[toe jam on crusty feet]

seriously, how do you know your bodyfat percent? Those scales are not accurate and even calipers are only accurate when done by someone with mad skills. I don't mean this to sound rude or mean, but i think the whole body fat thing is getting thrown around a lot and people don't really know. Even my doctor told me the other day that I could be down to 10% bodyfat and that would be fine <img alt="uhoh2.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/uhoh2.gif"> Really? Then he said I was probably at like 12%-13% now--- I know that is not true-- and that I should increase my calories.<br><br><br>
I will now step down off my soapbox and go back to my regularly scheduled program....sorry

 

["Roberto"]

Thank you.

 

[Lintu]

I think the scales are more accurate than you're giving them credit for, once you take into account fluctuations in body water and all that.<br><br>
Would you be less annoyed if I said "I'm 5'4" 125 but a size 2"?

 

[HighHeat]

No.<br><br>
I'd be less annoyed if you said "I'm Lintu. I like to run, do market analysis and kick ass on Jeopardy"<br><br><img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

 

[toe jam on crusty feet]

I don't want to sound annoyed, but I think that people throw around body fat % like they know what it is and they don't..... and those scales are inaccurate. You have to account for any food in the stomach, any water intake, whether any activity has been done, water retention due to menstruation, etc etc.

 

[coacht]

I'm confused. Where is this happening?

 

[OakDawg]

How do you know thats not true? I don't necessarilly disagree with the premise that many people get inaccurate body fat readings from various sources, but I wondered about that statement.

 

[toe jam on crusty feet]

I don't want to draw attention to anyone's post...I see it all over the forum. References to body fat %, but I know they are wrong.

 

[coacht]

I've always assumed that BF scales calculate BF% based on a forumula using height, age and weight and not taken actual readings.<br><br>

 

[Lintu]

Well yes, but I've seen comparative analyses in which a person uses a Tanita, has a professional use calipers, has the tank test, etc etc etc and the Tanita matched up pretty well. I just pick the middle number of the range from high to low and it seems to work out just fine.<br><br>
I mean, it sucks when you never really know whether you're too fat or not, based on your weight. Most charts say I should weigh less than I do. At least weighing in at a healthy body fat range gives you some sort of confidence to not go starve yourself.

 

[toe jam on crusty feet]

How do I know that the scales are inaccurate? That the calipers are inaccurate?

 

[OakDawg]

You said your doctor told you you may be 12-13%, but you know thats wrong...how do you know that?

 

["Roberto"]

Thank you again.<br><br>
I learned in college in a health class how difficult it is to get your true body fat %, we were using calipers and calculations and the prof was telling us that the number still isn't right.<br><br>
Doc told us that our 5yo daughter's body fat % was too high. WTF?! She's 5 years old, skin and bone. No gut, losing the baby fat already around the cheeks and runs around all day. Hell, I took her on a 1 mile jog/walk one time and she wanted to keep going.

 

[QuixoticNotions]

I got mine tested via hydrostatic weighing.<br>
I like body fat because mine sounds much better than my height & weight because I have a lower body fat than you'd anticipate from 5'4 and 163 lb.

 

[toe jam on crusty feet]

It is a great way to track loss if you have a starting point and you weigh everyday under the same conditions (first thing in the morning on an empty stomach after going to the bathroom, etc) and use it to track general trends in your weight and bodyfat and see overall losses over a period of time.

 

["Roberto"]

Oh, in the end, who really gives a flying hooter what the heck our body fat % is anyway?<br><br>
Feel good? check!<br>
Healthy? Check!<br><br>
Move along.

 

[toe jam on crusty feet]

Cause if I was 12%-13% and a female..I would be RIPPED! That is figure competitor level for a female and I am nowhere near that!

 

["Roberto"]

I'm gonna side with the professional on this argument. <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif">

 

[theia]

That's exactly what I do. And as long as I'm consistent in how/when I weigh myself and use the same scale, at least I'm comparing a consistent measurement. Is it the ideal way to track my weight and body composition? No. But at least it's consistent.<br><br>
For what it's worth, my Tanita scale and caliper measurement are within 1% of each other. Hopefully they're both wrong, because I want the number to be lower! <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif">

 

[HighHeat]

my scale doesn't give percents ... it gives categories...<br><br>
"lard"<br>
"butter"<br>
"olive oil"<br>
"processed cheese"<br>
"margarine"<br>
"light margarine"<br>
"fat free cheese"<br>
"cardboard"