Have you been exercising for long hours at the gym for many years? Does the weighing machine say that you weigh more than you did before? Well, it is true that when you exercise, the fat stored in your body get replaced by lean muscle mass. Many of you probably consider your BMI as the deciding factor about your body fat composition. It is needless to say that your BMI will not show you the exact picture. Even if your fat gets replaced by muscles, your BMI may say that you are overweight. Thus, a better alternate to this is to consider your body fat percentage.
What Do you Mean by?
In simple terms, when you talk about body fat percentage, it basically refers to the percentage of your body weight that is composed of fat. Your body fat percentage will alter every time you lose or gain body fat. However, it is also important for you to remember that it may also change when you lose or gain lean muscles.
Why Is It More Important Than Your BMI?
You will come across several people who often mix up between BMI and body fat percentage. Although these are related to your body measurements and overall health, these are not the same. BMI means body mass index. It is basically a numeric expression of the sole relationship of your body weight and height. You get your BMI by dividing your weight in kilos by height measured in meters.
Is it Possible for you Find Out your Body Fat Percentage from your BMI?
The simple answer to this question is “no”. BMI is entirely based on your personal weight and height. It does not consider the percentage of fat and muscles in the body weight. As a result of this, your BMI may often be quite high for several reasons. It may be high due to a low amount of body fat and a high amount of lean muscles in your body. On the other hand, even if the amount of fat is high and muscles low, you may still have a high BMI. This proves that BMI is not a convenient and good way of determining the body fat percentage.
How to Calculate your Body Fat Percentage?
When it comes to measuring your body fat, there are several ways to get the results. However, the results may vary depending upon the method you choose. For example, a multiple-point caliper may say 11%, a single-point caliper may say 6%, and a handheld device may say 8%. However, the simplest method to measure your body fat is using a handheld device or a scale from http://bodyfatanalyzer.org. These types of instruments use the BIA or bioelectrical impedance analysis system in measuring your body fat percentage. The amount of resistance by your body to the light electrical current is the sole mode of measuring the body fat percentage. It is very common to understand that muscle conducts electricity and fat does not. Thus, the greater the resistance, the greater will be the amount of fat in your body.