• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • New? Start Here!

RunToTheFinish

Online Running Coach for All Paces, All Ages

  • Training
    • Beginner Half Marathon Training
    • Sub Two Half Marathon Training
    • Marathon Training
    • New Runner Tips
    • Low Heart Rate Training
    • Group Run Coaching
    • Nutrition for Runners
  • Running Injuries
  • Gear Reviews
  • Work Together
    • Online Run Coaching
    • 1-1 Coaching
    • Brand Partnerships
  • Shop
    • Book
    • Book Tour
    • IT Band Solution
    • LHR Training Plans
  • Blog

Body Fat Measurement Tools and Pictures

5shares

Running and weight loss, they seem to go together like rama lama ding dong. But the truth is most of us hit a point where the running stops resulting in a scale drop and our first reaction is to run more or throw out the scale.

Then we read really smart blogs (eh hem) about how we need to cross train and what it takes to be a lean mean speedy runner.

And we realize that damn scale is a liar, we’re making all kinds of progress. BUT we still want some way to measure it and prove to ourselves our body is changing. Now I’m not saying everyone runs to change their body, but I’ve talked to enough of you to know it’s A LOT.

So let me introduce you to…

Body Fat.measure body fat

WHAT BODY FAT MEANS

It’s easy to forget that one number on the scale can look VERY DIFFERENT depending on height, muscle tone and other genetic factors.

In my case going by body fat helped me to see that while I had dropped pounds, I was also losing some muscle and become what we used to dub “skinny fat”. Meaning I look lean, but my body fat says I need to make some changes!

Body composition assessment can: identify health risks,evaluate how well current exercise and nutrition program is working, provide a better understand of weight by breaking out fat and muscle.

Most standard charts categorize body fat percentage this way:Body Fat Chart - Click to learn more about what it means and how to measureI’m ECSTATIC to say that since I started lifting consistently I’ve seen a couple major changes:

  • I’m definitely burning more calories (it’s out I didn’t gain weight on that cruise!)
  • My massage therapist said my muscles have filled out
  • I can see better definition in my shoulders
  • My abdominal body fat is finally dropping

What kind of lifting I’m doing I will share in the coming months because honestly…it’s changed…and it shocked me!

All of these women are right around 130 lbs, but look very different.

All of them are beautiful with their different body shapes and physiques. They also prove that the scale needs to be just one measurement health. And yes that’s Beyoncé and Katy Perry in the mix because they are real women and role models I wanted to include them.body fat picturesA scale isn’t a bad tool and I definitely still step on mine occasionally as I go through training cycles or dietary changes, but after many years I finally understand it’s just one measurement and certainly doesn’t provide the whole picture.

Does Your Body Fat Percentage Matter?

Yes and No.

It all depends on your goals!

  • If you feel amazing and your health is on track, then who cares?!
  • If you’re working out and not seeing the scale budge, maybe this is a better metric.
  • Do you need motivation to keep weight training (ME!!), this might help.
  • Do you love how you look and how you perform? Doesn’t matter then!
  • Have a friend who keeps wanting to drop pounds they shouldn’t? Muscle fitness progress might be a better gauge for them, so they can get strong and healthy vs being scale obsessed.
What does 130 lbs look like? Find out how body fat can change you more than the scale! #health Click To Tweet

How to Measure Body Fat at Home?

The most accurate methods tend to involve paying someone else {Bod Pod, Hydrostatic weighing}, but we don’t all have the time to do that consistently, which makes gauging progress a little more difficult and thus for many by bye motivation.

Here are how the at home body fat measurement methods stack up.

Handheld monitor
After inputting all your data, you hold this little analyzer for a few seconds while a system called bio electrical impedance analysis measures BF.

“Muscle tissue in your body contains a high percentage of water, while body fat contains virtually no water. Because water conducts electricity, the ease at which the current passes through your body determines your body fat percentage.”

No you don’t feel anything. Yes it’s more accurate than an online tool. No it’s still not perfect, but like the scale provides a consistent method of measurement.

Bathroom scale
While the actual measurement of body fat from one of these scales is usually wrong, if this is the method that you will use consistently then it still works because you can at least see if you are making progress downward with the body fat presented.

