Can anyone explain the mystery of the missing 12lb?

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

You're still not getting this. There is no loss ratio - there is no proof that a certain % of anything has been lost. There cannot be,due to how these scales work.

The electrical current passed through your feet,passes though body mass made primarily of water(the path of least resistance),it cannot pass through anhydrous fat mass,which is the figure you are after. The "estimation" then given is essentially a calculation based on how hydrated you are at that point. These calculations are often derived from hydrostatic testing,results and averages,which are in themselves inaccurate.

This level can change dramatically from one day to the next. It can and does on occasion skew BF% readings.

The most accurate method of determining bf% actually requires you to be dead. That is far removed from a bathroom scale.

 

[amaferanga]

What proof do you have that they do not work, is it scientific or just your assumption?

I don't think anyone has to prove that they don't work. If someone is selling something then it's up to them to prove that it does what they claim it does. So what exactly do the manufacturers of these things claim?

 

[simmi]

I have got got thinner my scales say my BMI has reduced by 5% so they work , which is a different thing to saying the are accurate.
I think we have all established by now that the only way to get 100% accurate results would be to butcher me and render and weigh my fat.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

BMI doesnt reduce as a percentage

 

[simmi]

BMI has reduced by 5%

BMI doesnt reduce as a percentage

Sorry BMI has reduced from 30 to 25

 

[black'n'yellow]

Sorry BMI has reduced from 30 to 25

Maybe we can forget about BMI completely..? The only number that makes a difference to your cycling performance is your weight.

 

[Scruffmonster]

You're still not getting this.

Simply repeating 'You're not getting this' does not make you right.

As you've said, and I have said at least once so far, hydration makes a difference. Which is why I've said that you need to control as many variables as possible, by weighing first thing in the morning, with an empty bladder, not after a night of dehydrating booze, or a hard workout, and so on.

I understand how they work. Implicitly. I know and recognise the scope and limitations of electrical impedance. I've seen results, watched numbers fall and rise over time, in training blocks, time off, lazy months. I've stood on the scales at the same weight, but in different shape, and seen a markedly different body fat reading that has held and been replicated for many weeks until I've changed diet or activity level. The numbers that have been shown have been backed up by the mirror.

This is MY proof, to ME. This is a forum. On the internet. I pass on my findings to someone who might have wanted it. As you do. They then decide what they choose to take out of it.

That's about as good as this is going to get I feel.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

So anecdote then. That settles it

 

[amaferanga]

Simply repeating 'You're not getting this' does not make you right.

As you've said, and I have said at least once so far, hydration makes a difference. Which is why I've said that you need to control as many variables as possible, by weighing first thing in the morning, with an empty bladder, not after a night of dehydrating booze, or a hard workout, and so on.

I understand how they work. Implicitly. I know and recognise the scope and limitations of electrical impedance. I've seen results, watched numbers fall and rise over time, in training blocks, time off, lazy months. I've stood on the scales at the same weight, but in different shape, and seen a markedly different body fat reading that has held and been replicated for many weeks until I've changed diet or activity level. The numbers that have been shown have been backed up by the mirror.

This is MY proof, to ME. This is a forum. On the internet. I pass on my findings to someone who might have wanted it. As you do. They then decide what they choose to take out of it.

That's about as good as this is going to get I feel.

Might you have achieved exactly the same with a regular set of weighing scales and a mirror?

 

[Scruffmonster]

Might you have achieved exactly the same with a regular set of weighing scales and a mirror?

That depends on what you mean by 'Achieve'. There is no quantifiable value to looking in a mirror that can be compared with the next day, month, year, plus it takes longer than stepping on a set of scales.

 

[amaferanga]

That depends on what you mean by 'Achieve'. There is no quantifiable value to looking in a mirror that can be compared with the next day, month, year, plus it takes longer than stepping on a set of scales.

Take a picture or your rolls of fat then.

 

[Scruffmonster]

Take a picture or your rolls of fat then.

Daily/Weekly photos and weekly measurements are great. I fully endorse them as an aid for monitoring weight loss or body changes. Hell of a lot of work though.