Nashtide is gonna lean bulk...

[DragonBits]

I had a simple question about fat loss and percent body fat.

If I am 160lbs and 30% body fat, assuming my muscle mass stays the same, if I lose 16 lbs while retaining the same muscle mass is my body fat then 20%?

 

[Nashtide]

Given your figures, at present you are carrying 48lbs of fat.
If you lose 16 lbs and no muscle, you’ll be at 144lbs with 32lbs of fat. I believe that would put you at 22% bf.

 

[DragonBits]

The four times I have gotten an estimate on body fat at one clinic, they used a Tanita tbf-300a scale. It was the same scale at the same place at all times.

I am 5.4 in height and my profile pic I was about 150lbs in 2011. I lost weight after starting TRT in late 2009 and gained weight back after stopping TRT for a couple of years in 2015.

9/30/2009 163 lbs 26.5% body fat
6/1/2015 165 lbs, 24.7% body fat
8/8/2017 168 lbs 27.5% body fat
11/28/2018 153 24.4% body fat

But when I test with an omron body fat tester you hold in your hands, it tends to be 3-4% higher.

Right now I am 141 lbs, soon I will get another Tanita estimate, and when I see my doc I will ask him to estimate body fat. He is a former body builder so he might give a good estimate.

Sure, I could pay for a dexa scan, but haven't wanted to pay for it. I would like to get down to about 135 lbs, maybe I will do a dexa scan then.

Just repeating the data, no idea how correct it is.

 

[Nashtide]

In actuality, most of the commonly available body fat analyzers are somewhat inaccurate. Can be too many variables. So, I don’t know exactly how accurate my analyzer is, I’m just hoping that by using the same device under the same conditions will give accurate relative info. I can tell by the mirror and by grabbing the fat around my waist that I lost some fat. It’s nice to get a confirmation from the scale.

 

[bkb33]

I use a body fat scale I got off Amazon for about $75. It’s not perfect, but that doesn’t matter — it’s consistent. And, based on my experience with DEXAs, it’s usually within 2%. Good enough for me.

I also measure my waist with a tape measure each morning, and take a progress photo in the mirror once a week. Using these three in combination gives me a really good idea of the direction in which my body composition is progressing.

 

[Nashtide]

I use a body fat scale I got off Amazon for about $75. It’s not perfect, but that doesn’t matter — it’s consistent. And, based on my experience with DEXAs, it’s usually within 2%. Good enough for me.

I also measure my waist with a tape measure each morning, and take a progress photo in the mirror once a week. Using these three in combination gives me a really good idea of the direction in which my body composition is progressing.

I think I’m going to start taking weekly photos. That’s a really good and simple idea. I also bought my scale from amazon. Never had a dexa, but my gym has a pretty fancy body analyzer and my scale is close enough for me to feel comfortable with its consistency.

 

[DragonBits]

In actuality, most of the commonly available body fat analyzers are somewhat inaccurate. Can be too many variables. So, I don’t know exactly how accurate my analyzer is, I’m just hoping that by using the same device under the same conditions will give accurate relative info. I can tell by the mirror and by grabbing the fat around my waist that I lost some fat. It’s nice to get a confirmation from the scale.

I would theorize that because the Tanita conducted a pulse through your feet it tends to measure more your body fat below the waist. And since the omron body fat tester you hold in your hands, it measures more upper body fat.

If correct, it makes sense since most of my fat is above my hips and both testers then confirm that.

A couple of reasons I never got a dexa scan, cost, but since I am not down to what I would like, why measure progress, and besides, what am I going to do about the results? You can't really spot reduce and regardless of what it would say right now, I still would like to lose another 5-8 lbs.

 

[Nashtide]

The device in my gym has foot pads and handles. Any fat I have left is in my stomach area.

 

[bkb33]

I would theorize that because the Tanita conducted a pulse through your feet it tends to measure more your body fat below the waist. And since the omron body fat tester you hold in your hands, it measures more upper body fat.

If correct, it makes sense since most of my fat is above my hips and both testers then confirm that.

A couple of reasons I never got a dexa scan, cost, but since I am not down to what I would like, why measure progress, and besides, what am I going to do about the results? You can't really spot reduce and regardless of what it would say right now, I still would like to lose another 5-8 lbs.

Lots of reasons to still measure progress IMO. The mental component (encouragement from improvements) is such a huge part of sustaining a regimented approach to fitness and nutrition.

 

[Nashtide]

Lots of reasons to still measure progress IMO. The mental component (encouragement from improvements) is such a huge part of sustaining a regimented approach to fitness and nutrition.

Absolutely! I was so pumped when I saw the results on the scale this morning. My workout today had a little extra something...

 

[DragonBits]

Lots of reasons to still measure progress IMO. The mental component (encouragement from improvements) is such a huge part of sustaining a regimented approach to fitness and nutrition.

Ya, but the scale measures weight, my old clothes falling off my body indicates fat loss, feeling bones that were covered by fat is pretty obvious, lifting more weight in the gym, looking in the mirror, running farther, etc, lots of measures of progress.

But specifically spending money on a dexa scan to determine a more exact level of body fat only adds a small additional piece of info, and it isn't like I can do a monthly dexa scan to determine progress.

