{"id":133605,"date":"2021-01-12T08:52:41","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T14:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=133605"},"modified":"2021-09-25T12:35:12","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T17:35:12","slug":"6-ways-to-measure-your-body-fat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/health-fitness\/health\/6-ways-to-measure-your-body-fat\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Ways to Measure Your Body Fat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"man<\/p>\n

If you’re like a lot of dudes, your goal for the coming year is \u201cto lose weight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Really though, you don\u2019t want to lose <\/span>weight<\/span><\/i>, you want to lose <\/span>fat<\/span><\/i>. And this distinction matters because it relates to how you\u2019re going to measure progress towards your goal. <\/span><\/p>\n

The most common way to measure fat loss is with a garden variety bathroom scale. But the number on a scale represents your overall body weight, which includes not only your fat, but also your muscles, bones, organs, and lots and lots of water.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because a scale doesn\u2019t only measure fat gain\/loss, it doesn\u2019t always give you an accurate picture of your progress. You may be feeling and looking trimmer, but find that you\u2019ve gained a couple pounds when you hop on the scale. So have you gained fat, or does this added weight represent a gain in muscle or water? <\/span><\/p>\n

After a weekend of eating salty restaurant food, you can put on a few pounds of impermanent water weight that you\u2019ll shed in a matter of days.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been putting on muscle, which is heavier than fat, it’s possible to look like you’ve lost weight while actually gaining it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given these fluctuations and inaccuracies, it\u2019s useful to move beyond the standard scale and isolate and track the measurement of your body fat percentage alone. Below we\u2019ll give you the rundown on the different methods that can be used to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Should My Body Fat Percentage Be?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Before we get into how to measure your body fat percentage, let\u2019s talk about the number you should be aiming for. You’ll find different charts out there giving you breakdowns of healthy-to-unhealthy body fat percentages. Here’s the body fat percentage chart from the American Council on Exercise:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Description<\/strong><\/td>\nBody fat % (women)<\/strong><\/td>\nBody fat % (men)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Athletes<\/span><\/td>\n14%\u201320%<\/span><\/td>\n6%\u201313%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fitness<\/span><\/td>\n21%\u201324%<\/span><\/td>\n14%\u201317%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Acceptable<\/span><\/td>\n25%\u201331%<\/span><\/td>\n18%\u201324%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Obesity<\/span><\/td>\n>32%<\/span><\/td>\n>25%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

These are, of course, just <\/span>general <\/span><\/i>recommendations. The big takeaway is that if you’re a dude and your body fat percentage is greater than 24%, you should probably work on losing some body fat. For insight on how to lose weight, I’d recommend the following AoM articles and podcasts:<\/span><\/p>\n