a scale that gives your body fat %. I have a Tanita model 2001 scale. You can Google it if you want. It is ok but it saves me from paying someone else to tell me I'm still fat. I do think that with those scales you would be wise to get your BMI done by a pro then go home and see what the scale is for a more accurate reading.
I do know that when I get on my scale and it says " get off get off" it's time to diet.

I say forego the fat scales. They are highly inaccurate and can fluctuate greatly.

By a pair of Accu-Measure and learn how to do it yourself. Cheap. Under $10.

Also, there's nothing like taking measurements with a good ole tape measurement and plotting that with regular scale measurements. If the scale's not budging, but you're losing inches, that means you're losing bodyfat.

Hubby forbids a scale in the house. I don't blame him! I've been measuring myself and I'm ok with the measurements.

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You don't want to know....

:(

I concur, if you read the box, they even say so . . .



Mdolls, where did you get the instructions on DIY w/ the calipers?

And what is your % (if I can ask that)

Tom Venuto wrote this article on how to do the bodyfat measurement. I just followed what he wrote and it works.

My bodyfat today is: 29.85 - 29.5%. I typically fluctuate between 27-32%. I've never really gotten below 27%, and just recently I'm beginning to understand why.

My goal has been 15% for quite awhile.

I'm now going to follow a different method of exercise -- the opposite of what I've spent the past 19 yrs doing.

Thanks for the info, guys. :)
We developed some Christmas pics last night and I think I'm a bit chubbier than I realized. My chin is getting a bit pudgy. :( Time to kick it into high gear for the New Year!

I use a tape measure too. I find it much more gratifying than a scale.

I was down a whole size in my jeans, but the scale wasn't moving. If I hadn't been taking measurements I would have been really discouraged by the lack of movement on the scale.

Good job Lynn!!!

People have to do what works for them. I happen to be very data driven and have worked out most the psychological aspects of the numbers that I see. Data, for me, typically helps take the emotions out of what I may be feeling.

However, I need to take a well-rounded approach to the data. If I only used the scale, it could be depressing. If I only used the tape measure, it could give me a false sense of weighing less. The bodyfat, body, and weight measurements help provide a better picture for me. If it upsets you to do any or all these, don't do it.

That person's gauge may be how their clothes fit and how they look in pictures, and their health. That's fine, too.

I used my mom's scale over Christmas and it showed 117 pounds. In the summer it was 120. Not sure how accurate it is, tho.

Whatever you use to measurement yourself....just try to use the same device and develop consistency in how you measure yourself. This will give you repeatability, so even if the scale is inaccurate, you can weed that out as a variable for variance. Does that make sense?

For example, I weigh myself on a digital scale at home that has 0.5 lb increments.

I always weigh myself under the following conditions:

1. Within 15 min. of waking up in the morning
2. After going to the bathroom
3. Naked
4. Did not drink or eat anything
5. Stepping on the scale the same way each time

So, even if my scale is off, it is the same off for all my weights, and I'm only concerned about the delta (the difference) from weight to weight.