Anyone have a reliable test? I just found 2 on line and came up with very different numbers. 17 % on one and 27% on the other -the bad one 
…these damn love handles just wont go away! I just lost 25 pounds and the love handles only went down by 1 inch.
Todd
Anyone have a reliable test? I just found 2 on line and came up with very different numbers. 17 % on one and 27% on the other -the bad one …these damn love handles just wont go away! I just lost 25 pounds and the love handles only went down by 1 inch.
Todd
You can probably get a very good test at your local hospital but based on those numbers I wouldn’t worry about it for now. Get your BF% low enough that you can visually tell that you are probably single digits and THEN go get the test. Until that point save the money and keep working on the love handles!
I was not planning on losing too much more weight, I may be stuck with these!
Use calipers but don’t try to compute it into a number. Just record whatever the caliper says and work to reduce those numbers.
Anyone have a reliable test?
I use the Navy Body Fat formula, which seems reasonable accurate.
…these damn love handles just wont go away! I just lost 25 pounds and the love handles only went down by 1 inch.
Sorry to tell you, but that’s totally to be expected.
There is fat marbled throughout all of your muscles. It’s that fat which gets burned off first.
Your love handles will be the very last things to go.
I had a Bod Pod test done about 6 weeks ago. They claim it’s as accurate as a dunk test and simplier to do.
I have a Tanita inductive scale at home that I’ve been using for years. It was off by 50% compared to the Bod Pod:-( I wasn’t expecting accuracy from the scale but didn’t expect it to be off that much. The Bod Pod said I was twice as “fat” as the scale did.
every body fat test has its limitations and there is no way to get a 100% accurate reading. Mirrors work best 
DEXA bone density scans can also give a measurement of body fat.
Your doctor will probably not order one for the sake of a body fat test, however.
Skinfold calipers, done by someone who is trained and has experience using them, are pretty accurate.
good job losing 25 pounds!
Hate mirrors!
Get the dunk test; it’s very accurate and not too expensive–45 bucks at University of Illinois Chicago if you’re in the area. Dexiscan is the bomb and the most accurate, but crazy expensive. Calipers are pretty decent, but can’t measure the intramuscular fat. The electrical resistance ones pretty much are garbage, or at least the one I had experience with was–it would fluctuate wildly from day to day: 6% one day, 21% the next. Maybe they’ve improved some.
It’s wicked depressing to find out what the real % is. I’ve lost 33 pounds and am just down the love handles too–it’s driving me nuts!
If you’re trying to loose or gain weight then regular tracking of your body fat % can tell you what it is you are gaining or loosing, or give you a better estimate of a goal weight.
I’m not such a fan of calipers. There is just too much room for user error. My brother is one of the best I’ve ever seen with calipers and his measurements still differ on the same person from trial to trail on the same day. Of course everyone THINKS they are good with calipers.
Dunk tests are accurate if a strict testing protocol is followed. The more you evacuate your bowels and fast before the test the more accurate it will be. You also need to make a good effort at breathing out all your air. My wife measured 19% in the tank and then 29% using BEI the same hour. So I’d agree that the tanita scales are useless.
The BodPod is simply not reliable. The testing protocols are too difficult. If you’ve got air trapped in your swim suit or facial hair it’s going to be off.
I’ve recently read a lot about testing using ultrasound. It’s commercially available as Bodymetrix. It compares favorably to DEXA (the real gold standard, despite the marketing from hydrostatic testers) and makes no requirements about hydration or how recently you’ve worked out. The only problem is not many people offer it.
This is a good study about different methods aimed at testing the ultrasound equipment http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/Produkte.asp?doi=10.1159/000111161&typ=pdf