In Episode 6, I wrote about 4 ways to track your fitness progress properly. In this episode, I will be discussing the difference between Fat vs weight loss.
The difference between Fat and weight
Fat is the amount of fat you have in your body when you minus muscle, water, bones, etc.
Weight is your fat +muscle +water, bones, etc.
If you are someone trying to lose weight, you should focus more on losing fat than weight.
Don’t focus too much on the number on the scale because it can be anything from fat to muscle and it doesn’t tell the full story of how you are progressing.
To check if you are progressing properly, check out this article.
How to measure your weight vs Fat
- To measure your weight, you will need a bodyweight scale to know how much your body weighs.
- To measure your body fat, however, it’s a different story. You can measure your fat in various ways.
One of the ways is to get a bodyweight scale that also measures your body fat. A body fat scale works by using sensors underneath your feet that use bioelectrical impedance.
To understand fully how the body fat scale works, please check out this article from Healthline.
- Another way is to take a Dexa scan. Dexa stands for Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. This can be done by booking an appointment through your doctor. Ask your doctor if they provide a Dexa scan.
The Dexa works by sending a low x-ray beam that accounts for two compositions within your body, one calculates soft tissue and the other calculates bone.
The scan provides you with a depth analysis showing your fat, water, muscle, etc. To know the in-depth details of the scan, read more about it here.
- Another way to measure your fat is to get a body fat caliper.
A body fat caliper works by clipping the parts of your body and then taking those measurements to calculate how much fat you have. Below are how measurements are taken for both men & women.
For males:
- Chest: half the distance between the armpit and the nipple.
- Abdominal: vertical fold 2cm to the right of the navel.
- Thigh: half the distance between the kneecap and the top of the thigh.
For females:
- Tricep: vertical fold at the midpoint of the back of the tricep between the shoulder & elbow with the arm relaxed at the side.
- Suprailiac: diagonal fold above the hip bone.
- Thigh: half the distance between the kneecap and the top of the thigh.
To know how to use a body fat caliper in detail, check out this YouTube video for men & this YouTube video for women.
These videos will show & teach you how to properly use a body fat caliper to measure your body fat.
Please follow through with the video and write down your measurements so that you can later use them to determine your body fat.
Then after watching the above video, use this website to calculate how much body fat your body has.
You will use the measurements you took while watching either of the above YouTube videos to add to the website. This will give you your body fat results.
Tracking your fat loss instead of your weight loss is the most accurate way to know your fitness progress.
I highly advise that from now on, start measuring your progress using how much fat you have rather than weight in general.
This is it for this episode. In the next episode, I will be discussing the 6 effective ways to lose fat.
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P. S
Juventinius The Great
