How to Know You're Losing Fat

Your body fat percentage is directly related to your body's health. A high body mass index, or BMI, is an indicator of a greater potential health risk associated to being overweight or obese. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that being overweight or obese can increase your risk for health complications such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke and sleep apnea. It is important to monitor and measure your body fat so you are more aware of your health and your body mass index. You will know that you're losing fat by performing skinfold measurements.

Things You'll Need

• Skinfold calipers
• Notebook
• Pencil
• Pen

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Instructions

• 1

  Obtain your beginning body fat measurements so you have a measurement base to start from. Measurements can come from 3 to 8 different anatomical sites around the body. Standard skin sites are triceps, biceps, subscapular, thigh, iliac crest, supraspinale, abdominal and calf.

• 2

  Use your skinfold calipers to obtain measurements from the right side of your body. Measurements are always taken from your right side for consistency purposes. You can choose to measure several of the skinfold sites or all of them.

• 3

  Pinch the appropriate site that you wish to measure in order to raise a double layer of skin. Do not pinch and raise any muscle. Apply the calipers one centimeter at right angles below the pinch. Wait 1 to 2 seconds before you begin to read the caliper. Maintain the pinch while you read the caliper measurement. Measure twice at each site for accuracy purposes. Retest if duplicate measurements are not within 1 to 2 millimeters.

• 4

  Write the anatomical sites and the measurements down in a notebook for record keeping. Take measurements from the same skinfold sites as you did the first time once per month. Compare the figures with the previous month in order to determine fat loss. A decrease in skinfold measurement indicates a loss of fat while an increase corresponds to a gain.