OK I got a new toy
This one is a hand held fat monitor. It sends a little electrical current through your hands and by knowing your weight and height it can then calculate how much of you must be fat, for the signal to go through you in X seconds.
I also have a scale that does the same, so I can compare them!
My floor scale says I am 24% fat and 50% water
The handheld Omron one says 23.2% so that's within the range of reasonability
Do you know what yours is? How do you test it?
I have a hand held Omron too and my BMI is always 24% and the fat fluctuates from 28.1 to 28,4% fat and the scale is always off and I have the wrong age on that since changing the age always increases the numbers and that one says 36.7 % fat and way off.
I am on prednisone again so the numbers are going to be high for me since this causes weight gain, but taking hydroxycut to stop that from happening.
On the Omron handheld unit, the BMI won't change
The BMI is only a calculation based on your weight and height. So unless you go into their settings and change your weight or your height, the BMI will always give the same value.
The fat should fluctuate though
Which model do you have? We have the HBF-306, I'll get a photo in a second ...
OK here is an image of the one we have -
It's really easy to use and stores multiple people in it. You put in your height, weight, age, gender and activity level and that lets it calculate your BMI (which is a static number based on height/weight) along with the fat % (which is dynamically determined by holding it).
by BMI is in the mid 30's to low 40's I think.
For people who don't know their BMI or Body Mass Indicator, we have an online calculator here -
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BMI is a straight number - so it's not a percentage. It is an "artificial number", that is, the number is just a ratio. It isn't that it should be half of your weight or anything else like that. Your BMI should fall into these ranges:
< 20 very good, perhaps even underweight
20-25 healthy
> 25 at risk
Now, keep in mind that a BMI is still only a "rough guide". It doesn't take into account at all how big boned you are or how muscular you are or so on. All it is is height and weight. So if for example you are 6' tall and 200 pounds it could say you are at risk. And maybe that's true if you are zero muscle and all fat. But what if you were a football player who was solid muscle? You could easily be 200 pounds in the best shape of your life but the BMI would still show 'at risk'. So that's why this is a good starting guideline but not the last word by any means.
I fall into the football player analogy, so I ignore my BMI. I'm big boned and very muscular for a 5'2" woman. Unfortunately, my Dr. doesn't take this into account. She sees the 170 on the scale and chews me out for having a high BMI (by those charts, I'm obese)... though I'm strong enough to literally pick her up and haul her out of the room. If I can lift my fiance (roughly 200 lbs), I can lift that little round woman.
Do I sound bitter? I am.
I'd be interested to know what my actual fat% is. How much do those little gadgets cost, anyway? And how accurate are they?
I have the same model - HBF-306BL
the scale is a tanita BF-625
I do change the settings onthe body fat and create new people on it, but they are all me. I will most likely do another new one next month when I turn 48 since I like to see the readings for my ages over the years.
Myrabeth that is SO annoying. That is what really annoys me about BMI. I do think it's a good "starting tool". It's a good way to get a rough idea of what category someone is in. But once you know that information, you definitely have to delve further!! It's like with cholesterol. If you know someone's total cholesterol that's a good start, but you really need to know their HDL and LDL and such to know what the real story is. Two people could have the exact same "total cholesterol" number and one could be very healthy and one could be very unhealthy.
I *definitely* think you should get yourself a fat and water monitor, because that would then silence the doctor, to prove you were a normal fat percentage. Your doctor should have done that herself!! That's what she is there for ...
The electronic signal through your body is *very* accurate because literally it measures your insides with that pulse. If you're in this situation I would actually say not to get the handheld one we have because it's fat only. Instead I would say to get the stand-on scale -
that figures out both your fat percentage AND water percentage. For example I stood on my machine today and it says I am 24% fat and 50% water. By knowing these values you get a good sense of your hydration level and also your fat level of course. If you go with those numbers into your doctor you can prove to her that you're far healthier than anybody else she sees
It's about $30 on Amazon so I imagine it's about $30 at most stores ...
Bonnie - I keep a pad of paper in the bathroom and write down the 3 numbers most morning when I weigh myself. That way I keep a running log of how I'm doing
This is interesting, and eye-opening.
