Ok, a week or so ago I saw the movie, "Supersize me," where a guy eats nothing but McDonald's for a month. When he started, he was 6'2, 185#, and had a body fat % of about 11%. When he finished, he was still 6'2", but about 215#, body fat 18%. This got me thinking about my own body fat (and also more about what I eat).
So other than going to a special doctor or whatever and paying a huge amount of money, does anyone know an easier way to calculate your body fat? I found this calculator through Google:
www.he.net/.../prothd2.html
However, I think it is being too generous for me (body fat about 9%).
I did find this one too:
www.linear-software.com/online.html
It seems that the caliper method is the most accurate. Has anyone done this, what was the cost??
Thanks.
Parents
Former Member
I just started swimming again back in June and I purchased one of those Tanita body fat scales shortly after I started. These scales measure body fat by measuring Bio impedance. It probably the easiest and cheapest way to get an idea of what your body fat is and to see if you are losing fat versus muscle.
The scale itself works pretty well, but you need to use it the same time of day to get the best idea of your progress. Hydration levels, food in your stomach and recent excersize can give you different results. There can be a variation through out the day as much as 2%. But so far, i'm very happy with it and I can clearly see my progress.
Here are my results so far
Second or third week in June of this year when I purchased the scale.
Weight - 220
Body fat percent - about 26%
Today
Weight - 208
Body fat percent - about 21%
The 5% drop in body fat tells me that most of the weight I lost was body fat. And that helps confirm that what I have been doing is working.
For reference I do about 2500 - 3000 meters a day 4 or 5 days a week and 1 day per week of weight training (except during taper for nationals). I also watched my caloric intake and avoided fast food. Obviously no magic pill here, but I am enjoying it and feel way better than I did just a few months ago.
Kevin
I just started swimming again back in June and I purchased one of those Tanita body fat scales shortly after I started. These scales measure body fat by measuring Bio impedance. It probably the easiest and cheapest way to get an idea of what your body fat is and to see if you are losing fat versus muscle.
The scale itself works pretty well, but you need to use it the same time of day to get the best idea of your progress. Hydration levels, food in your stomach and recent excersize can give you different results. There can be a variation through out the day as much as 2%. But so far, i'm very happy with it and I can clearly see my progress.
Here are my results so far
Second or third week in June of this year when I purchased the scale.
Weight - 220
Body fat percent - about 26%
Today
Weight - 208
Body fat percent - about 21%
The 5% drop in body fat tells me that most of the weight I lost was body fat. And that helps confirm that what I have been doing is working.
For reference I do about 2500 - 3000 meters a day 4 or 5 days a week and 1 day per week of weight training (except during taper for nationals). I also watched my caloric intake and avoided fast food. Obviously no magic pill here, but I am enjoying it and feel way better than I did just a few months ago.
Kevin
