What is the most accurate way to measure body composition?

On The WarriorBabe Show, Nikkiey explains that body fat is a steadier signal of progress than scale weight, and that an InBody, DEXA or Bod Pod gives you the most reliable read. You may have to pay for them, but local gyms often have an InBody, and she suggests searching online for a Bod Pod near you. She describes an InBody as giving a full picture of your body: fat, muscle mass, water, protein and minerals. On one episode she shares how a program member's InBody results showed her muscle mass dropping, which turned out to be from overtraining. That's the kind of insight a scale can't give you.

Nikkiey is blunt about home scales with a body fat reading. She says hers tells her numbers she knows aren't true, and that they're "not even 50% accurate." Handheld devices also leave room for human error. If a scale is what you have, she says to stick with that one tool and watch for changes over time rather than trusting the number itself.

When you're building muscle, the scale may barely move even while your body changes. For that phase, Nikkiey recommends watching your measurements and taking progress photos, because they show differences the scale hides. A flat scale doesn't mean you're failing. It may just mean you're using the wrong tool to read your progress.