Body Fat Scale – Body Fat Percentage Calculator

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Understanding a Body Fat Scale and How it Can Help You!

How Accurate is a Body Fat Scale

 

When it comes to losing weight and getting in shape there is much more to consider than simply dieting and exercising. A person can appear to be “in shape” but be considered “overweight” due to their body fat percentage.

The most accurate way to determine body fat is with a Body Fat Scale. These use Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptometery (DEXA) to determine a person’s body fat percentage. The average body fat scale costs less than $100 and can be used right in the comfort of your own home.

How a Body Fat Scale Works

A body fat scale measures body fat percentage by passing a harmless electrical current through all no-fat parts of the body. This includes muscle and bone. This technique is called Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). As the current is moving through the body, it is able to determine the amount of resistance it experiences from body fat.

Based on your overall body density, the body fat scale calculates the body fat percentage. Of course, these are just estimates because accurate body fat percentage incorporates age, frame size, fitness level, ethnicity and gender.

Many of the more modern body fat scales figure gender and age into the equation. The primary reason to use a body fat scale is not to determine if you are overweight, but to help better monitor the changes in your body over time. Newer body fat scale models have internal memory that tracks each weigh in and will display the use rs progress over time.

Usage Tips

When using a body fat scale you want to remember some tipswill help increase its accuracy and help you better reach weight loss goals. To start, a body fat scale should only be used for one user unless it has the ability to store multiple users data. Measuring multiple people on a body fat scale can skew the results of the main user making them inaccurate.

A body fat scale needs to be calibrated for the user as well to be active, be sure that you follow the instructions and have it properly calibrated before using it. Drink water approximately one hour before measuring body fat on a body fat scale. The amount of water you drink should be the same ever day. Use a water bottle to help keep this accurate. The water helps the electric current flow easier.

A body fat scale should be used at the same time each day as well as in an area that is the same temperature every day. This may be difficult if your house is drafty, consider storing a body fat scale at the office or at the gym for quick access and accurate results. You body temperature can alter the results which is why this is important.

First thing in the morning is the best time to determine body fat percentage using a body fat scale. Avoid using a body fat scale immediately after a workout. This is because your hydration levels will be down and your body temperature will be up. Finally, do not consider the results of a body fat scale as an end all. A person can be physically fit but considered obese because of a higher amount of body fat. Use body fat calipers to determine if you are truly overweight. As a rule of thumb, if you make a muscle with your arm, you should not be able to “pinch more than an inch” on your underarm. If you pinch more than an inch, you are overweight.

 

Body Fat vs. Body Weight

A body fat scale measures just that – body fat. There is a difference between body fat and body weight. Body weight is composed of gas and liquids in our organs, fat cells and toxins that are left inside our digestive tracts from the food we eat. A good example of how this works is with the use of colon cleansing and detoxifying products.

These products decrease body weight by an average of 10-lbs by eliminating toxins and waste that is built up in our bodies, however, it does not decrease overall body fat. Toxins and waste build up from our environment, the foods we eat and everything we drink and do on a daily basis. Overall, many toxins are inevitable. However, maintaining a diet that is completed with plenty of vitamins and minerals from whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, fresh meats and low-fat dairy products will help decrease body fat and body weight while naturally detoxifying the body.

Processed foods that are laden with fat and sugars hinder the ability of the body’s metabolism to properly digest the food we eat and turn it into energy. Instead we end up storing it and it becomes fat. Another important factor to remember is that body muscle weighs more than body fat which makes body weight an obsolete number. A body fat scale is a useful tool for anyone who wants to track overall fat loss. It is essential if you are trying to reach optimal health through the use of diet and exercise.

I recommend checking out the cheap but quality models of Body Fat scales below make sure you look into the customer  reviews & ratings to get agood feel for each product to see if it may suit you, there are some great products out there just take your time and get a good insight first.

My reviews are based on a comprehensive  combination of  customer reviews, statistics and through personal use.

Thanks for your interest  I appreciate your time !

 

Body Fat Analyzer Scale

Here are some other body fat analyzer resourses you may find of value and interest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage

http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

 

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