Body fat % on a scale flucuates?
I have a scale that measures body fate and water percentage. In the morning my water is always around 38% and fat percent is around 45% ( Yes I am over weight, but I am loosing it with proper diet and exercise.) anway I will weigh my self at night and my water goes up to around 41% and body fat goes down to around 41-42%. My body weight fluctuates 1-2 lbs also but i know that is ok. Which do you think is more accurate? I think the one at night might be more accurate only because we tend to be dehydrated in the morning. I would love to see your thoughts. Thanks!
Public Comments
- You've hit on a good point in the fact that the impedence scales are pretty inaccurate when it comes to bodyfat percentage testing. The problem is that the electrical current used will always find the shortest way to ground, and because of this the varying levels of water in the body and the fact that it doesn't always take a good cross section of body composition makes these scales fluctuate. Bodyfat percentage will not in reality fluctuate like this and is fairly slow to add on to and reduce, that's just physiology, so that should tell you right there how well these scales work. Your best bet if you're truly interested to know your bodyfat percentage is to get a pair of hand calipers, they're pretty cheap and a lot more accurate. Here is a site that shows you how to measure it properly (note the different sections for men and women): http://www.linear-software.com/online.html#men It's great that you're focusing your progression on bodyfat percentage rather than just plain scale weight. Knowing the body's composition is the first step toward true good health.
