Once you become an adult, you cannot decrease your fat cells. So, how can you decrease the fat in your body? It is simple, you need to decrease the size of each fat cell. You have subcutaneous fat as well as visceral fat in your body. It is typically easier to lose the subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous fat is an outer layer of fat which is right underneath the skin.

Whatever your ratio of subcutaneous to visceral fat is -you still need to keep those fat cells small. Keeping your metabolism high by exercising and eating healthy will help to keep these cells small. The goal is to increase your lean muscle weight and decrease your body fat weight.

Now that you know a little about fat, how do you determine the percentage of fat in your body? You can use body fat calipers which separates the fat away from your body and measures it. You can use Anthropometric Method which is a tape measure. You can also use a scale that sends electrons through the body to determine your percentage of body fat.

Although all these methods are inexpensive, the best way to keep track of any type of body fat loss is to use the same test every time you want to re-test your body fat percentage. You can use a scale or have your trainer/coach help you with the other two methods.

See below on what the standard is for men and women:

Percentage of Body Chart