Most body fat percentage testing methods leave a lot to be desired in terms of accuracy, especially if we’re talking about things like Bioelectrical Impedance, which are the scales that you step on and/or hold onto handles and they spit out a digit…or something like caliper testing, which requires a very skilled and consistent practitioner to do properly.

On the other hand, options like Dexa scans and even more so hydrostatic weighing where you’re submerged under water are definitely more accurate, however…I have never once sent a client of mine to get their body fat percentage tested and I’ve never personally done it myself.

I have had clients do Dexa scans just because they wanted to and they were curious about the results, but for the vast majority of folks, body fat testing is essentially pointless and I’ll tell you why…

Let’s say that you go and get a Dexa scan and you walk into the test unsatisfied with your body composition meaning, you already know that you want to get leaner. There is nothing that that test can tell you that will put you in a different position or in other words, you walk in unsatisfied and you walk out unsatisfied even if the results of the test end up being better than what you expected…you’re in the exact same position with or without that information.

On the other end of the spectrum, let’s say that you’re happy with your body composition and you go with the hydrostatic weighing option and it spits out a number, and…you’re still happy with your body composition…and so what can that number really do for you!?

Also, worst case scenario is that you’re happy with your body comp, you go into the test with the expectation or desire of seeing a certain number, it then comes back higher than that and all of sudden you feel unsatisfied…it’s not rational, but it does play out that way for some folks in some situations.

Now I will say that some of these tests can tell you things about your muscle mass, bone density etc. that can be helpful to know however, in the context of body fat percentages specifically, unless you’re someone that knows that they have fat to lose and is going to get that test and become extremely driven to reduce that number as a result because you’re a quote unquote ‘numbers person,’ you may want to do it but…

Most folks don’t actually really care what their body fat percentage is, they just want to look and feel better and fortunately, you don’t even need to know your body fat percentage in order to take the necessary steps to make that happen, meaning…

Said steps are the exact same regardless and so instead of putting your time, energy, resources etc. into getting your body fat tested…ya probably just want to get started on your fat loss journey right away via dialing in your nutrition first and foremost, followed by your movement as well as sleep and then…manage stressors so that you can effectively execute on the first 3 pillars. Let’s get more specific…

Nutrition wise, I would recommend heavily favouring single ingredient whole foods for the vast majority of your meals because these foods are the most nutritious, the most filling and the most digestion friendly.

Examples of single ingredient whole foods are things like meat, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, fruit, vegg, rice, potatoes, nuts, seeds etc. They are what they are, they typically don’t come in boxes or packages, they usually don’t have barcodes and they tend to spoil relatively quickly in comparison with most highly processed foods…they also don’t contain ingredients that you can’t pronounce, they are real food manufactured by Mother nature as opposed to in a factory.

Also, I’d recommend prioritizing protein and for most folks getting about a gramish per pound of your body weight per day or a gramish per pound of your ideal body weight per day and then…

Feel free to fill in the remainder of your calories from carbohydrates and fats according to your personal preferences.

Movement wise, work up to 10,000 steps per day or 70,000 over the course of the week as a whole. Feel free to go beyond that of course, but that’s my baseline movement target with my clients and then if they want to workout on top of that…bonus, even better, but formal workouts are not a requirement to lose fat and be healthy meaning, they are a nice to have as opposed to a must have.

On the sleep front, we want to wake up feeling rested and alert each day ideally without an alarm. Almost certainly somewhere in the 7-9 hour per night range is going to leave you feeling great and then finally stress management…

The most effective way to manage stress in a sentence is to…

Control the controllables and surrender to the rest.

You can control all things you i.e. what you eat, how you move, your sleep status (depending on whether you have young kiddos or not), your word, your priorities…all of these things fall under the controllable category.

Everything else i.e. the external stuff like other people, the weather, the economy, interest rates, what’s happening on the other side of the world…all of this stuff is entirely out of your control and so there’s just no use concerning yourself with it…so instead you can double down on what you can control, which will put you in the best possible position to handle the uncontrollable elements of life!

Eating well, moving lots and getting great quality sleep is the best stress resilience plan you could possibly put together because no matter how ‘zen’ you are…if you’re eating poorly, living a sedentary lifestyle and not sleeping enough you can’t not be stressed out…it’s a physiological impossibility.

So to wrap up…no one cares what your body fat percentage is and you don’t need to either, instead just eat, move and sleep in a way that reflects how you want to look, feel and perform…simple as that!

Just like you don’t walk around with your scale weight sharpie’d on your forehead, ya don’t walk around with your body fat percentage stapled to your chest either.