I have the same scales but am a bit concerned with their reliability when moved. I realise that going from carpet to hard surface will cause problems but I have also gone from hard surface to hard surface and seen a 3kg increase
Definition in abs and vascular? Yes on both. I wouldn’t say extreme in either case but…
Definitely questioning the Dexa reading because of the large delta to the home scale (particularly because I would have expected the inverse result).
Plan will be the same either way I suppose: ride efficiently, ride consistently, add strength training, and eat well.
No. It tracks on-par with DEXA scans and tracks with Tanita’s “regular” setting.
Okay, I decided to bite the bullet and do a DEXA scan.
Image for reference, I’ve let myself go this year, too much business travel and bad diet, so I knew it wouldn’t be pretty.
I’m 39, 6’2", 174lbs. Dexa gives me 18.9% bf, my scale (cheap amazon bluetooth model) reads at 14.9%. I see it as good news - I will follow the Racing Weight Quick Start program until December, planning to drop to 160lbs and it seems I have enough fat reserves to get there. I always considered 159 lbs to be a hard stop for me, but by the looks of it I could even go lower, assuming muscle mass stays constant.
Actually DEXA is pretty fun to look at not only for fat percentage but for muscle distribution as well, I think the picture makes it pretty obvious I’m a roadie and the biggest load my upper body has to deal with is the 8 kg of the bike with 2 full water bottles 
I’ve been using the Garmin Index for a year or two. I’m glad to hear it seems to be consistent with other manufacturers. It updates the weight on my Edge 1000 head unit every morning before I head off to work. Could the Garmin integration go so far as to update weight in TR automatically too?
We’d love to do that and have discussed. It’s on the list of features we’d like to build, but it won’t be in the near future. Too many big and exciting things coming soon!!
I have a Tanita Ironman body composition scale. At one point I had the calipers done by an experience YMCA worker and the result on 7 measures (triple checked) was between 7 and 8% BF. My Tanita in athlete mode gave a similar reading. My Tanita in non-athlete mode gives me 18% BF.
My DEXA was outright depressing. I think they rigged it. Even the image looked exaggerated. I mean, like they save up the fat bastard clip art for my report. Even when I weighed 20 lbs less, with abs, I was at the top of the BMI scale, and at 5’10” and 192 lbs, DEXA says I am carrying 60 lbs of fat. I’d be a stick at 162. “I’m big-boned!!”
@Nate_Pearson @Jonathan @chad , I’m going to go back and listen to the three episodes where you talked about the DEXA in detail, but do you have any high level bullet points on getting “ready” for the DEXA scan other than the bullets they give you to get the most accurate result? these were the ones I got.
DXA scan:
- Limit activity before your scan (no exercise)
- Do NOT come in dehydrated
- You do NOT need to fast for a DXA scan
- Workout or casual clothes with no metal are best for your scan
- You will be asked to empty your pockets and remove any significant amounts of metal (watch, belt, glasses, jewelry, etc.)
- Small buttons or zippers that cannot be removed from clothing are fine
- You will also need to remove your shoes
- Please wear socks!
My coworkers and I are beginning a fitness challenge and I brought up both the Tanita scale and DEXA scan as a method to measure baseline and then track improvements over time. In my area the scans typically cost $150-$200 which would be out of the budget for my household. I’ve considered purchasing [Tanita Ironman scale](Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007Y6BS4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_6vg4Bb3A5KZ78) and only using this one method of measurement. Said scale does offer a few more data points than the Tanita 680BW that I have at home. Has anyone used the scale and compare data to the DEXA? Or am I ok in using scale since I don’t have something to compare to?
***Disclaimer: I tried to use the hyperlink function to clean up the post. I’m using my phone to publish the post and apparently can’t get it to work.
I’ve had a tanita Ironman for about 10 years now (same one) and I found the readings very consistent in all measures. It compared very closely to a fat caliper test I had done when I first got it I’ve learned to only trust the BF% number when my body water percent is around 60%. Otherwise, make a mental adjustment.
Athlete mode is more accurate for me compared to non-athlete mode. Also, only measure first thing in the morning after waking and going #1.
Can anyone confirm that the Nokia App updates MyFitnessPal, which in turn updates Garmin Connect?
I’ve tested that updating weight in My Fitness Pal updates Garmin Connect, but that’s as far as I can do without a scales to test it on!
That’ll probably be the deciding factor between Garmin and Nokia when looking in the sales…
See post above…
Thanks. I did try searching the thread but came up blank - too many abbreviation options.
I guess that opens up other smart scales too, if they’ll sync into mfp.
Yeah, we like our abbreviations here! If we had to type out all those names each time we used them we surely would have to had 1-2 TSS per week to account for it.
Just another data point for everyone and some feedback on available DXA scans. I used Body Spec this morning for my first DXA. They are a mobile truck with a scanner that goes to gyms, offices, etc in Austin, LA, SF and maybe a few others. Scan was $45, so well worth a try.
I am 6’1" and 155lb. Have decent ab definition and most ribs visible for reference on the below numbers.
I use a fitbit Aria scale regularly in non-athlete mode and typically get right around 7% (athlete mode gives in the 5.5% range. Both readings are probably lower than actual).
DXA scan today read 10.2% - results attached below for reference. Overall I’m happy with it, I think it’s accurate enough for my purposes, and cheap enough that I will do it regularly for trending.
10% on the Dexa is very lean! Congrats!
When your body uses fat as fuel the residues are 20% water and 80% CO2. So, exercising can increase body water. Of course you sweat some of it off, but as you drink as well that pretty much balances out. Bottom line is, I’m not surprised if fat is down and water is up right after a ride. Your body will regulate the water level lower as you adjust post-ride.
Interesting, that does seem like it could explain it!
That’s weird, this doesn’t work for me, and it’s annoyed me for ages. Might try decoupling the apps and reconnecting again.
Edit: It’s the MFP > GC part that doesn’t work. Health Mate > MFP is fine.