Skulpt Aim Review
I am SUPER thrilled about this little device because it not only gives you readings per muscle, but allows you to see your progress consistently either per muscle or for total body fat. If you’re like me and have calves of steel, but keep wondering why your abs don’t look the same you can just focus on one area for measurement.Skulpt Aim Review

In fact, there is some real science behind this nifty tool!

When applied to the skin, a very weak current passes between the outer two electrodes. This current is high-frequency and alternating in nature. As the current moves through the skin, the subcutaneous fat, and the muscle, it loses a little bit of energy due to the resistance of the tissue and this change is then measured by the two inner electrodes.

The Skulpt Aim® is more complex in that it measures electrical current flow in different directions and it can measure the flow at different depths (the further apart the electrodes, the deeper the electrical current will penetrate)

I’ll be sharing my own journey using the Skulpt, along with a lot more details, in the coming months and if you’d like to be measuring right along side me to make some PROGRESS before the new year I have good news.

Throw out your scale and learn how to measure body fat instead! Click To Tweet

Read more:
How not to lose muscle mass while marathon training
How many calories do runners really need
5 best ways to measure body fat from Daily Burn
Why Body Mass Index is Wrong for so many by Huffington Post

Have you ever had your body fat measured?

How do you measure your health and fitness progress?

Other ways to connect with Amanda
Instagram Daily Fun: RunToTheFinish

Facebook Community Chatter: RunToTheFinishRunning_motivation_thumb

Get more running tips: Pinterest

 

5shares

Posted by amanda Categories: body fat, Healthy lifestyle, sports nutrition, weight loss

Primary Sidebar

Filter by Category
  • Select a Category
  • 10 miler
  • 10K
  • 13.1 marathon series
  • 15K
  • 30 Day Challenge
  • 5k
  • About ME
  • Abs
  • Active Travel
  • alaska
  • Amanda Brooks
  • Arizona
  • Asics
  • Austin
  • Baltimore
  • barefoot running
  • beauty
  • Biking
  • birthday
  • bloggers
  • blogging tips
  • body fat
  • body image
  • body weight exercises
  • book reviews
  • Boston Marathon
  • breakfast
  • California
  • Camping
  • Canada
  • Caribbean
  • chicago
  • ChiRunning
  • Clean Eating
  • cold weather training
  • colorado
  • compression
  • Costa Rica
  • Crockpot
  • cross training
  • CrossFit
  • dairy free
  • dessert
  • egg free
  • electrolytes
  • emotional health
  • Europe
  • family
  • Fit Together
  • fitness gear
  • Fitness Tracker
  • fitness vacation
  • florida
  • foam roller
  • food sensitivity
  • Fort Lauderdale
  • France
  • Funny Running
  • Gift Guide
  • Gluten Free
  • GPS Watch
  • Green Smoothie
  • Guides and Tips
  • habits
  • Half Marathon
  • Hawaii
  • HBBC
  • health coach
  • healthy eating
  • Healthy Home
  • Healthy lifestyle
  • Heart Rate Training
  • HIIT workout
  • hiking
  • hiking
  • Hip Strength
  • Hoka One One
  • Holistic Health
  • Hormones
  • hydration
  • Iceland
  • injury
  • inspiration
  • instagram
  • Ireland
  • IT Band
  • IT Band Recovery
  • Jerusalem
  • key west
  • knee injury
  • Kona
  • Love
  • low heart rate training
  • Maffetone
  • main dish
  • Marathon
  • marathon training
  • marriage
  • meal planning
  • Meditation
  • Memphis
  • mental marathon training
  • Mexico
  • Miami
  • Motivation
  • New York City
  • New York City Marathon
  • New York City Marathon Training
  • NYC marathon
  • Oregon
  • Orlando
  • Palm Beach
  • Philadelphia Marathon
  • physical therapy
  • podcasts
  • Prague
  • Product Review
  • Race
  • race costume
  • race medal
  • race photo
  • race report
  • Ragnar
  • Recipe
  • recovery
  • recovery meal
  • relaxation
  • relay race
  • resolution run
  • review
  • Rock N Roll
  • run club
  • Runner's World
  • running accessories
  • running books
  • running coach
  • running form
  • running fuel
  • running gear
  • Running Group
  • running motivation
  • running music
  • Running Shoes
  • safety
  • salads
  • san diego
  • Saucony
  • Seattle
  • skin care
  • Soup
  • South Beach
  • South Carolina
  • South Florida
  • speed work
  • sports nutrition
  • Stand Up Paddle Boarding
  • Steamboat Springs
  • Strength Training
  • stretching
  • sugar reduction
  • Thanksgiving
  • trail running
  • Training Group
  • training plan
  • travel
  • travel running
  • treadmill
  • treadmill workout
  • triathlon
  • ultrarunning
  • vegan
  • Vegas
  • vegatarian
  • vegetable
  • virtual run
  • wedding
  • weight loss
  • winter
  • women's running
  • workout
  • workout motivation
  • workout schedule
  • Yoga

