Has anyone had their body fat percentage tested with one of those little machines that you plug your weight into and then hold by some handles, which supposedly send a current through your body and calculates your actual body fat percentage based on what signals bounce back? Does anyone know how accurate they are?

I had mine tested a year ago when I weighed 165lbs. It said I was 30.0% fat, which makes me 115lbs of lean body mass (muscle/bone). So when setting goal weights, I've tried to do it based on realistic body fat percentages of 25% and 20%. If I keep all my muscle mass, which I'd like to do in theory, 20% body fat would put me at roughly 140. (Survival body fat of 12% would put me at like 128). I've probably gained muscle mass since I was last 140lbs, but that's typically a size 10 for me (right now I'm a 12 at 160lbs) and I'm just having trouble internalizing these new weight goals since they're higher than I'd like--harder to find motivation when I feel like the best I can hope for is a size 10 as opposed to a size 4-6.

Has anyone else had this experience? Can I still hope to be small, or will I have to settle for being toned but thick? Has anyone else had success being at the upper range of bmi but really toned and fit/fabulous looking, and at what size? I know these questions are maybe a little silly, since a) a size 8-10 is pretty awesome no matter what, b) I suspect if I lose 20lbs of fat I will probably drop 2 sizes to an 8 and c) i *know* you fit fabulous yet not size 2-4-6 people are out there, I guess I'm just looking for some personal anecdotes so I can really *believe* it.

For reference, I'm 5'5" and carry most of my excess weight as the infamous muffintop (in the "what body type are you" thread I'd probably say I'm a pear, 38/32.5/41)

I have a scale which does the same thing - you stand on the receptors and it sends the current up through your feet.

As it's a percentage, it does vary according to how hydrated you are. It says the best time to take your BF% is tea time, rather than morning, which is when most of us weigh, as then your body is normally hydrated and the BF% will be at its lowest.

However, taking that into consideration, I do find it fairly consistent - on those occasions when my BF% seems high, my water % is proportionally low.

FTR, I am 5'5", weigh 133.6 and my body fat % this morning was 25%. I wear a size 8 UK, which is about a size 4 US. My stats are 35, 26, 36. HTH.

Thank you! What brand of scale is it? I want to get one.

It's a Salter I got from a catalogue here, but there are tons of body fat scales out there - Amazon do them. The more expensive ones do more, but mine is just a basic one.

I have a scale that does it too, mine is a Weight Watchers brand. Tanita & Conair also makes them I believe. I was going to put a link to mine, but it is currently unavailable... We got it from Amazon.com, I think it was in the $85 range. They make others that are more and less expensive. I've also seen them at Target, Wal Mart, etc.

I have one of those scales too, quite a good one... and I can say it is not that accurate when coming to fat %.
Mine is actually giving me the kilos of fat, so I have to calculate the % of fat by myself (not that difficult, LOL).
I know that in the morning I have more water in my body... but really, for instance today... the difference between early morning and lunch time was of 3.5kg of fat!! (and in percentage it means even more difference between the two values) I really can't believe that (I was weighing almost the same kilos)

Anyway, FORESTROAD... I'm a pear too! :-))
I have very thin face, arms and tits (sob!)... and quite a chubby lower part :-D And I'm doing a lot of exercise (swimming and running)... I think that I look a little bit "bigger" than I really am, now that my BMI is 20.8.... but at the same time I know that, thanks to my upper part, I look also thinner than I am when I gain some weight ;-)

Even if I lose a lot of kilos (and I don't want, 5 would be enough! ;-)) I would never fit into those kind of models/actress sizes... I don't know very well which US size I am... I have just one pair of American-sized jeans and they are 13 and they are too big to me now... I guess I'm size 11... (size 31 in some other country?).
And my measures are 84 (!) - 69 - 99 (!)

:-))

Hi! I just posted about my experience with this in another forum and it was lost - twice - so I gave up, but maybe I can reply .... I was tested once with the handle method and it came out way lower than what my scale was telling me. I suspect my scale was right. I was always around 27%, in my lower-weight days (high 120s/low 130s).

FWIW, I have a Tanita scale that I bought a few years ago. I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and used one of those 20% off coupons they are always mailing and it ended up costing about $40. I think it was reasonably accurate, but it's true that it fluctuates depending on your hydration level. It is a good reminder to stay hydrated!

So - the experience that my lost post was about was with having the caliper test done. That's supposedly the most accurate short of being weighed in a tank of water. The gym dude measured 7 points on my body - tricep, chest, hip bone, belly, "love handle" area, thigh and back. He then used the computer to generate numbers from each site and an overall total. I ranged from 40% belly and almost the same in the thighs to a lean 15% in the back. The overall number is 34.5%, which honestly, I thought would be higher given the shape I'm in.

I wonder about that "lean body weight" number - mine came out to be 98.2 lbs. That's 51.8 lbs. of fat on me! Can that be right at 5'6" and 150 lbs? UGH.

Anyway, I'd recommend the caliper test if you have access to a place that does it. My gym charged $10 for it. I am just starting to get back on track again, and it has given me a huge kick in the pants to bring my body fat down!!!!

In answer to the OP - I don't think it is realistic to assume that you will keep all your muscle mass as you lose weight. Rather, as you lose, you'll lose BOTH fat and muscle, but MORE fat than muscle, with the result that you will have a lower weight, lower lean body mass, AND lower fat percentage.

So if you started at 165 pounds, 115 of which was lean, and 30% fat - you might end up at 125 pounds, 100 of which is lean, so 25% fat. You'll have lost 40 total pounds, of which 25 was fat & 15 muscle.

Julietta- if your clothes are in US sizes that are odd numbers, that generally means that you have been shopping in the juniors' section...so kudos that you can fit into those clothes at all! I haven't fit a juniors size since I was like 10. From what you wrote it sounds like you have a really athletic body...I guess we "pears" must take consolation in that

yes Forestroad, let's get consolation in that... we are athletic pears, LOL!

ps. mmh... well, I really doubt I could fit in a junior size... I must have mistaken something, then!

I've had my body fat measured at a health fair (special scale) and my most recent trip to the scale brought me here. My body fat percentage puts me in the "obese" category!