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12-15-2007, 08:06 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: CT
Posts: 781
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Body Composition Scales
What does everyone think of these? Are they accurate? If so which is the best ones???
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12-15-2007, 08:33 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: MO
Posts: 155
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I have a Tanita (sp?) but I'm not sure how accurate it is. I really wish there was an accurate scale/device a person could use at home and by themselves (as opposed to relying on someone else to take measurements a'la calipers.)
Anyone know of anything out there?
S.
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12-15-2007, 08:49 PM
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#3 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 159
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well as far as the composition scales go, I believe they aren't very accurate at all (If you are refering to the scale that you weigh yourself on).
I have found the best way to track your body comp progress is to
1.) weigh yourself at the same time of day(first thing in the morning) often and record your weight.
2.) take BF measurements with a caliper about every 2 weeks.
3.) take girth measurements neck, chest ect. every 2 weeks
4.) compare your records and see if you are progressing in the right direction.
This general method Is about the only failproof method I have found, especially if you use the same devices and person to help you measure each time.
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12-16-2007, 01:41 AM
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#4 (permalink)
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Payload Specialist
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Rancho Santa Margarita, California
Posts: 16,502
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Barrett
What does everyone think of these? Are they accurate? If so which is the best ones???
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They're crappy, in general. Read this thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maxattack
well as far as the composition scales go, I believe they aren't very accurate at all (If you are refering to the scale that you weigh yourself on).
I have found the best way to track your body comp progress is to
1.) weigh yourself at the same time of day(first thing in the morning) often and record your weight.
2.) take BF measurements with a caliper about every 2 weeks.
3.) take girth measurements neck, chest ect. every 2 weeks
4.) compare your records and see if you are progressing in the right direction.
This general method Is about the only failproof method I have found, especially if you use the same devices and person to help you measure each time.
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Agreed. But, at most, weigh once a week or two weeks. Same day, time, etc. There's nothing that you can actually know from a scale from one day to the next. Except frustration. You can know frustration.
Why The Scale Lies
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12-16-2007, 02:33 AM
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#5 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Posts: 484
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Tanita is very good brand, but this kind of measurements is inaccurate.
Tanita has category "athlete" (male or female) on their scales ... who is an athlete? :-)
It's just for speculation, because of low accuracy.
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12-17-2007, 07:15 AM
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#6 (permalink)
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Short Man Magnet
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: PA
Posts: 963
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Personally I find the body fat measurement on my scale frustrating and discouraging. I've been trying to follow the calorie cycling diet from the HELL program for about a month now. I have lost four pounds, which has made my pants loser and given me a little more definition, especially in the shoulders. The stupid scale says exactly the same BF%, 25%. That would mean I lost 1lb of fat and 3lbs muscles. I don't think that is the case using other measures.
Leah
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12-17-2007, 07:53 PM
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#7 (permalink)
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My Glutes Hurt
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 6,224
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No. Save the money for your running shoe fund! 
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12-17-2007, 09:17 PM
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#8 (permalink)
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Roaming Midwesterner
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 2,832
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Yours is low. PM me for an address to send the check.
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12-17-2007, 09:27 PM
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#9 (permalink)
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dividing by zero
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Orange Cty, CA
Posts: 3,796
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water is considered "lean mass" too - so if it shows you lost lean mass, it could just be water loss
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12-18-2007, 01:49 AM
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#10 (permalink)
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Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 9
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I have some body fat scales, I would say that they are not accurate. You are better off purchasing some inexpensive Accu-Measure calipers for a more accurate test of your body fat.
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12-18-2007, 08:53 AM
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#11 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Baltimore
Posts: 1,496
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Body calipers are best in my opinion. Splurge on a good set. Also a tape measure for body measurements. I like to use photos as a way of measuring my success. I can look back on a series of monthly photos and see my progress.
Once a month I weigh myself, take my body comp, measurements of neck, waist, hips, calf, bicep, chest and phots (front, L and R side, back, close up of abdominal area from front and sides). This along with looking at my workout log helps me to judge if I'm on track.
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12-18-2007, 09:37 AM
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#12 (permalink)
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Landing Is An Issue Dept.
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: East Coast
Posts: 937
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If you weight yourself at the same time each day (probably morning is best) all those scales can do is possibly show a trend. The number itself doesn't mean much, but if it's constantly going down or up you can quickly get an idea what's happening.
As a side note, my friend and I each have a tanita scale, but different models. His shows my BF% at 12% while mine at the same time shows me at 18%. Now I usually have close to a 6 pack of abs (not ripped or anything, but clearly visible) so I don't think I'm at 18%, but also know I'm not below 10% right now. Just food for thought.
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