5 Secrets to Improve Your RUn

Start Making Quick Progress on Your Goals (I swear it's easy) no matter your current fitness level. The tips I share with the runners I coach.

Recent Posts

  • How Quickly Do You Lose Fitness: Bounce Back from Missed Runs
  • The Year That Almost Wasn’t
  • Top 10 Men’s Running Pants | Lightweight to Winter Tights
  • Snowshoeing for Beginners
  • Best Fitness Books : What’s Worth Actually Reading

Must Have Gear

Comparing GPS Watches

Best HR Monitor for Running

Best Foam Rollers

Best Running Books

Running Jackets for Every Condition

fitness partners

Please note that affiliate links {such as Amazon} may pop up on RTTF from time to time. They do not cost you anything to use, but are a huge help to support the ongoing content creation process. Click here to do your shopping!

Welcome!!

Hello runners! I’m Amanda Brooks, a certified personal trainer and running coach. I’ve been coaching over a decade and distance running since 2002. My philosophy is that running isn’t about your pace or the distance or your body. It’s about showing up for yourself, loving the process and doing it injury free!

 

online running coach

Footer

Get the Free 5 Day Better Runner Challenge

Start Making Quick Progress on Your Goals (I swear it's easy)

About Amanda Brooks

Amanda Brooks is a Certified Running Coach, Certified Personal Trainer and long time distance runner with a passion for every facet of running, which leads her to do more reading, research and running than necessary. Find all the tips, tricks and tools you need from this running coach for your best injury free running. Read More…

Popular Posts on RunToTheFinish

  • Piriformis Syndrome Exercises: Alleviating a Pain in the Butt
  • Suunto vs Garmin: Which GPS Watch Is Better for You
  • 17 Funniest Running Memes – Which One’s Do You Relate To?
  • T25, P90X3, PiYo – Can it Improve Your Running? Complete Comparison
  • Brooks vs Asics: What’s the Difference in Running Brands

