I've got a cheap bodyfat scale (from Taylor). I liked it at first but I've come the conclusion that it is too inaccurate to be much use. I've also been trying to gain muscle so if I gain weight I want to know if it's fat or muscle or whatever.

There are other more reliable ways to guage how much of your body is fat. I recommend the accu measure calipers, available for not much on ebay, or just a tape measure around the gut.

As an aside I've found it helpfull to keep track of body fat as opposed to total weight and the answer to putting on muscle seems to be to eat a load of protein for a week or two which causes muscle gain and some general weight gain and then return to the usual low carb low cal stuff.

A nice side effect of that sort of plan is it gives you an excuse to pig out on things like Xmas dinner. Just do some muscle building exercise before (can be jumping up and down and the odd push up), eat loads for a few days, diet the fat off and you should have more muscle, at least in theory. You need the calipers or similar to see if it worked in practice.

Those of you that use Tanita body fat scales, which one (model #) do you find works the best? I was thinking of getting the Tanita BC558 Segmental Body Composition Monitor (its the Ironman version; the BC568 is the Innerscan version and it appears to have the same features. I think the main difference is color of the unit itself; the Ironman is black/gray and the Innerscan is white/gray in color). It is a $300 scale, so am wondering if it is worth it to spend that kind of money on a scale?

Hi mate,

It's very simple to see someone with a perfect body and feel jealous of him/her. However, what we don't realise is that the concerned person has spent adequate time and attention to get in perfect shape. It's not something impossible and unattainable.

And the most important aspect that you must consider is that it's something that will take time. Also, your body type plays an important part in deciding the same. You may even end up trying harder to achieve the same goal but the key lies in appreciating yourself for achieving smaller targets and being consistent.

I am 33% body fat on the handheld analyzer but when I did the floor scale last week I was 17.7%. My midsection is fat and my legs are skinny and lean. Would that account for the differences?

Hey Jschwab

I doubt your legs being skinny would account for the difference.
It's probably just that the analyzer / scales are not much good.

You could check out http://www.linear-software.com/online.html
for how to figure it with a tape measure or calipers