I hope that you have taken measurements and pictures before beginning your weight loss journey. It’s a great way to see changes that are taking place with your body. Check out Lisa’s before and after picture HERE and see why it’s such a great tool to use!

Another great tool to use is your body fat percentage. By figuring out your body fat, it will distinguish between pounds that come from body fat and pounds that come from lean body mass or muscle.

There are many different scales and products to help you determine your body fat percentage, but the three that I use to test body fat are:

Omron Body Fat Analyzer
The Omron works by using the electric conductivity of the tissue of body fat. You enter your height, weight age and gender into the machine and it sends an extremely weak electrical current through your body to determine the amount of fat tissue.

AccuFitness Accu-Measure Calipers
Using the calipers, you can take measurements at 7, 4 or 3 sites to get your body fat percentage. The more sites will give you a more accurate reading. HERE is a site that tells you where to take the measurements at. When I use the calipers, I use the 3 sites: Tricep, Suprailiac and Thigh.

Tape Measure Method
For the tape measure method, you need your height and then measure your neck, waist and hips and then enter it into the appropriate form HERE.

Below is a graph that shows the healthy ranges for your body fat percentage.

Using all the tools I have mentioned are great ways to see the changes that occur whether you are trying to lose weight, lose inches or build muscle. It’s also a great way to motivate yourself, set yourself a goal and reach it!