Welcome to the Get Fit Guys' quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up.

My name is Ben Greenfield, and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

You know, there's so many ways to measure body fat that the options can be confusing,

from skin calipers, scales, and circumferences to underwater weighing bod pods and full body scans.

It can be tough to really know what's accurate, reliable, and practical for your needs.

So in this episode, you'll learn six ways to measure your body fat,

which body fat measurement tools are most accurate, and why you should even think about measuring your body fat.

Let's start off by talking about what body fat percentage actually is. There's two different types of body fat. The first,

your essential fat, is necessary for you to stay alive. And essential fat percentage levels are about

three to five percent in men and eight to twelve percent in women. When I was a bodybuilder, my total body

fat dropped down to 2%, which meant my essential fat was very low. And I experienced a loss of sex

drive, loss of appetite, mood swings, joint pain, and other issues that correlate to a low

essential body fat.

Needless to say, I got my hands on some ice cream and brought myself back up to a healthy body fat level

as soon as I was done bodybuilding.

The second type of body fat is your storage fat and is also known as adipose tissue.

This is the type of fat that most people would like to

have a little less of. Some storage fat protects your organs or provides insulation, but for many

people, it's just annoying storage energy, waiting to be burnt. If you know your body fat levels,

then you have a number that you can use as a goal for weight loss.

For example, if you use any of the information in this episode to find your body fat percentage,

and you find that your body fat percentage is 30%, and you weigh, say, 170 pounds,

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