I just did the test and I'm in the healthy range. Yay! I was curious as to how much I would have to weigh to become in the "very good, maybe underweight" range (wouldn't that be nice?). Turns out I'd have to lose almost 25 pounds. That's pretty extreme! I'd have to really starve myself to do that, and I don't think it would look very healthy. I must have heavy bones or something. If I am at my thinnest, which is about 150, people have told me I look too skinny. So I see what you mean that this is a very rough idea.
In order to fall into the healthy BMI range, I'd have to go back to weighing 115-135.
When I weighed 115, about age 16, I was much less muscular, and was still so thin I looked unhealthy. I was also suffering more colds and viruses than I get now and was passing out occasionally because my already low blood pressure was plummeting for no reason the Drs. could find.
When I weighed 135, I was 21, a little more muscular, still looked too thin to be healthy, still constantly sick, and still having minor problems with my blood pressure.
I would never go back to that. I may have a few pounds of chub to spare, but I would never consider trying to get even remotely close to 115 again. I much prefer rarely being sick, having more stable blood pressure, a muscular, healthy looking body, and the slow battle of trying to burn away a little superficial excess flesh. Falling into the "obese" category is a healthier place for me!
We're in the market for a bathroom scale right now, so I'll look into getting one like you suggested, Lisa. Thanks!
Frieda - right you might have heavy bones, or maybe dense muscle or all sorts of other things. So a BMI is only a rough guideline about the general "body shape" a person is in.
Myrabeth - Yes every one of us has a different range that we are naturally healthy in. So it's important that you stay in your own healthy range and not get "artificially thin". Definitely get your hands on one of the fat/water scales and let us know what it says! They should be pretty much at any store you go to.
I still have all this excess fat even after loosing 150 pounds. I know my BMI doesn't reflect all the muscle and my structure either.
Now if I could only excercise like I want to looke the last 50-75 pounds I wanna loose ;0)
Jase do you know your actual fat percentage? Or do you mean loose skin because of the weight loss?
loose skin that still has fat in it. I don't know my actual fat %
I have what is called a dieters curse.. an apron ;0)
OK I really suggest you get your work to buy one of these -
they are relative cheap (under $30) and they are SO much fun. It's something everyone wants to pick up and play with. You can have it in your waiting room. Then it encourages people to want to ask about treatments to help their skin and such. Think of it as an inexpensive marketing tool. Then you can use it too
Myrabeth - we are at a store today and I was looking at the fat percent scales, they are down in the $25 to $30 range so I definitely suggest you get your hands on one and try it out! It would be interesting to see where you fall and to then tell that to your doctor.
I think my workouts are really doing me some good - my fat percentage came out at 20.0% when I just tried it now. So I am definitely losing fat.
I tried looking up alternate methods of fat determination, for those of you who can't get one of these devices, but really this is your best choice. There is a "total immersion in water" method but you need an underwater scale. There are also the hand-held calipers where you pinch the skin at various parts of the body but apparently these are really iffy for non-trained technicians to use properly. These devices above let you try it out in your own home easily, as frequently as you want. Plus they're fun party games
Today my body fat is 21.4%!!
Progress!
I am totally afraid to even think about doing this.
Jase I have seen that apron on the Biggest Loser. I don't think that ever comes off from what i have heard, but at least you are healthier! Wear it as a badge of honor!
Jill - afraid of what?
Skin will shrink in somewhat but not totally once it's been stretched out - like the long ear lobes of tribes that deliberately stretch them. But of course if someone wanted to, it would be a relatively simple surgery to get that brought in! It might even be good health-wise, not to have open loose pockets of skin that don't need to be there, for things to get caught in (inside) ...
I'm 60yrs old there is no way this LOOSE SKIN is gonna snap back where it belongs, and i still have over 70 pounds to loose just what am i to do with all the skin, thats gross. my insurance won't cover removing it. some time i wonder if i should just of stayed fat at least every thing was all in one place (every where) now that im starting to lose its not a pretty sight. but i do like losing so i will keep exercising and buy a girdle lol
A girdle is a great idea!
You just need a way to get your doctor to say it's a health hazard. If they will pay for obesity surgery because it's a health hazard, then they should pay for "flap of skin" surgery for the same reason!
