Grab a tape measure. Two minutes gets you an estimate of body fat %, lean mass and fat mass using the US Navy circumference method. It shows more than BMI alone, but it is still an estimate. If you are lighter but still soft, use the result alongside the skinny-fat recomposition guide, not as a verdict on its own.
Your Measurements US Navy Method
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Want the plan that actually moves this number? The free Day One pack and the protein targets are the whole method — no call, no signup, nothing to book. Number looks fine but you still feel soft? That's skinny fat, and it needs a different plan. Want your calorie target too? Try the TDEE calculator or the macro calculator.
Body Fat Categories
How to Measure Correctly
Waist — Measure at the narrowest point, usually just above the navel. Breathe normally; do not suck in.
Neck — Measure just below the larynx (Adam's apple) with the tape sloping slightly downward at the front.
Hip (women) — Measure at the widest point of the hips/buttocks. Keep the tape horizontal.
It is an estimate, not a scan. Treat the exact percentage as approximate; the trend is more useful when you measure the same way, at the same time of day, once a fortnight.
For most men, the mid-teens looks lean and is sustainable; low single digits is a photoshoot, not a lifestyle. For most women, add roughly ten points. Health markers matter more than the number.
Because you are losing fat and holding muscle, which is the goal. Recomposition shows up in the tape and the mirror well before it shows up on the scale.
About the author
Keith O’Beirne went from 90kg to 72kg around a full-time job and two kids, after paying a personal trainer to learn the basics. He is not a doctor, dietitian or coach and does not sell coaching — he writes No Nonsense Fitness to give away what he paid to learn, free, with no ads. Based in Dublin.
This uses the same circumference method the U.S. Navy uses for fitness assessments. It is an estimate, not a clinical measurement.
