what's your body fat % ... if you're an average eater/exerciser

[Anonymous]

42 F I just got a smart scale that says my body fat is 31%. I have been lifting medium/heavy weights for a few years at least 3x a week so am feeling a bit discouraged. I know I've gained a lot of muscle but the body fat isn't going down much. So much for muscle burns more fat!

[Anonymous]

No clue.

[Anonymous]

OP, my stats are similar. My recent body fat scan was a wake-up call. I cut as much sugar as possible and cut alcohol completely.

[Anonymous]

I’m 44. I had a scan a few months ago. Was 22% body fat. You are actually average maybe little high average but not bad for middle age woman. Cut out the sugar. That is what ultimately worked for me.

[Anonymous]

I’m 50 and I have 30% body fat. I’m skinny fat and for me this is an improvement!

[Anonymous]

Home scales are notoriously unreliable for calculating body fat measurements. If you really want to know, get a DEXA scan.

[Anonymous]

I hear about the 'unreliable' but it can't be like 10% off or something can it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hear about the 'unreliable' but it can't be like 10% off or something can it?

Reddit and Dr Google say yes, 10% off is not unusual.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nutrition/comments/1apw6nt/body_fat_scales/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

[Anonymous]

I can only deal with actual weight and bmi. I am not buying another just to calculate my fat%. Rant over.

[Anonymous]

i don't know how accurate it is but my Wyze scale always gives me the same number plus or minus a tenth or two.

[Anonymous]

I used an in body scale at the gym.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i don't know how accurate it is but my Wyze scale always gives me the same number plus or minus a tenth or two.

Yeah, the arguments are generally that these scales give CONSISTENT measurements (for a given person/body) and that any trends they show may be true trends. But the measurements are not RELIABLE - ie, they may or may not have anything to do with your actual body fat percentage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear about the 'unreliable' but it can't be like 10% off or something can it?

Reddit and Dr Google say yes, 10% off is not unusual.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nutrition/comments/1apw6nt/body_fat_scales/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I’m the skinny fat person above, unless you are the same, the pictures on the internet should be able to help you. Your eyeballs will be able to tell if the number is 10% off and you are standing in front of a well lit mirror in your skivvies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:42 F I just got a smart scale that says my body fat is 31%. I have been lifting medium/heavy weights for a few years at least 3x a week so am feeling a bit discouraged. I know I've gained a lot of muscle but the body fat isn't going down much. So much for muscle burns more fat!

Use calipers and charts online. Cheaper than that junk scale and more accurate.
Cut out more carbohydrates.
Eat more fat and protein.

[Anonymous]

I've done 2 Fit3D scans at one of my gyms. Even those are not terribly accurate. I'm somewhere between 30 and 26% which are the two results I got about 1 1/2 months apart. 52F 120 lbs.

I'm doing a Dexa scan next week so we'll see if those are anywhere in the ballpark.