Monday, June 11, 2012

Subcutaneous Body Fat Test #1

I didn't realize I hadn't posted the results from my first caliper/subcutaneous body fat test which I did at my gym at work right before leaving for Peru.

This was my first of these tests and I got a value of 15.9%, which I am VERY happy with.

This is a much more accurate reading than the measurements I posted a few months back. Their scale goes as follows (for Males):
  • <5%: Underweight
  • <12%: Lean
  • 12-21%: Acceptable
  • 21-26%: Overweight
  • >26%: Obese

I was suspecting it would be more around the 17-19% range given my values from the Fat2Fit calculator but yeah, this is awesome. I am excited to measure this every few months and watch this progress in a good direction as I've been doing with the weight loss.

One "problem" about starting to workout and do strength training more is that it will potentially start getting harder to just read the scale and say "Yes, I'm still on the right track because my weight is less!" since once you start building muscle you might put on weight even though you are getting healthier and even losing more fat. So I need to start tracking my success by Body Fat Percentage and not just weight loss anymore now that I've dropped a bunch. I'd like to continue onwards to 170 lbs (another 9 lbs from here), but I've already noticed a stabilization of the weight loss despite the fact that it looks to me like I've lost more fat. I think that's the muscle building from the Inca Trail hike, I bet!

I have no idea how much muscle you need to build before it starts affecting the reliability of using weight as a measure of your fitness success. So I should still keep trying hard to get to 170. But if I get to 175 but drop to 14% Body Fat, I have to make sure I still call this a huge success in my mind... and not just complain or be upset that I didn't get to 170. Keep at it Jutan...

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