What A Fantastic Xmas Gift Digital Body Fat Calipers
Its Christmas day today and to be honest with you I am not feeling too great. I drank way too much booze again yesterday. Like I always do each year, I’ve just finished a full fry up breakfast which will hopefully soak up some of the excess alcohol I consumed yesterday. I am off out at 2 pm for Christmas dinner at my wife’s grans house. So me being the gym junkie that I am, I think I will go in the gym for a quick and intense weight training session. To speed up my metabolism for the excess calories that I am going to consume during Christmas day.
Got a fantastic gift off my wife, I’ve got a fantastic set of accufitness fattrack pro digital body fat calipers. These will come in really handy because I plan on using as many different methods to measure my body fat percentage as I can. My scales said I was at 20.8% on Friday, but when I look at myself in the mirror there really isn’t that much fat on my body now. Reckon I’ve got around 15 pounds of fat to lose then I’m almost certain that my six pack will be showing.
In the early part of 2010 I plan on doing a bulking up phase because, I want to get my weight up to at least 200 pounds (14st 4 pounds). I must start talking in the UK measurements of stones and pounds again. Because 80% of My Body Fat readers are UK residents, I just think its quicker and easier to deal with just pounds.
I’ve got big plans for 2010 and I think its definitely going to be the year when I reach all my fat loss goals. I really thought that I would do it in 2009, but before you know it the years over. I’m not alone though, because now many of us weight loss bloggers are actually making the goals that we set for ourselves. I’m the type of person who is always very harsh on myself, and see myself as a bit of failure because I didn’t reach my target body fat percentage of 10%. But I’ve got to look at the positives I’ve lost 40 pounds of body fat in 2009, which is good. I’ve got a good platform to work on now and achieve the body that I want.
Weight loss is the issue for me never as been, in my eyes weight loss is so easy I just can’t understand why so many healthy people struggle to do it. Its fat loss which I’m finding the problem, if I could lose 2 pounds of body fat each week I would be a very happy man. I could lose 2 pounds of body weight each week without even trying, heck If I wanted I could lose 7 pounds of body weight every week, because that’s how easy it is to lose body weight. Fat loss is just so much harder, that why I can’t understand why everyone judges there progress on what the scales says in pounds. We need to become educated that your body fat percentage reading is what matters most.
Body Fat Scales
If you are trying to lose weight and look your best. There’s more to it than just losing weight, you need to make sure that the weight you are losing is FAT. Otherwise you could lose weight and still end up be fattier than before you started. You need to start judging your weight loss on your body fat percentage and not weight lost. The quickest and easiest way to measure body fat is by using body fat scales. If your bathroom scales don’t measure body fat composition don’t worry, you can pick up a excellent set for next to nothing these days.
Using body fat scales to measure body fat is so popular because it can be done in just a matter of seconds. There are other ways to measure it but these can be expensive and very time consuming. Some health experts suggest using body fat calipers, but from my experience of using these the results you obtain at each measurement tend to differ slightly. And when I compared the results against using body fat scales there wasn’t a great deal of difference. The only difference was the time it took me to take all the measurements and write them down. Then look at the body fat chart to see what my body fat percentage was.
Personally I haven’t got the time in my busy lifestyle to mess around, I needed something that was accurate and quick. I found it by purchasing an excellent set of Omron Body Fat Scales. Now measurement is so quick and easy and each week I can quickly know if the weight I’m losing is fat or lean body mass.
How Do Body Fat Scales Work?
They work using a technique called Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis. A small electrical current is passed through your body, which then determines how much fat you are carrying on your body. You will not feel a thing during measurement and this method is totally safe and harmless. There are several different types of body fat scales on the market, the most common being the ones that look like a standard set of bathroom scales. Other models include handheld units were you will need to enter more data into the unit to get your measurement. Or the more expensive one which is a combination of the two that include a unit which you step on to and an handheld device that you grip onto during the measurement process.
Getting The Best Results From Your Body Fat Scales
1) Always take your body fat measurements at the same time of the day. By doing this you are more likely to get more accurate results.
2) Never take your measurement following an exercise workout, your body will have lost water due to you sweating. This water loss will play havoc with your measurements.
3) Take three measurements and average out the results to get the most accurate data. It’s best to discard the first measurement because the electrodes will be cold, which results in inaccurate data.
4) Always clean the electrodes on your body fat scales before you use them using an alcohol based cleaning agent. Making sure that you always completely dry them.
The Best Body Fat Scales On The Market
Having spent a lot of time studying the different makes and models on the market, I find Omron are a fantastic Manufacturer of Bodyfat scales. And these are the scales that I recommend and use personally to measure by body fat. Tanita are also another fantastic manufacturer and both companies have a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the field of body fat percentage measurement. The prices vary on which model you are going to buy, but from my experience you definitely get what you pay for in terms of accurately and quality. My Omron Body Fat Scales have been one of my best buys and the data that they give me each week is so valuable to me on my fat loss journey.
My Body Fat Calipers
Over the past several weeks my body fat percentage just hasn’t been changing much. I know the reason for this, it’s me being stupid and not sticking to my diet plan. Each week at my weekly weigh in I weight myself on my body fat scales and record the data onto my body fat chart. But for a second opinion on my body fat levels I have just decided to measure myself using my body fat calipers.
To be perfectly honest with you having just spent several minutes fiddling around and measuring the different parts of my body. I have measured myself three times and each time I keep getting a slightly different reading. Here are my three body fat measurements results.
Result one 21%
Result two 23%
Result three 22%
These results are so similar to the ones that I am receiving using my omron body fat scales. But it took a lot of fiddling around and a lot more time. With body fat scales you just step on grip the electrodes, keep still and wait several seconds and your readings are there for you to record on your body fat chart.
I think this is going to be the last time that I use my body fat calipers to measure my body fat. They suit some people but there not for me. I just haven’t got the patience to use them. Lots of weight loss gurus swear by them and state that they are much more accurate than a set of digital bodyfat scales. Personally I’ll be sticking to the scales thank you very much.
My omron scales cost me just under $100 and I must say they have been one of the best investments I have made since I started my fat loss journey at the start of 2009. They are a slightly more expensive option to the body fat calipers, but the time that you will save yourself is worth the extra expense. If you are currently trying to lose weight and not measuring your body fat percentage week after week, then you are doing it all wrong. Your body fat percentage is much more important than just what the scales say. Most people search for the best crash diet plans and try to lose weight as quickly as they can. What they don’t know is that they are actually getting fatter. Because most of the weight they are losing is lean muscle mass.
