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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-14-2014, 06:13 PM
Are there any body fat scales worth owning?
I know that hydrostatic weighing is most accurate, followed by calipers (in practiced hands), but I'm not particularly concerned with accuracy. I'm more interested in consistency - i.e., if I measure every morning just after waking and taking a piss, I'd like the measurements to not fluctuate wildly - so that I can track the change over time.
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-14-2014, 06:17 PM
Not the hand held ones, they measure hydroelectrically or some other nonsense and can vary 10-15 points in minutes.
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-14-2014, 06:20 PM
As Skye said, my scale said I was 17% BF one day and 10% a week later. Yeah right....
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-14-2014, 09:29 PM
a tape measure is probably your best bet at home
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-15-2014, 09:45 AM
No, there aren't any worth owning.
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-15-2014, 10:07 AM
They aren't good for precision, but they're good for long-term trends.
e.g. week one your reading b/w 17-20% on any given day, 4 weeks later you're reading between 15-18% on any given day, 4 weeks later you're 14-17% any given day, etc.
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-15-2014, 01:13 PM
Can't beat calipers for accuracy and consistency at home, IMHO.
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-15-2014, 04:42 PM
i would say, search for online reviews of the device you want to buy. Also look at the instructions to see what's the most accurate time to take the measurement.
If you're too lazy to do that, measure it 3 times a day and do the average.
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-16-2014, 12:32 AM
Quote: (06-15-2014 10:07 AM)monster Wrote:
They aren't good for precision, but they're good for long-term trends.
e.g. week one your reading b/w 17-20% on any given day, 4 weeks later you're reading between 15-18% on any given day, 4 weeks later you're 14-17% any given day, etc.
This was my view as well. Reasonably good enough for figuring out "North" or "South". If you are hardcore and need something more precise, you likely need a different avenue.
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-16-2014, 12:34 AM
Use a mirror.
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
06-16-2014, 01:10 AM
I used one at a fitness expo. It's a very expensive machine that they are trying to sell to gyms, probably at least $5K for the small version. Gives you very detailed reports etc.
Over the 2-day weekend, I used it a few times and it gave me wildly varied numbers. One day it's 12% BF, the next it's 20% (measured at the same time each day) among with equally stupid differences in other measurements. The sales people were left red-faced giving me all kinds of BS explanations.
With the caliper, unless it's someone else (who knows what they're doing) measuring BF% for you, I wouldn't bother either. If you want to track progress, use a combination of mirror, scale and tape measure. If you want accurate reports, get a DEXA scan once in a while.
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
07-29-2014, 11:11 AM
Yep, mirror and weight scale. I'm gonna check my body fat % when I go home for lunch using
this.
I'm not one to set mid- to long-term goals. This is a great example. I didn't set a goal, it was simply weighing myself at the gym on my walk to the shower that caused me to eat less...and dropped around 10 lbs in a couple months. I simply don't eat more than I need anymore. Someone offers me leftover pizza, I say no because I'm not hungry even though it sounds good. If I eat out I usually take half home. It was the simple observing of my weight that caused the change.
I doubt observing my body fat % (combined with mirror) will motivate me to slow my drinking to lower it (sans booze and I'd be way more cut), but maybe it'll make me decline that initial drink or two.
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Body fat scales - any worth owning?
07-29-2014, 12:34 PM
Second the long-term trend discussion on scale usefulness in this regard. My calipers say I'm sub 10% for my age group - as of this morning the scale says 15.1% bf. I use a Fitbit Aria its a wifi scale and logs to a site for me, that alone makes it useful, I have two years worth of measurements.