What am I doing wrong? Weight down, BMI down, body fat up!

aaliceinw

i have noticed that as I am losing weight and BMI, my body fat first went down, then stagnated and is now going up. What am I doing wrong?

juggernaut1974

How are you measuring body fat? Most methods are pretty inaccurate.

That said, it could very well be that you are losing weight, but most of the weight has come from losing lean (ie muscle) mass.

Example: starting weight 200, body fat 30% = approx 140 lbs lean mass, 60 lbs fat

You diet, and for whatever reason lose 10 lbs of muscle, 0 lbs of fat (unlikely - but exaggerated to prove the point).

Now you weigh 190 with 130 lbs of lean mass and 60 lbs of fat. Your new body fat % is 60/190 = 31.58%

I suggest incorporating some heavy lifting into your exercise routine and ensuring you're eating an appropriate macro breakdown in order to try to preserve more lean mass and promote fat loss.

aaliceinw

Thank you. I have not been doing any weights at all in my exercises. It has been essentially walking and cardio.

Curves uses a handheld gadget and I have a Withings body analyzer scale to measure body fat and BMI. Both of them give about the same readings give or take a couple of hundred grams. I also have the option to use the gym body analyzer, which is aligned with the other two readings.

I will look at a complete workout Programme once I am able to get back on track with my workouts (I fractured my ankle last week).

mkakids

You need to lift weights to retain the maximum amoung of muscle you can while losing weight.

futuremanda

Something like pilates would be doable with a fractured ankle, if you'd like. Heavy lifting is fantastic, but bodyweight exercises and the like are great alternatives, and better than no resistance training at all if you're concerned about maintaining muscle.

And I'm sorry to hear about your injury! I hope it heals quickly, and well.

HeySwoleSister

Yeah, dieting+cardio will make the numbers on the scale drop, but many of those lost pounds will be from your lean muscle mass. You need to lift progressively heavier weights in order to preserve your muscle mass and improve your bone density.

aaliceinw

I'm 52 years old, 5,1 or 161cm and was a couch potato with 50lb to lose in December. Pilates sounds like it may be a gentler and safer route for me, at least until I've built up some strength in my upper body especially. I will work with the biokinethist at the gym, hopefully he/she will be able to get me back into training properly so that I don't lose momemtum.

I will also review my diet with the dietician at curves.

minties82

5'1" is more like 155cm :-)

OP hope your ankle heals quickly. I agree with weight lifting also.

RavenLibra

is there a college nearby with a kinesiology dept? most University's take appointments for comprehensive fitness testing including body composition and any other metric you or they feel might be of use to you... and usually for a minimal fee since your essentially becoming a "test subject" or practice analog. so find one call em and see what they can do to help you out.

aaliceinw

minties82 wrote: »

5'1" is more like 155cm :-)

OP hope your ankle heals quickly. I agree with weight lifting also.

Thank you and I'm taller than I thought in imperial then because I am 161 cm for sure :-)

HeySwoleSister

aaliceinw wrote: »

I'm 52 years old, 5,1 or 161cm and was a couch potato with 50lb to lose in December. Pilates sounds like it may be a gentler and safer route for me, at least until I've built up some strength in my upper body especially. I will work with the biokinethist at the gym, hopefully he/she will be able to get me back into training properly so that I don't lose momemtum.

I will also review my diet with the dietician at curves.

Look for "Power Yoga" or "Yoga for Strength" as well. People think of Yoga as meditation, gentle stretching, etc, but there are many styles of yoga that will really put you through your paces in a bodyweight workout. I've been "unathletic" my whole life and those intense Yoga classes were the first thing I ever found that made me feel strong and badass. And I was past 40 when I found them! Now I'm 45 and unintimidated by trying weight lifting. YOU CAN DO IT, OP!

aaliceinw

RavenLibra wrote: »

is there a college nearby with a kinesiology dept? most University's take appointments for comprehensive fitness testing including body composition and any other metric you or they feel might be of use to you... and usually for a minimal fee since your essentially becoming a "test subject" or practice analog. so find one call em and see what they can do to help you out.

Thanks for the tip. We have fitness Centres linked to our Medical Aid and our gyms are also linked, so we can have the same tests done there. As part of our programmes and packages, we are initially assessed in order to determine our fitness profile, to manage any health risks, get in shape and to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We can then choose programmes adapted to our profiles. Because I was very unhealthy, I chose to go with Curves. The biokinethists are the ones that do all of the measurements and also work with rehabilitation after injuries.