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Why to Measure Body Fat & Finding A Body Fat Level That's Right for You

My goal this month is to measure body fat and to attempt to reach an 18% body fat without losing any inches off my hips, butt, or chest.

I will be following the Fatloss Toning Workout Routines Plan that I just sent out to subscribers yesterday.

I’m also going to combine this with Jayson Hunter’s Carb Rotation Eating Plan.

I am going to attempt to show women that you can lose fat while maintaining your curves IF you’re on the right workout plan and on the right eating plan.

Why Measure Body Fat vs. Just Weighing Yourself?

Now I haven’t measured my body fat in a very long time. It’s been so long that I can’t even remember but it was 21% last time my friend and co-worker Paulo used the Lange body fat calipers to measure me.

I suspect that I’m about 23% since our big move this summer, just based on how some of my clothes fit (not tight but not loose either). My weight has not fluctuated much since the fall of 2003.

I usually weigh anywhere from 118 – 122 pounds depending on what type of workouts I’m doing, how I’m eating, and how high my stress levels are. My life is pretty balanced right now so I wasn’t surprised when I stepped on my scale this morning and it read 119.7 lb. This is the reason I don’t’ rely on the scale much to determine how fat I am and you shouldn’t either.

It’s pretty much always the same for me and for many women it can fluctuate 6 pounds either way based on what you eat on any particular day, whether you’re on your period, how much water you’ve had to drink, etc. Your body can look totally different at different times of the week, month, year just based on different factors and this is why it’s more important to measure body fat from time to time than it is to use the scale every day.

Measure Body Fat with Scale, with Calipers, or Both?

I used the Omron Fatloss Monitor this morning to measure body fat. The Omron (pictured here) is a bioelectrical impedance analysis device or BIA for short and according to this not so accurate device (it’s only not so accurate when I don’t like the reading, btw) my bodyfat is 24.4%. Now based on my experience with BIA scales this reading is probably off by about 2% but it’s still a pretty good indication of where I am. We’ll see what the Lange body fat calipers say tomorrow. I’ll be posting the video of that here.

Measure Body Fat to Set Realistic Goals for Your Body

Many fitness snobs would say that a reading of 24.4% means I’m a total fatty because even though a reading of 24.4% is healthy it’s not in the fitness competitor range (10-13%).

The truth is I don’t feel the need to sport a ripped physique ever. I never have and I never will. I prefer a more normal person appearance or the Crazy Horse dancer look but that’s just me.

I can tell you from personal experience that sporting ripped manly abs to a dance audition would pretty much guarantee you would not get hired and this used to be very important to me so my goals are based on my background and preferences. Your body fat goals need to make sense to you and only you.

Only you can determine what is right for your body or in the case of dancers, actors, or fitness competitors only the director or judges can decide! Check out the two videos here and you decide what is a more realistic look for you. Like I said, I prefer the Crazy Horse dancer look or the Shakira look plus both are much easier to achieve but if you like the Fitness Competitor look then just email me and I’ll recommend a different fitness plan for you.