How to Measure Body Fat - the Cheap and Easy Way
Monday, March 12th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
The word on the street from fitness experts these days is that if you want to make any progress in losing weight or getting in better shape you need to lose body fat. Unfortunately, ninety nine percent of us have no idea what our body fat level is let alone how to measure it.
One place to start is your local YMCA or health club. They tend to use more advanced methods and may test several body parts to calculate your body fat level. While the reading may be more accurate than the method described below, you may have to pay for it each time you have it done.
Since I did not belong to a gym and wanted a low cost solution, I searched around and found a great solution from Accu-Measure.
The Accu Measure Fitness 3000 costs $19.95 and is a set of calipers you use to pinch your skin, to take your body fat reading.
Think of a pair of tongs that you squeeze together to pick something up. Well, that’s kind of what Accu-Measure’s body fat calipers are like.
The product comes with a great guide which helps you pinpoint the exact spot to use for the measurement. Simply press the calipers on the spot which is just above your hip. When sufficient pressure is applied, the calipers will click, and then you read a number off the caliper scale.
You should do this a few times and then take the average reading because at first you may not get the right spot. I found it very easy and it just took a couple of times to get it right
Accu-Measure comes with charts for men and women by age group, and you simply read the chart to get your body fat score.
Overall, what I like about the Accu-Measure Fitness 3000, its that it’s affordable. It may not be the most accurate form of measurement, but it’s close enough, I can measure my body fat as often as I like and I can see the progress I’ve made.
Losing body fat is not like losing weight in that you don’t see progress every day. But I found that to be a good thing, since thinking of weight loss can be so time consuming.
Focus your efforts on eating right and working out. After a few weeks, measure your body fat again and you’ll start to see it drop.
Keep in mind that it did take months and years to put on that body fat, and it will take time to come off. If you combine a good workout program with good eating habits there’s no reason your body fat will not come tumbling down, and that’s real progress.
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