Hi all
I'm new here. I have seen that lots of you are dieters - has anyone tried the body fat monitors? I need new scales and thought I'd try them but don't know how reliable they are.
If I stand on one leg and lean to the right, I can be about 2 pounds lighter on my old scales :)

no too scared! probaly be about 100%!!
scales are funny! try taking them into different rooms!

LOL... that's why I don't want my body fat measured!!

The only reason I want to measure mine is coz i've recently joined the gym!!! I've eaten carefully, wlaked my dog (Dobe) and been to the gym - so far I've put on a pound :( My daughter says I've turned fat into muscle so i want to see !

The only fat monitor  have is relaltives, dear god Emma youve been eating well. Im only 9 stone.

9 stone?  That's my left leg........

Hello

I used to be a personal trainer and you will be pleased to know that muscle is heavier than fat!! So you haven't put on weight your body shape will change and you will tone up.
When I first started exercising I weighed in at 9 1/2 stone when I was competing (I used to kick box) I weighed 10 1/2 stone of pure muscle!! I had a great figure though.
Now I have arthritus and havent been able to exercise for four months and Im down to 9 stone...?? Very confusing I know but it goes to show you that you mustn;t be down about it, throw away the scales as they are pretty useless you should judge more on dress size.
Hope I help :)
x

Evie, have you checked with the gym you've joined to see if they've got a body fat monitor ?. Mine does, I would have thought most would. Mine uses it as part of the fitness assesment when you join and afterwards to check how things are going.

val

Thanks all esp - Blondieflops and Arched. I can see the difference in my cloths and in the mirror however I have to loose about 3 stones according to the charts. If all that turns to muscle I'll look like a body builder!!! At what point will I start to weigh less?

I'm a firm believer in NO SCALES!  Mine got thrown away when my daughter starting weighing herself every single day.  What is weight?  It's just a number.  Previously tight fitting clothes and how you feel is far more healthier than having a live up (or down) to a weight chart.  Value yourself for what you are and NOT a number on a BMI index.  If you eat reasonably, exercise regularly and have good health then enjoy it rather than subscribing to an ideal.

I agree with you completely but it does give you a lift if you see the numbers on a scale go down! I have tried to weigh myself only once a month. I lost just over a stone and was delighted. I started at the gym to tone up and bought a pedometer. Since then I've gained a pound in 3 weeks!!! :(

Two Ideas for you evie :D (whats the code for 'evil grin' ? )

If you lean from side to side and backwards while on the scales you'll find the best method of seeing the numbers go down :D :D :D (then you can see how useless the thing is and put it in the bin :D :D :D)

Mirror + Clothes = Body Fat monitor :D :D :D

Enjoy your workouts at the gym and feeling healthy and fit - and like the others say stop worrying about the numbers, you'll know when you've lost weight by the feel of your clothes :) :)

The best trick is to weigh yourself first thing in the morning, after peeing etc (sorry to be a bit basic) - you'll find you are 2-3 pounds lighter than you were the night before lol :)

& try to do the other too vicki! that can be really heavy! ;)

My other half (who is an all natural body builder) thinks the body fat monitors/scales you can buy on the high street are a load of old tosh..... although he still bought a set! He is a little obsessed with his body fat because of sport he's into, but the scales we have show his body fat fluctuating between by 5-10% at successive measurements. In my opinion, I think they are EVIL EVIL EVIL but perhaps thats because I don't have a body like Halle Berry!

The only way to get a true measure of your body fat is to have it done properly at a clinic, although this is not a standard routine, so I suspect you will have to pay for it.  He finds the best way to monitor his fat levels are to take physical meaurements using a measuring tape and a mirror.

I hope this helps,
Lu x

Hi Evie,

I have body fat monitoring scales at home and I don't find they fluctuate too much, so if you wanted an idea of what you are now, and then wanted to measure your body fat in a month or two then I'd say they'd be fairly accurrate.  Having said that, I do get obsessed with weighing myself at home, and even though I get weighed at Weight Watchers every week, I'd say that I weigh myself probably 15 times a week.  Don't get drawn into it the same way I have!  I got my scales from Argos, they were £50 and measure your weight in 0.2lb, which is very helpful when you've not been that good but can see you've still lost 0.2lb!  Good luck with the dieting x

Hi all
Thanks for all your input. I'll probably still get some scales. I've never been into fitness except walking the dogs. Now at the ripe old age of 51, I've joined a gym, bought a fitbug (pedometer) and I'm really enjoying it all. I hope I don't get obsessive :D I expect I will cos I've been spotted doing laps of the dinning table in order to notch up a few more steps on the fitbug!!!