However, reading on the web, I find several sites that say the only way people still have an "apron" is that there is fat hanging inside that skin that is pulling it down. That the people have to lose that fat. Not that they have to "lose weight" overall (necessarily) but let's say you are 140 pounds. Let's say you are 25% fat - so you have fat lining the skin of your abdomen and causing it to sag out oddly. Now let's say you do stomach crunches and build up some lean muscle. So you stay 140 pounds - but you are now only 19% fat. Your stomach will not have fat inside the skin any more - so the "apron" won't be stretched out by it - and it'll heal up. Sort of like an earring hole sealing up over time.
You can help by drinking lots of water and taking nutrients and such, of course.
But for example I was about 190 when I was pregnant. My skin was VERY distended. After I had James my skin went back to flat again. I didn't have an apron ... because I went back to being muscular.
I was thinking about that. Here is me when I was near to full term with James, so about 190 pounds -
Now here is me in 2004, down in Key Largo, Florida.
So obviously all that skin went *somewhere* ...
Lisa what an inspiration you are. There is hope for me. On Jan 1st i weight 245 pounds today i weigh 227. if i lose 80 pounds i can weigh 147 pounds. by the way you look great!
I've done up an article to go with those photos -
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WOOPS I made a mistake i wish i weight 227 it should of said i now weigh 277. sorry (thats more like it)
now i'll look at your photos
be right back
no no im so confused i was right it just didn't seem right lol
I was right the first time one last time i weigh 227 i have lost 18 pounds i better stop while i'm ahead i don't seem to be getting thing right
now i'll look at your pictures
Great story Lisa i can learn from you, thanks. Lisa how tall are you. i have lost height because i have osteoporosis but now im 5'5"
do you know what my ideal weight should be for my height?
Interestingly, a lot of people as they age lose height not just because of osteoporosis but also because of poor posture and "crushing" down of the spinal cord over time. I was reading in the yoga books that in India and places where they routinely practice upside down positions, which would naturally stretch the cord back out again, that people actually regain their height back. So that could be a good reason to try some yoga workouts!
I am just over 5'6"
We were talking about BMI - Body Mass Index - somewhere, let me start a new thread on that
That is how you get a rough idea of your goal weight.
Picture it, me upside down lol
since you guys have been talking about yoga i have been giving it some thought. but not at any classes. any ideas
Well you don't have to do handstands
There are a variety of positions that are very simple - like being on your hands and knees - that are gentle. Even a slight "upward tilt" occasionally can be very helpful because all day long your spine is being squashed down. But of course I caveat that doctors should be consulted
Oh my there is so much to learn i wish i had thought of getting healthier when i was younger lol
better late than never, huh
It is always best to start now rather than to wait for later on! Now is a great time to start
I hope others can learn thru my mistakes,
You are definitely an inspiration to us with how you are doing now!!
Okaey, here it is: I am afraid to know my body fat.
It's great that you admit that Jill!! We all have all sorts of fears. I was PETRIFIED of pricking my finger for my entire life and it took me many months I think before I was able to do it with my home cholesterol test. We're talking about a tiny tiny finger stick
So fears are very real - but they can be overcome
The key is thinking it out. You know your weight, you know your measurements. What concerns you about knowing your body fat? Fat is a *healthy* part of you remember. It's important we learn to love all parts of us. Fat keeps your organs safe!! You *need* fat.
Speaking of which, my body fat has gone up!!
he he he. I have more protection! I have been doing Bailey's cocktail recipes the past few days to beef up that part of my lisashea website - and I literally gained a percentage of fat
he he he ...
My fear is that I have always been very active, and every time I do a body fat test it's so much more fat than i expect. I have learned to be disappointed with body fat testing.
But i will give it s ashot anyway. I used to be afraid of the scale and now you all have me using it each day. So that's progress.
When i get home i think i will look into my treadmill - i think it has a body fat testie thing on the handles. That's what the metal pieces are right?
As I am still in San Diego (easter holiday) then this will have to wait. At least I did some walking around the bay yesterday with my dad, and then used their treadmill at night (watching CSI of course). Their treadmill doesn't have a fat thingie.
I am glad i finally remembered my signin name for this forum! jeez i am lost without my passwords. I can't even check my email.
No actually the metal things on the handles are probably a built in heart rate monitor - my exercise bike has one but it's broken. So when you're walking if you hold the metal parts it lets you know how your heart rate is doing
Enjoy your holiday!!
oh. hmmm. Well, I am not in a hurry for this one anyway. I will just use the scale and actually go use my tape measure today.
