you on a body recomposition Journey or a weight loss or just a fat loss journey and you're
wondering what your body fat percentage is but you don't necessarily want to be pinched by calipers
you don't want to pay for an expensive smart scale or a dexa scan in this video I'm going to quickly
explain what body fat percentage is what it means if body fat percentage is important to know when
you're tracking your progress on a weight loss or a fat loss journey and I'll show you a quick way
that you can check your body fat percentage at home to track your progress on your body
recomp or weight loss Journey without calipers or a fancy smart scale we're going to Dive Right In
but if you're new here make sure you subscribe to my channel and hit that Bell so you get a
notification when I release a new video just like this one every single week my name is Michelle
Roots kinesiologist personal trainer nutrition coach and fitness and fat loss motivation
specialist I have over 16 years experience in the industry helping people decrease body fat
increase lean muscle to become the strongest best healthiest versions of themselves and I created
this channel so I could help you as well first things first what is your body fat percentage
what does that even mean basically body fat percentage is referring to your body composition
oh hi so body composition is basically the amount of fat you have compared to your lean tissue so
lean tissue being muscles bones body water and organs so many people only use the scale to
track their progress on a weight loss or even a body recomposition Journey but this is where the
scale is not going to tell you everything which if you've watched probably any other video on
my channel already you have already learned this that scale is not the be-all and end-all and that
number does not define you can you say throw your scale out the window then down the window
when it comes to your body composition this is the real true definition of your overall health
because really you could be any number on the scale but if you have a higher body fat percentage
you're more likely at risk for things like heart disease high blood pressure diabetes and
other obesity related diseases so with that being said is it mandatory that you know your body fat
percentage for the average person I'm gonna say no it's not mandatory the average person especially
people who come to me for their in-person or online coaching their main goal is usually to see
either weight loss get stronger build some lean muscle decrease body fat AKA a body recomposition
they're not necessarily coming in and saying I want a lower body fat percentage in the end they
are all just numbers and these numbers do not define you and I would say the average person
unless you are at risk for some body composition related diseases that's when that number would
become important especially to your doctor but for the average person healthy individual just looking
to look a little bit leaner and see some muscle definition and decrease say the size of their
body I don't think knowing that number is really really important however if you are only using the
scale to track your progress not a smart scale I mean like your body weight to track your progress
then yes body fat percentage would be important but this is also where measurements can help
pictures can help how strong you're getting in the gym how you feel your energy levels your sleep
all of these things are also great measures of progress I've shared many progress pictures from
my online and in-person coaching clients where the scale might not have moved at all but their body
looks completely different body fat percentage is similar because in a way it's not a hundred
percent accurate so there's a few different ways you can measure your body fat percentage
many people use calipers where you are actually pinching your skin folds and coming up with your
body fat percentage that way the problem with that is that it's not a hundred percent accurate it's a
great ball ballpark because there's a wider room for error in your measurements on a regular basis
there's other ways that are a little bit more accurate underwater weighing is probably one of
the most accurate but not necessarily accessible to the average person just want to take a minute
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at drinkelement.com backslash Michelle this deal is only available through my link you must go to
d-r-i-n-k-l-m-n-t.com backslash Michelle there's also something called a dexa scan which I've
actually done before just for fun and that's where it shows you your muscle your bone and your body
fat and then there's what's called bioelectrical impedance so that's the smart scale you might
have at your house or when you go to the gym and someone makes you grab these handles and stand
on this platform it sends an electric current through your body and it's measuring your body
fat that way but the accuracy of the bioelectrical impedance could depend on the time of day how much
food is in your body how much water you took in and if you recently worked out so just like the
simple simple way I'm going to show you in a minute all of these numbers are just kind of
estimations and not accurate 100 which is why it's just one of the forms of measurement that we use
hi so in conclusion after all of that if your focus is a body recomposition and if you don't
know what body recomposition is and you have no idea why I keep saying that check out this video
right here I'll link that in the description below but basically increasing lean muscle
decreasing body fat in order to decrease your body fat percentage and appear leaner to see
um a change in the shape of your body versus just seeing the number go down on the scale so if you
were to choose between using just the scale or body fat percentage I definitely choose body fat
