could it be the test??

[Phemomena]

hehe knew that would get someone's attention....

no, not that test... here's the deal

i've been stuck at 20% body fat for what seems like months... i've upped my cardio, played with my diet, (ate more, less, different ratios)... i lift heavy weights for my size, go till fatigue... blah blah blah... yet no change on that stupid little number... ARRRGHH... i've even lost a little weight over the past month (a pound whoo hoo.. down to 110 now...)...

now here's the real kicker... i'm (by my own humble opinion )looking better every week... i can see my abs, they're pretty cut up today, even during my monthly.. i can see cuts everywhere (even on my legs)... anyone who eyeballs me estimates me at 12-15%

it's frustrating me till no end that everytime i go in there to get my BIA done it always reads the same... i know, if i'm looking better why complain or even bother, its just a number, but what i want to know is how accurate is this number....

here's how they do the BIA at my gym (Bio-electrical impedence analysis)... electrodes on left foot and left hand (top of foot and back of hand)... measurements taken twice and averaged... then stuck into the computer based on some magical formula that takes these values, along with my sex, height, and weight into account and out comes that little STUPID number...

could it be the formula they're using is inaccurate? are they doing the test properly (i've tried to look it up and found one reference that the electrodes should be on opposite hand and foot, would it make a difference)... is this test even accurate? (i read an article on it in M&F hers a bit ago and it contradicted itself by saying it was accurate, but then later that it wasn't accurate)... could the eca that i'm taking throw it off even if i havent' taken any in 12ish hours? any other ideas of the factors of error ?(i know hydration, bladder status, monthly cycle can effect)... Any other thoughts...

i'm not really stressing over this, i was trying to wait until i reached a magic number (15%) before i started a cycle of anavar, but now i'm just thinking i'll do it when my body's ready and its gettin' real close...

phem

 

[Phemomena]

I know whatcha saying... i mean... as i said, its just a number, but i'm just curious... i mean maybe its just a ploy that my gym has to not let anyone go below x%lest they think that they don't need to be there or something

what bothers me is that the number doesn't change... i see changes in my body and that number isn't moving in months... it puzzles me more than anything else...

 

[BigEasy]

Hmmm, I know!!!! Visuals say getting leaner + workouts MORE intense + harder and more vascular = Electro Impedance BF meter BROKEN!!!

Actually the portable BF meters are worthless unless the person operating knows what they are doing and CALIBRATE it every few uses. Not to mention the electrodes must be maintained and replaced regularly.

Find someone that knows how to use calipers. With several successive measurements you will get a pretty accurate #.

BE

 

[Phemomena]

calipers said i was about 18% about 6 months ago... i'm much leaner now... havent' had a pinch test in a while... i hate them though ... i end up with pinch bruises

well i'll get someone to do a pinch on me sometime next week... not that i care, i'm looking great and feeling better, but hey... hant hurt to have a number worth gloating about (j/k)

 

[new@gettinbig]

I have found weighing and all that number shit is very fustrating and drives me nuts! Yeah once in a while I like to know my bodyfat, before a show etc, but its just a number! Our society is so captured by figures of weight etc and instead of that you should go by how you look in the mirror, how your clothes fit and how you feel! You know when you added some weight etc, My next show is at the end of Sept, and I have put on a few lbs and clothes are snug, but now I am back to the old dieting and soon it will be a thing of the past, do i want to know my bf??? HELL NO! Dont be discouraged by numbers, there is always room for error and so many different factors, go by the mirror!

 

[Liberator]

Hey Phemomena, whats up?

At my last gym I got my bodyfat calculated using the same method, BIA, it came out at 14% bf, I couldnt believe it, I could see my abs, vein across my biceps and thought I was way leaner. Anyway I continued thinking what the hell I am bulking anyway and then about a month later I got them done using calipers, I was between 8 and 9% and yet I had put on about 4lbs or so.

Anyway in the end I decided to goto the Dr's, so he measured me using calipers and I am officially today 8% and I have not altered my diet in anyway since the BIA test.

In my opinion the BIA method is too un-predictable and I will never use it again.

 

[Phemomena]

Hey Phemomena, whats up?

At my last gym I got my bodyfat calculated using the same method, BIA, it came out at 14% bf, I couldnt believe it, I could see my abs, vein across my biceps and thought I was way leaner. Anyway I continued thinking what the hell I am bulking anyway and then about a month later I got them done using calipers, I was between 8 and 9% and yet I had put on about 4lbs or so.

Anyway in the end I decided to goto the Dr's, so he measured me using calipers and I am officially today 8% and I have not altered my diet in anyway since the BIA test.

In my opinion the BIA method is too un-predictable and I will never use it again.

hey lib... great to hear someone else has had issues with this test... i think i'll stay away from it too...

thanks for all the support guys... i know it aint nothing but a number and i no longer stress over it... (the first two times it was very frustrating, but now that i'm convinced its wrong i'd just like to know why)... and even IF it was right... so what!!! i still look good and i'm proud