 

[Nashtide]

Ya, but the scale measures weight, my old clothes falling off my body indicates fat loss, feeling bones that were covered by fat is pretty obvious, lifting more weight in the gym, looking in the mirror, running farther, etc, lots of measures of progress.

But specifically spending money on a dexa scan to determine a more exact level of body fat only adds a small additional piece of info, and it isn't like I can do a monthly dexa scan to determine progress.

My scale does much more than measure weight. I get about 7 or 8 variables.

 

[fifty]

Your scale or your gyms? Which scale is it?

 

[Nashtide]

Your scale or your gyms? Which scale is it?

Both. The scale I got from amazon is an impedence device. I downloaded their app and it’s synched to the scale. I get a report on the app. Weight, BF, lbm, visceral fat, water, protein, bone mass and it calculates bmr. The scale at the gym is just a lot more expensive and theoretically more accurate. Again, I’m not overly concerned with absolute accuracy. I use the scale to measure relative accuracy. As long as I measure under the same conditions, the scale is pretty reliable.

 

[fifty]

I meant to ask which scale you use at home. I am looking to buy one.

 

[Nashtide]

Yunmai Premium Scale is the one I went with based on reviews on amazon and a tech site. I’m happy with it so far.

 

[DragonBits]

Both. The scale I got from amazon is an impedence device. I downloaded their app and it’s synched to the scale. I get a report on the app. Weight, BF, lbm, visceral fat, water, protein, bone mass and it calculates bmr. The scale at the gym is just a lot more expensive and theoretically more accurate. Again, I’m not overly concerned with absolute accuracy. I use the scale to measure relative accuracy. As long as I measure under the same conditions, the scale is pretty reliable.

That's cool, in the end I would probably love it. I did look into getting one, my wife would like it to sync with her phone.

But right now I have gotten a free read out from the Tanita tbf-300a scale at a health screening at the local senior center.

I have evolved into a kind of a bipolar luddite, we still have all tube TVs. But I do really like the fitbit gear 3, and since I was an digital data telecom engineer in MCI Communications, I had email since 1980 and a shed full of old electronics like a betamax video camera from 1983.

EDIT: It's actually a charge 3 fitbit watch.

But I decided that I need to upgrade both our our phones before getting anything that needs to sync, use bluetooth or otherwise use a smartphone. My smartphone is pretty clunky, an ASUS Zenpfone 2E with 1 gig ram, the reason I got it was it was totally free. I Had a flip phone on the old ATT network and ATT eliminate that network and offered the ASUS for free, no data plan pay as you go for ~$10 per month. I use a wifi hotspot at home for data, a lot of places have free hotspots, but I don't often use data away from home.

The fitbit app works, the ASUS bluetooth is a mite flaky, I can see it stop fairly often if I constantly monitor heart rate with the phone, or use a video endoscope. My wife's phone is better, but it's from Thailand and the specs on the bluetooth are finicky, things work on my phone but not hers.

So my plan, first I wanted to upgrade to something like two sumsung 9+ or galaxy s10 phones with a data plan, just looking around for the best deal and it isn't a current priority.

And all those BMI scales pretty much require a smart phone, one thing depends on the other.

 

[Nashtide]

That's cool, in the end I would probably love it. I did look into getting one, my wife would like it to sync with her phone.

But right now I have gotten a free read out from the Tanita tbf-300a scale at a health screening at the local senior center.

I have evolved into a kind of a bipolar luddite, we still have all tube TVs. But I do really like the fitbit gear 3, and since I was an digital data telecom engineer in MCI Communications, I had email since 1980 and a shed full of old electronics like a betamax video camera from 1983.

But I decided that I need to upgrade both our our phones before getting anything that needs to sync, use bluetooth or otherwise use a smartphone. My smartphone is pretty clunky, an ASUS Zenpfone 2E with 1 gig ram, the reason I got it was it was totally free. I Had a flip phone on the old ATT network and ATT eliminate that network and offered the ASUS for free, no data plan pay as you go for ~$10 per month. I use a wifi hotspot at home for data, a lot of places have free hotspots, but I don't often use data away from home.

The fitbit app works, the ASUS bluetooth is a mite flaky, I can see it stop fairly often if I constantly monitor heart rate with the phone, or use a video endoscope. My wife's phone is better, but it's from Thailand and the specs on the bluetooth are finicky, things work on my phone but not hers.

So my plan, first I wanted to upgrade to something like two sumsung 9+ or galaxy s10 phones with a data plan, just looking around for the best deal and it isn't a current priority.

And all those BMI scales pretty much require a smart phone, one thing depends on the other.

Lol! I’m pretty clumsy when it comes to technology, but I do have several smart TVs. I use the iPhone because it’s the most intuitive for me. My scale actually doesn’t require the app. All of the info shows up on the screen. I just like the app because it stores all the data and makes nice graphs and charts.

 

[DragonBits]

I can do a hydrostatic weight test for $60 at a local university, maybe one day I will do that. Maybe add in RMR as I am curious about that.

 

[Nashtide]

In the right hands, skin calipers can be very accurate. What is RMR?