body Fat %

[bmoser24]

Heyyyy,,,
Question .....I am female, 5'4, 140, ...when i go to the gym, and they do a hand held BF tester, it says i'm at 24%. Seems a little high, i eat a clean diet, and cardio 5 days a week, weights 2-3 days. I see results, definition, and think i'm looking pretty slim, abs are starting to show (for the first time in yearrrrs...LOL) anyways....does this sound about right, or is ther another way to tell? I have a scale that tells BF% and it's worse!!!! somthing like 30 % . Took a year to get into shape, and still new to this. I'm eating about 1800 cals daily. Low in carbs. Thanks,,,any suggestions?

 

[Seanp156]

Generally the handheld and electronic scales for measuring BF aren't all that accurate... They're mostly just good for a rough ballpark estimate because a lot depends on the time of day, hydration, what you've had to eat, etc. Calipers are generally throught to be more accurate, but the most accurate methods you generally have to pay for to have tests done. If you're making progress in the way you look, I'd say go by that.

 

[Sam40]

You have to make a measurement in several locations, and average them out. We all tend to carry more fat, in some spots than others. So taking a reading only on your love handles, would give you a false overall indication.

 

[Squaggleboggin]

Besides, if you're starting to see your abs, most people have to be in the single digit BF% in order to do so, which means you most likely are too.

 

[LexusGS]

sguaggle, im 13 percent, i see my abs. how u explain that.

 

[Squaggleboggin]

I said 'most' not 'all' people. Not to mention different people have different opinions of how cut someone should look to qualify as being able to see his/her abs.

 

[Scotty the Body]

Besides, if you're starting to see your abs, most people have to be in the single digit BF% in order to do so, which means you most likely are too.

Women tend to carry more fat in the hip than in the ab area so that's not really true.
Those scales work good when used as a mark to see if your loosing or gaining but as a base, they tend to be off.

Use the mirror, its usually the best indicator, sounds like your doing well.

 

[maze]

Check out this site for fat % calculations:
http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

 

[Squaggleboggin]

Women tend to carry more fat in the hip than in the ab area so that's not really true.
Those scales work good when used as a mark to see if your loosing or gaining but as a base, they tend to be off.

Use the mirror, its usually the best indicator, sounds like your doing well.

That's true, but since they typically carry more fat in that area, wouldn't they have to have an even lower BF% to see the underlying tissue since that fat would be the last to come off?

 

[Squaggleboggin]

If that site is accurate, then the truth hurts.

 

[buildingup]

urm im into a habit where i always watch my diet whether weight training or not, so i never seen how quickly fat reappears, is it really that fast if you are not vigilant with diet and exercise?

 

[Yanick]

women have naturally higher BF than men. i think contest bf for women is like 10% and that is grueling to get to. something like 16% and chicks look shredded, breasts start dissappearing etc.

don't rely on one measure to gauge pregress. get some cheap ass calipers, you can get like $15 calipers on the internet. use the scale, calipers (with as many site measurements as practical), a tape measure which will measure diameter close to where you pinched yourself.

a quick way to use these 2 things.

take base measurements then lift for x amount of time. measure yourself again.

so after 2 months of training your arm has decreased in size, and your calipers show a decrease in the readings you lost fat and maybe some muscle

or

after 2 months your arms has increased in size but the calipers still show a decrease in readings, then you gained muscle and lost fat

get the picture? pretty simple and logical.

then again you can always go by the mirror, how your clothes fit (tighter/looser in the hips vs the shoulders etc), pictures at regular intervals and even by comments people make but take those with a grain of salt.