VP Health & Fitness

I get asked this question a lot so I thought I would post my typical answer here:

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The cheapest & most accurate way to measure your body fat is the 3-7 site caliper test. A trained professional should do this test (you can find them at your local gym. Heads up though… they will probably charge a fee).

The next best thing is the accumeasure caliper test which is a 1 site test that you can do in the privacy of your own home.  You can also use the accumeasure to do the 3-7 site test, but I don’t think you will get the precise readings as a professional.

There are just a few somewhat accurate online cicumference body fat calculators which are 2-3 (+ or - difference) that you can try as well. These are the ones that I found to be pretty close to the 3-7 site calipers, hydrostatic weighting, & BIA body fat testing and are your best bet if you dont really want to spend money on the calipers (although I do recommend it).

Fitness Buddy Body fat test at biofitness.com - claims that their method is 3.5% (+ or -) as accurate as a hydrostatic water tank test ($50 to $100) and .7% (+ or -) as accurate as a multi-site skin caliper test ($15 to $25). It’s the method that I currently use to track my body fat levels.

** I found that the “active” options was the most accurate reading to the 3-7 site calliper & BIA testing that I have done at my gym.

Active.com - pretty accurate body fat circumference body fat calculator

Body Fat Estimator at sixpacknow.com - This Body Fat Calculator will give an approximation of your current body fat levels. For visible six pack abdominals a body fat percentage of 15% or lower for women and 10% or lower for men is required.

Now, as far as calculating what part of your weight is Lean Body mass & Fat… there is a simple formula that you can use:

Excerpt from Tom Venuto’s BFFM:

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A simple test to determine your true ideal weight.

Now that you understand the importance of body fat versus body weight and you understand that height and weigh charts are worthless, how do you figure out your ideal weight? Well, first of all, it doesn’t matter what you weigh! If you are solid muscle without an ounce of visible fat on your body, do you honestly care how much you weigh?

That said, it’s still wise to have a weight goal in pounds as well as a body fat percentage goal. You can only determine a “true” ideal weight if you know your current body fat and the body fat level you want to reach.

The ideal weight formula:

To find your ideal bodyweight, you need to know your desired body fat percentage your current weight, body fat percentage, and lean mass

Then, to calculate your ideal weight, you simply divide your current lean mass by your percentage of lean mass at your target body fat percentage. The formula is:

Current Lean Mass = (1 - Desired Body Fat %)

My Example:

Weight: 189

My body fat: 29.9%

Fat weight: (BF% x total weight)

.299 x 189 = 56.51 lbs. (29.9% of 189 lbs)

Lean mass: (total weight - lbs. of fat)

189 - 56.51 = 132.4

**ULTIMATE** target body fat percentage:

Between 15% (.15) and 19% (.19)

Determine your percentage of lean mass at your target body fat by subtracting your desired body fat from 1:

(1 -.15 = .85)

(1 - .19 = .81)

Divide your current lean mass by your percentage of lean mass at your target body fat percentage to yield your ideal weight:

(132.49/.85 = 155.87)

(132.49/.81 = 163.57)

Thus, MY ideal weight at 15% - 19% body fat is between:

155 - 163 lbs

OR

If you just plain hate math, you can also use this online calculator…

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WeightBodyComp.html

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I really hope this helps.

To you health,

~ Vilma

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