I got my body composition analyzed!
The most accurate is a DEXA scan but those are PRICY. Unless you can get insurance to pay for it somehow.
Bodpod and dunk tank use the same principles but bodpod you are displacing air and dunk tank you displace water. Those are the next most accurate and are reasonably accurate for most people.
The scales use bio-impedence and they really vary in their accuracy. Mine used to say I had 70% body fat but I know from other test that I had 90-95 lb of lean tissue. Therefore, mine couldn't have been more than about 55%.
The one at the gym claimed I had 27% body fat but calipers said I had 17% and the dunk tank said 18% and those made a lot more sense since I still had about 90-95 lb. of lean tissue at the time.
The big problem with bio-impedence is that they shoot electricity either through your hands or your feet so they are heavily weighted by wherever that is. I.E., the ones that go through your hands give too much weighting to your upper body (so someone with big boobs will get too high a number) and the ones that shoot through your feet count the lower body too much.
Another problem is that they can vary quite a bit by how hydrated you are. The less hydrated, the bigger they calculate your body fat %.
I am going to get dunk tanked next month and I will be interested to see what my percentage is now. I've gone up a cup size since then and my scale is showing my body fat % as about 4 points higher than last year but the way my clothes are fitting makes me think I'm still in the 18% range.
Bodpod and dunk tank use the same principles but bodpod you are displacing air and dunk tank you displace water. Those are the next most accurate and are reasonably accurate for most people.
The scales use bio-impedence and they really vary in their accuracy. Mine used to say I had 70% body fat but I know from other test that I had 90-95 lb of lean tissue. Therefore, mine couldn't have been more than about 55%.
The one at the gym claimed I had 27% body fat but calipers said I had 17% and the dunk tank said 18% and those made a lot more sense since I still had about 90-95 lb. of lean tissue at the time.
The big problem with bio-impedence is that they shoot electricity either through your hands or your feet so they are heavily weighted by wherever that is. I.E., the ones that go through your hands give too much weighting to your upper body (so someone with big boobs will get too high a number) and the ones that shoot through your feet count the lower body too much.
Another problem is that they can vary quite a bit by how hydrated you are. The less hydrated, the bigger they calculate your body fat %.
I am going to get dunk tanked next month and I will be interested to see what my percentage is now. I've gone up a cup size since then and my scale is showing my body fat % as about 4 points higher than last year but the way my clothes are fitting makes me think I'm still in the 18% range.
HW - 225 SW - 191 GW - 132 CW - 122
Visit my blog at Fatty Fights Back Become a Fan on Facebook!
Starting BMI 40-ish or less? Join the LightWeights
I left out calipers because they are ... interesting.
If you get a good operator, they are more accurate than bio-impedence! But, if you get done by someone who doesn't know what they are doing, they can be really far off. So calipers just depend.
They do tend to over-estimate fat in people with lots of loose skin but not by a lot.
When I got measured at 17% with caliper, my scale at the time -- which sends the electricity through both my feet and hands to be more accurate -- was saying my body fat was in the 9-13% range. Um, no. Essential body fat for women is around 10-12% and I was a C cup and had a butt so obviously I had more than essential body fat.
My guestimate based on all these measurements is that my body fat % was closer to 15%.
When I had the dunk tank done, I was fluffy from the off-season and I had some excess fat around my middle and my thighs. So I think 18%, which is what it measured, was pretty much right on. I didn't go to the gym and get calipered though so I don't know what the calipers would be saying. My scale was saying around 14-16% at that time.
My scale now says 16-20% but my clothes are looser than when I was 18% in the dunk tank. So who knows. I'll find out soon though.
If you get a good operator, they are more accurate than bio-impedence! But, if you get done by someone who doesn't know what they are doing, they can be really far off. So calipers just depend.
They do tend to over-estimate fat in people with lots of loose skin but not by a lot.
When I got measured at 17% with caliper, my scale at the time -- which sends the electricity through both my feet and hands to be more accurate -- was saying my body fat was in the 9-13% range. Um, no. Essential body fat for women is around 10-12% and I was a C cup and had a butt so obviously I had more than essential body fat.
My guestimate based on all these measurements is that my body fat % was closer to 15%.
When I had the dunk tank done, I was fluffy from the off-season and I had some excess fat around my middle and my thighs. So I think 18%, which is what it measured, was pretty much right on. I didn't go to the gym and get calipered though so I don't know what the calipers would be saying. My scale was saying around 14-16% at that time.
My scale now says 16-20% but my clothes are looser than when I was 18% in the dunk tank. So who knows. I'll find out soon though.
HW - 225 SW - 191 GW - 132 CW - 122
Visit my blog at Fatty Fights Back Become a Fan on Facebook!
Starting BMI 40-ish or less? Join the LightWeights
I am not keen on calipers, but often suggest folks (especially those who are struggling with a "realistic" goal weight) to go and get their body composition done.
Whether you dunk or bodpod, I say just be consistent, and that both of them rock.
I do the dunk tank because it comes to my gym. I wish I had done it before surgery, and that I had not been too late on the sign up to get it done when I called goal, but next month will be my 2nd time. I reqested the gym that they have the guy come every 6 months, instead of once a year, because I figure that's a much better time frame to see changes and tweak, more than a year.
Whether you dunk or bodpod, I say just be consistent, and that both of them rock.
I do the dunk tank because it comes to my gym. I wish I had done it before surgery, and that I had not been too late on the sign up to get it done when I called goal, but next month will be my 2nd time. I reqested the gym that they have the guy come every 6 months, instead of once a year, because I figure that's a much better time frame to see changes and tweak, more than a year.
Most Active
Recent Topics