You don't have a scale for your house yet, right? When you get one, it's only $30 to get one that tells you your fat and water along with your weight. So it's pretty much worth it to get that
No, I have a scale I got at my local Ace Hardware for 13 dollars. It has the old style readout (read - not digital) and no other features. I was attracted to its price point, to the fact that I could buy it without driving down the mts to the cities, and that it is simple. No batteries, no having to set anything or even read instructions.
So that is what i am using each day.
oh ok! I didn't realize you'd gotten a scale! That is great news
It really does help to weigh yourself frequently - not to obsess, but to stay aware of your body and to praise your successes!
Yes it was getting annoying to have to weight myself at whatever scale i could find in stores. heehee. also this way i can weight myself first thing in the AM to keep things consistent.
I used that calulater for my BMI and it said 12 YEAH!!!!! then I realized that I had the height of 5 foot 66 inches
dang it for the first time in my life I was going to be underweight not obese!!! I fixed it and it said 44% so I am still 100% obese! Dang!
Jill - yes I always weigh myself first thing in the morning, so that I am keeping an even measurement on each day, with the same relative starting point. Plus it's a little embarrassing to strip down naked in stores
Freespirit - that is funny about the 66 inches
Don't worry, we will help you become more fit, slowly but surely!!
OKay, i used lisa's little fat test thingie and it was easy and fun. I was either 24.1% or 21.4% (don't recall). But i might get one myself to track this stuff.
Yes they are very easy to use! It's a good thing to keep track of. I always weigh / measure myself in the morning so we'll see tomorrow morning how I'm doing!
Dan is looking forward to using it too. i guess we can chart our fat, cholsterol, glasses of water drank, exercise, weight, body measurements, carbs, fiber, protein, and supplements on a daily basis, once we get our lives fully tweaked. Am I missing anything?
That sounds good! I track my % of water (in my body) daily, but my scale tells me that Maybe the # of steps you've taken? Do you both have pedometers?
How about some sort of flexibility measurement? I could post that over in the yoga forum, about what you would measure
hmmm, right pedometers. i have the one. i would think about getting another if he was interested in doing steps. But I kinda think if i wear if for a while I will start to get an idea of "this is a 2,000 step day, this is a 5,000 step day, this is 10k, this is 15k, etc"....and then give it to him to get the same internal sense.
Do you feel your pedo is a much better choice than my simple radio shack one, if I was to get another? I found mine at goodwill for three dollars.
Flexibility tracking. Hmmm. I have to think on how one would calibrate that.
I am looking at my list of things to track above and it's definitely complicated. How to track all this? journal, online, with a program/spreadsheet? and is it worth tracking all that stuff everyday, or is this making new and exciting mental clutter for myself?
Any pedometer is fine I think, they all count steps
So yours is great!
For weight / fat / water I just keep a pad by the scale and write it down every morning. So for me that is super easy. You can do the same thing for weight and fat once you get a fat measurer.
I don't know that you really need to write down fiber / carbs / etc. every day. That would mean you track every single thing you eat. You're at a great weight right now so I think that might be overkill for you.
Steps is just fun to count
You can post that in the walking forum!
Soooooo, I got the Omron fat measurer from Amazon as part of my BellaOnline Biggest Loser certificate. So Dan and I did the measurements tonite:
Dan - 10.5% fat, BMI 21.5
Jill - 22% fat, BMI 21.4
Dan is like NO fat. Arg. But I am pleased about where mine is for now. I'd like it to be 18%; that's my goal.
Today is 23.9% fat. Hmmm. Let me go read the manual.
Today is 23.7% fat and this is first thing in the morning, after peeing and before drinking anything. I held my arms at a 90 degree and angle, covered the electrodes correctly and didn't giggle around. So i will assume this is the correct fat level I have at this time.
The manual suggests:
- Monitor at the same time each day (waking up is good)
- Don't bother if you've been drinking fluids or eaten in two hours - it will really throw the test out of whack
- Hold your arms out straight, at an exact 90 angle from your body
- stand up with your feet apart - no sitting
- don't move when you are getting the reading
- Cover the metal plates as they show you in the manual. Holding it incorrectly will give a false reading
- Don't use after a shower, bath or a work out - again, the water weight will throw things off
Other notes: you do need to program your appropriate fitness level when you set your profile.
