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Buddabing:
Hello,

I started working with a personal trainer about six weeks ago and I did my first set of measurements this week.

I made some nice progress; half an inch off the waist, half an inch off the thighs, and half an inch off the hips. Plus my "recovery pulse" was lower, etc.

But one number was off. My body fat, which was 22% six weeks ago, was measured at 23.8%! Although my diet is poor and my weight went up two pounds over the six weeks, I still did not expect body fat percentage to increase.

The device they use is a little hand-held gadget, gripped in both hands, that has some kind of sensor in the palms of the grips.

My question is, how accurate are those doodads compared to getting in the tank or being measured by calipers?

TIA,
Buddabing

ChadTower:

Nothing is near the accuracy of the water immersion method.  Nothing is nearly as expensive and requires all that time and equipment, either.

The calipers method is good for an experienced person measuring someone else.  It's way too easy to fudge the pressure on yourself to be a reasonable method for someone in the 20%+ range.  You'd be able to get a 5% range just with a small amount of squeezing or not squeezing.

The bioimpedance method is good for getting a baseline of where you are, i.e. "I'm at 22%".  I've never had great luck with it for tracking small changes over time as you're doing and I have definitely experienced exacly what you have said.  I've gone down in weight, up in muscle measurements, down in waist size, only to see a 2% bodyfat increase in the same period.  Somehow that one % number destroys your positive image of what you have accomplished, too.  You can have 20 good numbers but if that one is bad you feel like you failed.

My best advice is to ignore that reading.  Bioimpedance can be affected by so many simple things like time of day or hydration level.  Focus on the more tangible measurements in the short term and only use the bodyfat level as a long term measurement over many weeks or months.  If your "fat place" measurements are going down and your weight is going up, you are doing well.

CCM:
I don't know how accurate those things are, but if you are serious about getting in shape you MUST get your diet in order.

Here's a link dealing with body fat calculation methods:

http://www.annecollins.com/body-fat-calculators.htm

KenToad:
Yeah, don't worry about the arbitrary and likely inaccurate body fat calculations.  Glad to hear you've started a regime.  Keep it up!

And avoid Corn Syrup. 

Buddabing:
The funny thing is that I don't appear any different to myself. Same beer gut. But I feel better, no more persistent lower back pain. The trainer says that strengthening the abs tends to help back pain because the back muscles have to do less work.

Changing diet may be difficult. The trainer says to have several small meals each day. Easier said than done. My co-worker in the cube next door used to drink "delicious shakes" between meals. I think he got the ones you put in a blender with some ice. How good are those? Having a "delicious shake" at 3:00 or so really would help the between-meal snacking urges. And do vitamins/minerals/ other supplements help at all?

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