Measuring your body fat levels is one of the best ways to keep track of your progress and make sure you are moving in the right direction towards your goals. Although there are many ways to measure your body fat percentage none of them are fool proof and they all have their pros and cons which are mainly related to their accuracy and how much they cost. When choosing a method for measuring the amount of fat that your body is made up of there will usually have to be a trade-off between accuracy and the amount of money you are willing to spend.

We will now have a look at some of the best methods out there for finding out how fat you really are!

Using Measuring Tape to Keep Track of Your Fat Loss

This is the most basic method and probably the cheapest. If you can find a regular tape measure laying around the house it won’t even cost you a thing. But as with most things that are free it isn’t necessarily the best way. The method is to simply measure your body at certain points such as your chest, belly and arms and then compare the measurements over set periods of time.

While this method is practically free and very easy to do it can give misleading results if you are also training with weights because as you add muscle the measurements might start to go up as you get bigger even though you have less fat. Perhaps this method is best used for those who are very overweight and are only initially training for fat loss rather than adding muscle.

Calculating Your Body Fat Levels with Skin Fold Calipers

This tool measures the fat under your skin at various points around the body by pinching the excess skin and fat to give you an overall reading of your body fat percentage. You need to take the measurements at specific points on your body and ensure you are taking the readings from the same points each time you use the calipers. The good news is that calipers are cheap to buy and are fairly easy to use if you know what you are doing. The bad news is that unless you have read the instructions fully then the chances of you getting an accurate reading are slim. But when it comes down to cost versus accuracy these are probably the best of the bunch.

Digital Body Fat Scales

These are like your regular bathroom scales except that they can also measure your body composition including how much of your body consists of fat: i.e. your body fat percentage. By sending an electrical current around your body they can measure how much resistance it faces which is caused by the fat in your body. They cost more than calipers but are much easier to use and read as you just stand on them and check the display but their results aren’t the most accurate and their calculations can vary depending on many factors such as hydration levels and how much of the body they measure.  This makes them difficult to get an accurate reading on or track your progress reliably.

Ultrasound Body Composition Measurement Tool

Now we are moving into the more advanced technology which can give much more accurate readings but with accuracy comes a higher price and ultrasound body composition measurements tools like the BodyMetrix Personal are no exception. They are very simple to use as you just hold the handheld device and move it over the body where it will use ultrasound to record the thickness of fat or muscle anywhere on the body. The recordings are then uploaded to your computer where the calculations will be made and then the data will be presented to you using graphs and other methods. You get lots of different data from these devices such as your weight, your body mass index, your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

If you are doing any kind of personal training this is a great tool to have as you can give your clients loads of great information about their bodies and the progress they are making under your expert tutelage. Even if you are just a keen trainer they are worth a look as they are the best way to take readings and remove the element of human error.

Which One is Best For You?

It is likely that your budget will determine which option you go for as although the Ultrasound measuring tool is the best it is considerably more expensive than the calipers which deliver great results if they are used correctly. If you want to impress your clients then you might be able to justify the high price of the BodyMetrix Personal Ultrasound tool but if a simple body fat percentage reading will suffice then we recommend you get a pair of calipers.

To view the current best-selling calipers click here now.