If you work out frequently, you need to set the machine for 'athlete' and not 'normal'...there is a chart for you to see where you fall, based on three things: 1. how many times a week you work out, 2. how long you work out for, and 3. how intense are your workouts. So i just barely fall into Athlete. It makes a big difference how it reads your fat levels from my experimenting.
Okay, given that you have to obey ALL those set conditions, the Omron fat monitor is easy to use.
LOL well it's really like a scale. If you stand on a scale after eating a full meal, you'll be heavier because that meal is in you. So really a different of 1-2% isn't meaningful because of those various reasons. The key with the fat monitor just like with the scale is to spot trends - are you around 20%? Around 10%? You want to aim in a direction
Women naturally tend to have more fat than men, and that's fine
We have squishy parts!
It keeps changing from day to day. Today yesterday i was 21.5% fat and today am 23.4%
I keep trying to make the test consistent: upon waking, after peeing and before coffee or food.
But then as my weight fluctuates each day by several pounds i suppose it's fair my fat does too.
Yes definitely and depending on exactly what you ate your body could have more or less water in it, more or less "food weight" in your intestines and so on. The key is to get it to start trending downwards, if that is your aim
Also, let's say you drink a lot of water one day and it's a hot night so you sweat it all out. Your water percentage the next morning would be lower than normal - so your fat percentage would be higher than normal. The next night you drink a lot of water but do NOT sweat it out because it's cooler. So you are now more water, less fat. You're rather healthy either way, it's just sliding a bit on your body's composition. It's pretty cool
It's fun to play with the machine in any case. I think I will try how much pooping makes a difference. Just for literal $h!t$ and giggles.
I think mine is 100% lol.
LOL I bet you have some internal organs in there Vance
Also a few bones, Vance?
Today the fat meter read 23.0%.
So apparently my range is 21.5% to 24.9%, depending on whatever body composition i have that morning. Is this a wide range? Is anyone else testing themselves every day?
Okay, in the name of science I tested the fat again after a morning poop and before my coffee and it's exactly the same. 23.1%. I thought it would be different. I think this is interesting.
I think that seems like a fairly normal range, Jilly, but I will start testing myself daily to find out for sure
Today was 22.7% before urinating this morning and 22.2% after. Negligible difference.
Today my fat was 25% and my water was 49%. I tend to swing between 24% and 25% fat, and 48% to 50% water.
Today the fat is 24.0%
Really no rhyme or reason that i can tell, unless I start thinking about how late I ate dinner...last night was a really late dinner, like 9pm, so that might account for more food in the system.
Lisa, are you getting the water weights from your new scale?
My original scale gives water weight as does the new one. They are both pretty much exactly the same.
Remember that your entire body is in flux every day - hormones going through it, metabolism going through it, humidity outside, the amount you sweat, etc
I am not concerned; I am documenting.
Yup documenting is good! I'm just saying that daily fluctuations can't really be "explained" all the time
You go for trends, hopefully downwards!
No, I totally get that.
My inner scientist just enjoys looking for causes - it's a big part of who I am. All is good.
Well, oops. I left my fat tool at my sister's house on father's day. It could be a month before I get it back. Let's see if there is any discernable fat trend when i get it back!
Today my fat is 25.0% and my BMI is 21.5%.
Jilly - you might look into getting a fat caliper from Amazon. You can get them for about $6. They're the old fashioned way of measuring fat, with pinchers that actually measure the "height" of the fat layer. It might be interesting to compare that actual official technique!
Maybe. It's a thought, but the idea of 'grabbing my fat' is a little depressing...
OK let's rephrase it
You are "pinching your skin" to see how lean you are!
Today I am 25.4% fat
I'm using the handheld device.
Hey, I wonder if I had programmed my weight in there ... I must have for it to be able to do the calculations...
LOL I had my weight in there as 135. OK so I have now reached the weight my little fat device thought I was
Today using the scale I'm 26.2% fat. On June 30th I was 25.0%. So it seems to swing in that range right now.
I still have yet to get my machine back from my sister. Hmmm, i need to make a plan to see her.
Still thinking about the fat pincher but I guess i can wait to get my handheld thing back.
Does Dan have any calipers at all in his woodworking tools? Really all you are doing is measuring the thickness of your skin fold, so any caliper will do ...
I don't think so. I really don't mind waiting until I see my sister to get my tool back.