Tracking your fat loss progress accurately is absolutely essential if you want to reach your body composition goals. The main problem here, however, is that too many people are using the wrong method, a weight scale, to track their progress.
Well, the weight scale fails to take into account many variables that change as your body composition improves. In fact, your weight could be going up while your body fat is going down! Thus, you need an accurate way of measuring your progress in order to truly know whether or not you should stick with your program.
And not all body fat tests are created equal.
So here is a quick summary of the different methods for measuring levels of fat:
1. The pinchers. Do you remember seeing a trainer at your gym pinch a client with a plier-like contraption? Well, he was measuring the thickness of the clients skin in order to estimate levels of body fat. This type of method is extremely easy to do and very inexpensive. The only drawback is that it can be somewhat inaccurate and you need a seasoned pro to take your measurements.
2. Hydrostatic testing. Fat and lean tissues have different densities. And this test measures the density of your body to determine how much fast and muscle you have. Unfortunately, the preparation and the number of variables involved that can go wrong make this method not so attractive to the average person.
3. Bioelectrical impedance. I am sure you have seen the little gadgets with handles that you hold in your hands to get an almost immediate reading of your body fat levels. What’s the major drawback here? They are usually extremely inaccurate because they send an electrical signal through your body and too many things can interrupt the signals path.
4. X-rays. There are machines that send weak x-rays through the body to determine the ratio of fat to lean mass. Of all the methods mentioned thus far, this one is probably the best in terms of accuracy and preparation. The only issue here is cost.
Finding a good technician to take these measurements is critical. After all, a technicians ability to perform the tests accurately will dictate how valid the results are. And make sure you use the same person over and over again. This will ensure more consistent readings.
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