One of the best ways to measure fat is through hydrostatic weighing. In short you dunk yourself in a tank of water and some smart people perform some calculations. I really don’t know too much of the science of it, except that it’s accurate and it’s more effort than a Lazy Man like me wants to go through. Since this costs money every time you want to do it, this article is a good start.

Another option is the caliper test. This is a device that you use to pinch your fat and measure how much you can grab. It can take a bit of practice to get good at performing a accurate test on yourself. If you want to invest the time why not try these for around $5?

I have a Tanita Body Fat Scale. The one I have measures to the closest half of a percent. However, just because the scale goes to that level of precision doesn’t mean it’s that accurate. One thing that I like about it is that it’s pretty much as easy as stepping on a scale.

I also have a Omron Handheld Fat Loss Monitor. I’ve found this gives me a different result than the Tanita scale, but it seems consistently different. Often it’s about 3% less.  This is even easier than the Tanita scale.  You just pick up, press a couple of buttons and 5 seconds later you have your reading.

It might be overkill to have both. I figure one measures the fat stores in the lower part of my body. The other does the upper part of your body. I average the two to come up with what I feel must be close to accurate measurement. Even if it’s not accurate, all that really matters to me is the relative numbers and week to week improvement.