percentage but please remember to use other forms as well so one thing a lot of people forget is
that body fat is actually essential for survival and your body does need a little bit of body fat
so body fat protects your internal organs and is a form of energy stool so let's just pull up
this chart quickly to see the average body fat percentage of each individual depending on your
goal again I hate comparing yourself to others or chasing a specific number but this is just a
ballpark something to refer to so as you can see for women it's as essential fat so what essential
fat means is basically the minimal amount of fat your body needs for survival so you want to
be at least 10 to 12 percent body fat and then if you are looking to achieve that really lean
um bodybuilder type um super super lean definition you want to aim to be around the athlete option so
14 to 20 percent and for men it's about six to 13 and then there's Fitness which is also very
very healthy and sits around 21 to 24 and 14 to 17 for men and then for women acceptable meaning
you are healthy you are not in a position where you might be putting yourself at risk for body
composition related diseases you're at 25 to 31 and then for men it's 18 to 25 we're looking
at overall body fat percentage you want to make sure you're tracking Trends just like the scale
the scale goes up and down like this often as well as body fat percentage could be off by
a few percent every time you measure so do your best to maybe keep your measurements consistent
so whether it's every second Monday morning right when you wake up after you've gone pee
with nothing in your system that is a great time and to keep it consistent as you can for
the best results for accuracy but just remember it's still going to kind of not be 100 accurate
so you can track your Trends over the course of six months and see if you're on a downward
Trend so now I'm going to show you a quick way that you can measure your body fat percentage at
home if you're just curious you've never done it before and you're kind of curious as to what your
current body fat percentage is I'm going to show you how to do it right now so one of the easiest
way to measure your body fat percentage at home is using the US Navy formula so all you need to know
is your weight your height and for women you need a measurement around your neck your waist and your
hips and for men we're just looking at the waist and neck measurement so just for fun I'll show you
how to do the calculation using my own body fat percentage let's measure mine so first I'm going
to start by using a measuring tape and I'm going to measure around my waist at the narrowest point
so there's a few options here when I am measuring on clients I always feel for what's called their
iliac crest so the top of their hip bones and that would be the waist at the narrowest point
but if you are new to this just choose a position that is going to be the most accurate like next
time you test which often might just be the belly button your belly button usually isn't
going to move much so you can also use your belly button next I'm going to take my hips
at their widest point so the biggest part of the butt I'm going to go around my hips
measure that and type it in and then next I'm going to go around my neck at the narrowest point
and add that into the calculator so my weight I'm probably around 149 to 150 pounds right now
so we'll just type in 150 pounds and my height is five foot eight so all I'm going to do is hit
calculate and there you go that is my estimated body fat percentage with my fat mass and lean
mass and then my body fat category so I'll put a link in the description below as to where you can
find that calculator online and just remember this just like the scale is not the be all and end all
to know if you're making progress in your fitness journey pictures overall measurements measurements
of your arm your chest your waist your hips your thighs all of these things are you getting
stronger in the gym are you feeling better are you making healthier food choices to live a longer
healthier happier life are you drinking more water are you sleeping better are your clothes fitting
better all of these things are also great measures of progress and if you are in a body recomposition
journey I talk much more about this and how to track your progress and how to know if if your
body recomposition is working if the scale isn't going down I posted that video a few weeks ago if
you want to go check that out after this one I'll link that in the description below so as always
I hope this video was helpful quick easy way to get an estimated body fat percentage and if you
are someone who uses a smart scale all the time it might be cool to do it this way as well and
compare it with what your smart scale is saying at home and see how much of a difference there is
between the two measurements if you need help with the body recomposition or decreasing your body fat
percentage and getting stronger and leaner you can check out my eight week beginner friendly
strength training program I have an option for the gym or for just using dumbbells at home
whether you prefer a three-day split or a four day split all are there and I'll link those in
the description below as well as to where you can find out more about that and if you're looking for
more personalized help from me in your workouts and your nutrition to really lock in and reach
your goals I'll put a link below as well as to where you can find out more about working with
me one-on-one in my online Fitness and Nutrition coaching program and forget if you're new here
hit that subscribe button and should they give it a thumbs up yeah give it a thumbs up if you
enjoyed this information and as always have a great week and we'll see you in the next one
can you say thanks for watching
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