runtothefinish

Amanda Brooks : Run Coach
A NEW PLAN DOESN’T FIX EVERYTHING. You might alr A NEW PLAN DOESN’T FIX EVERYTHING. You might already know what’s best for you, but aren’t doing it consistently. That’s the only way we really make changes.
.
A PLAN can help, but I often don’t think that’s step one to making lasting change.
//
HABITS AND ROUTINES✴️
-Eliminate the need to make decisions.
-Which reduces brain fatigue.
-Which increases your chance of success.
//
TINY HABITS✴️
This is the smallest step you can take towards your goal. Often so small it seems insignificant, but is easy to make it a habit.
🌟
That leads you to another tiny habit, then another and suddenly it’s just your lifestyle.
👆👆👆
When people ask how I easily kept off 35lbs for over 15 years, while enjoying pizza, taking rest days and not obsessing about food.
👇👇👇👇
When people ask how I stay motivated to run year round and rarely race. Tiny habits.
//
Day one isn’t eat perfect or run for an hour.
.
Day one IS drink a glass of water when I wake up. Put on my running clothes.
.
Day 30 is then more like after I drink my glass of water, I do 5 push ups. After I put on my running clothes, I do a 5 minute warm up.
//
SLOW PROGRESS IS BETTER THAN NO PROGRESS, it builds momentum and is sustainable.
❔❔❔
Have you ever practiced creating tiny habits???
1️⃣ WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR RUNNING THIS YEAR? M 1️⃣ WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR RUNNING THIS YEAR?
Mine... satisfying.
😊
1900 miles blows away previous years.
.
(swipe to see...because yes I love tracking.) Unfortunately I’m not positive what it was 2001-2007 because I wrote it on calendars.
//
SATISFYING
🥰I needed the long miles early on to process my business being thrown for a loop. Bye bye book tour and partnerships.
😊I needed it after that to get away from the news and pretend I wasn’t spending all day alone. Then as my business shifted again to keep ideas flowing.
🌲I loved the time outside to think, get lost in a comedy podcast or audiobook. Otherwise I’m at home working!
🤩Without a single race, I still checked a big goal off my list of running an ultra distance (solo was very interesting!).
//
I’ve seen some posts that make it seem like we’re wrong for talking about what we achieved this year.
.
It was a HARD FCKIN year for everyone, but guess what lots of years are. And not every year is great even without a pandemic.
//
For all the lows this year, I also worked my ass off to make some really good things happen. And I’m extra proud of that.
//
So let’s hear your word for fitness in 2020??
⬇️
Hard, easy, strong, powerful, consistent, cleansing, relaxing, nature, grace, grit, grind, triumph, building...
HAIR EMOJI POLL!!! Seriously hair...it’s a lot r HAIR EMOJI POLL!!! Seriously hair...it’s a lot right?! Figuring out what to do with it, color it don’t color it, keep it healthy, breakage from ponytails, long, short. And yet a good hair day😃 🔥 🌟
//
POLL:
🥰Love your hair
🤪Frustrated with your hair
1️⃣Natural curls
2️⃣Stick straight
👇👇👇
Curly friends: share your favorite tips!!
Long hair friends: what helps you keep it healthy?
👆👆👆
//
At 7 I could sit in my hair it was so long.
At 10 we started perms.
At 16 I had a full mane of hair I loved.
At 20 I learned I have naturally curly hair 😂after years of perms as a kid.
At 25 I was going blonde blonde blonde.
At 29 I began losing hair and it got so brittle I had to chop it off, due to the hormone issues.😭
At 35 my hair started to recover (as did my body), but never like that mane I loved as a teen.
At 39 I got my first curly haircut! I’m still figuring it out, but was amazed at how it looked.
//
I don’t wear much make up, but I do admit to really caring about my hair and it was a tough time when it felt so unhealthy.
//
I’m still struggling to figure out this new curly style 😂but keep hearing from other curly girls ya just gotta stick it out. So we’ll see.
.
.
#curlygirlmethod #hairtalk
ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO RUN? Why don’t you just ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO RUN? Why don’t you just enjoy a day off? Don’t you feel guilty about the time apart?
//
Yes.
It makes me happy.
No, if I’m happy our time together is better.
👇👇👇
MY VIEW IS THIS...
❌If you aren’t working out because of food guilt
❌If you aren’t missing big moments because you must workout
✅If you enjoy it and it improves your day
✅THEN GO FORTH and don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for improving your mental and physical health.
//
❓Do you have guilt or get guilted about workouts for n holidays?❓
//
This has been my lifestyle so long that our families just know to expect that I’m gonna sweat. And of course, I’m lucky David wants this lifestyle too.
.
BUTTTTT I remember those first trips to David’s family, where it really threw them for a loop. They still find it weird, but I sneak out before everyone gets up or have gotten them to do family things like the rec center.
//
My best advice when asked has always been to try and calmly explain why it matters to you and then just go. They get over it or used to it.
🎁 🎄🕎
TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIZZA MY HEART 😂a reminder TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIZZA MY HEART 😂a reminder this holiday season that we all need to be loved differently...and pizza transcends all.
//
🍕Do you have a favorite local pizza place?🍕🍕
.
Yes, I knead to know for when we can travel again.
.
Here we fell in love in love with @saucyspizza and I wouldn’t be sad if I got it as a gift 😆
.
.
.
.
#pizzamemes #eatlocal #denvercolorado #ilovepizza #lovememes #pizzagram #digiorno #papajohns #foodisfuel #longrun #womenwhoeat #carbsarelife
Follow on Instagram
Website written, managed and maintained by Amanda Brooks, a certified running coach and personal trainer. Any advice should be taken as general information and not a personalized plan. All opinions, tips and reviews are based upon her personal life experience and the experiences of those she has coached. View our full privacy and review policy.

Copyright © 2021 RunToTheFinish

Copyright © 2021 · RunToTheFinish V2 on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in