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Any FatSecret buddies have any experience measuring body fat with calipers? My sister gave me a caliper to measure my body fat for my birthday. Unfortunately, when I opened it and read the instructions, I discovered that in order to get overall accurate measurements I'd have to have another person do it because some of the areas you can't reach on your own. My bad, I didn't realize that when I put it on my Amazon wish list. I'm thinking about returning it and getting an Omron body fat loss monitor. "I also have caliper type pinchers and found them too inconsistent (unless you can pinch the same exact spot each time)," says one reviewer."...WAY more accurate than calipers...made me buy it." If you believe the caliper measurement I took at my abdomen, I'm below competition leanness (15 percent) at 12.5. Not sure I believe that. Got in about eight-and-a-half hours sleep although I kept waking and falling back asleep. The North American Healthcare foot rocker for my plantar fasciitis arrived. The device promises a lot of benefits to my legs and back for using this device. Also arriving, the fitness bands for working out my thighs. The green (light) band is good for high reps because it's easy. I've been pushing back with my arms (isometric). This seems like a more measurable way to do the thigh strengthening in "Weights for 50+: Building Strength, Staying Healthy and Enjoying an Active Lifestyle." The Yoga block is for doing one of the leg strengthening exercises in "Weights for 50+." The blind in the front room has cut down on the amount of light in the front room but it's not oppressive. Temperature went way down outside last night and the bedroom hit 77 which is the lowest it's been in a while. Bought a pair of running shorts to exercise in. Sometimes regular shorts are too restrictive and binding. One reason my feet are bothering me: my socks are too tight. I'm surprised the compression hasn't caused me more problems. I was trying to cut my toenails and the clipper handle broke off. Either I've I've got a great grip or my toenails are really tough. I suspect it's the latter. I want to insert the Dr. Scholl's custom orthotics in my shoes. I neglected to do my wrist curls yesterday as well as my stand-ups. Will try to catch up tomorrow. I'm thinking about getting a mat to put under the rowing machine to protect the carpet - not that it is in that great a shape anyway. I tried to find a way to track my mileage/yardage on a map online but I haven't found such a thing. Today is an up day for the 4:3 diet. I'm still losing weight but so far I don't have much wrinkling to show for it. That may be because of the exercise. The bad news is that I estimate more to go before I start seeing a six pack or whatever. I'm not seeing much definition at all. For dinner I had a feta and diced tomato pizza on naan bread.
Diet Calendar Entry for 17 July 2014:
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1160 kcal
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Fat: 44.10g | Prot: 33.74g | Carb: 157.99g.
Breakfast: Kroger Lactose Free Fat Free Half & Half, Sugar, Celestial Seasonings India Spice Chai Tea, Planters NUT-rition Heart Healthy Mix, Amy's Black Bean Burrito. Lunch: Hunt's Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano, Athenos Natural Crumbled Feta Cheese, Indian Flatbread Naan. Dinner: Ocean Spray 100% Juice Cranberry & Pomegranate. Snacks/Other: Weight Watchers Light String Cheese. more...
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 Comments
Might want to talk with Draglist. I do know northernmusician uses them, but he's out of contact for a few more days but will be back this weekend, I think.
17 Jul 14 by member: ClassicRocker
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Hey Chris, I've been using the $15 plastic calipers for about 3 months or so. They work great. I have 2 different scales that use BIA to measure fat percentage, one of them very expensive. I don't like the BIA method. It is more a measure of your hydration. I've experimented with dehydrating myself for a day and weighing the next morning, and super hydrating myself (so much that I woke up several times in the night to use the bathroom) and go vastly different results. Plus if your scale or other BIA device doesn't have "regular" and "lean" modes, it will stop being accurate when you cross that line. I was around 26% body fat and the scale was in the neighborhood, but when I go to around 19%, the scale without a "lean" mode couldn't accurately measure me any more.
Enter the calipers, yes they take a little practice to get started with them, but once you get the hang of it, I think it is much more accurate. I spent about an hour taking the one measurement at an angle to the side of my belly-button like the instructions showed. I practiced so much that I bruised myself, but now it is automatic.
I always do it at the same time on the same day and take 5 measurements so I can average them, but 3-4 of them always come out the same. It's really not as hard as people say and I believe the single place measurement technique is accurate enough. And the fact that when I'm strict on my diet plan, I see progress, but when I'm lax (like the last month) I don't see progress.
So I say keep the calipers, learn to use them in that one location between your belly-button and top of the hip bone and go for it. It's kind of a "ready, fire, aim" thing.
18 Jul 14 by member: pmjeff21
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pmjeff21, thanks for all the good info. Based on what you say, I will keep the calipers and continue practicing with them. The Omron is only $25 so I will give it a whirl as a backup/alternative. I will try your dehydration experiment. The Omron is a dedicated, handheld device so it doesn't measure weight. I'm trying to get my body fat as low as healthy, partly to see definition if any shows up, partly to get as much weight off my feet, partly because studies show people on low-calorie diets live longer.
18 Jul 14 by member: ChrisComedy
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Return them. They are a pain to use and are only reliable for someone who uses them all the time and when the same person measures you.
18 Jul 14 by member: jparlett
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jparlett, I might do that but it's a gift from my sister. It's like that Christmas sweater your granny gives you.
18 Jul 14 by member: ChrisComedy
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did you know if you pinch the same place over and over, the fat will grow thinner at that place? no it is not gone, just shifted :( another cat in the bag if you ask me... the only accurate fat meter is your brain!
18 Jul 14 by member: puhpine
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puhpine, LOL, really? If so, I should have a very skinny spot on my side from the last 3+ months... ;-)
18 Jul 14 by member: pmjeff21
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