Body Fat Testing: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
If you follow me on Instagram then you might have seen a picture in my story that referenced body fat testing. My CrossFit box hosted another company to do the body fat test and I definitely was interested so I signed up. I have had my body fat tested before but it was shortly after I had my son and was a different technique.
Today I want to talk about body fat testing and what to expect. There are several different ways to test for it. And what it means to you. Comparing it to your lean mass and body weight. I will also tell you my results (YIKES) and my goals moving forward. Also, how I plan on accomplishing these goals.
Body Fat Tests
So, first, there are a few different tests that you can do to have your body fat tested. I'll go into some detail on them in a bit.
- Skin Calipers
- Bioelectrical Impedance
- Hydrostatic Weighing
- DEXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorbency)
- Air-displacement plethysmography
- 3D Body Scan
Skin Calipers are the cheapest way to measure your body fat but also isn’t as accurate as some of the other options. Your skin is pinched and measured using the calipers at different points on the body and then the numbers are put into a formula to calculate an estimate of body fat. Not super accurate but it gives you a good indicator.
Bioelectrical impedance is more common now than ever. I have a scale at home that uses this method to measure body fat while at the same time weighing me. While this makes it easier than the calipers it still isn’t the best with accuracy. Again, great to help give you an idea but can be affected by your hydration levels, when you ate or even worked out.
Hydrostatic weighing (what I did on Saturday) uses an underwater scale to measure body density. With that, you can calculate body composition. It is extremely accurate but you do have to be completely submerged underwater and release all the air out of your lungs. Easier said than done.
DEXA uses x-ray beams to measure bone density, lean mass, and body fat, and while it is highly accurate (to the point you can measure per limb) it is very hard to come by.
Air-displacement plethysmography is used by the company the Bod Pod (another one I have tried) and is similar to the hydrostatic weighing in the sense that it measures the air displacement to measure body density. While you don’t have to submerge underwater you do go into an egg-like shaped pod to be measured.
Lastly, the 3D body scan is by far the most expensive method and isn’t as entirely as accurate as some of the other options. The best method is to do it naked. So how comfortable are you naked?
Body Fat VS Lean Body Mass
Body composition is one of the best indicators of overall health. Your body composition is divided into your body fat and lean body mass (i.e., muscle, bones, and organs). Obviously, the higher your body fat is the unhealthier you are. At the same time too, low body fat isn’t always good either.
Elite athletes have about 6-13 % for males and 14-20% for females. Average body fat percentages range from 18-22% for men and 26-31% for females.
Bod POD
So, a few years ago we were stationed at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and there was a location on post that had a Bod Pod and I went and had it done. I had it done while I was pregnant and after as it isn’t dangerous to the fetus. It was interesting to see and if I can locate my exact results I will upload them for you.
The fetus counted as lean body mass by the way. But I obviously had a higher body fat percentage for both scans as I was just trying to get back to working out after I had my son. It was very helpful and very simple to use.
Basically, you sit in this POD for a few minutes wearing tight-fitting clothing. I wore spandex and a sports bra. The machine does all the work. They printed off my results and compared all my health factors.
Southeastern Body Fat Testing
So, this is the test that I took on Saturday and plan on doing again this year. This company has a mobile unit in the greater Atlanta area that has a scale underwater. I wore a swimsuit and didn’t worry about a cap for my hair. I was weighed and my height was taken before I went into the water.
Once in the water, I place a weight belt around my waist to help keep me down. I was then instructed to go completely underwater holding my nose. Under the water, I was to breathe out all the air in my lungs. Once all the air was out and the measurement was taken I could come up. She banged on the side for me. They normally take three measurements for accuracy. I took four because the first time I didn’t release all my air.
According to their website:
Lean tissue, such as bone and muscle, is denser than water, and fat tissue is less dense than water. Basically, muscle sinks and fat floats. Therefore, a person with more body fat will weigh less underwater and be more buoyant. Someone with more muscle will weigh more underwater.
Depending on how you feel about being dunked underwater I feel like both this and the Bod POD were about the same accuracy.
They also emailed me a print out of my results.
My Results
So, I am currently back up to the weight I was at in January of 2016. Needless to say, I have definitely enjoyed my summer. I have been using my scale at home to keep track of my weight and body fat before this. On January 22, 2016, I weighed 178.3lbs and was 38.2% body fat. In Jan of this year, I was 170.8lbs and 37.1% body fat.
On July 9th, I weighed myself again at home and was 177.5lbs at 36.2% body fat. So, my body fat percentage has continued to go down but my weight has gone up. I just assumed I had gained a lot of muscle mass due to CrossFit even though I was eating like crap.
Well, Saturday I weighed 178.8lbs and was at 33.4% body fat. I was happy to see my body fat percentage was even lower than what it was on my scale at home. It was still hard to see myself weigh that much and my body fat is that high even 3 years after giving birth.
But these results did not depress me and make me sad. It motivated me. I need to get back to work and on my supplements. I came up with some goals.
Goals
My new goals are focused more on my body composition. I want to lower my body fat percentage to 24%. I am not exactly sure on a good time frame for this so I set it for before the holidays. The plan on rescheduling a measurement in early Nov.
My weight does need to come back down but it is not my main focus. I believe that with lowering my body fat I will lower my weight.
Another goal I set for myself is to just work harder on my workouts. I have a tendency not to push myself as hard as I can and I want to do better. A friend from my box told me last week that I can lift more than I have been. It really affected me. In a good way. I can lift more and I need to start pushing myself harder to get the results I want.
How I am going to do this:
The first thing I did was actually start following the plan I had from Macrostax. This app tells me exactly how many macros I need in a given day based on my body and if I am exercising or not or refeeding my body.
I quickly realized this week that I was not eating enough nor was I eating enough protein. I also figured out how hard it was for me to intake that much protein. As much of a meat lover as I am, I really wasn’t eating that much. And what I was eating was fat-filled.
The other thing I decided to do was to workout harder at CrossFit as well as add extra workouts in either at home or at the other gym I go to. My biggest weakness is definitely cardio and I wanted to get better. I have already started incorporating this before with my workout of the week posts but I need to do it on a more daily basis.
I hope you guys follow my journey. Keep checking back as I will continue to document and share with you all. Hopefully, it even inspires some of you.
