Gaining weight but losing bodyfat?

ONUnicorn
ONUnicorn Posts: 45 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
For some odd reason, over the last month or so I have gained weight at a rapid and alarming rate, despite not changing my diet and exercise. The REALLY odd thing about this is that my body fat % has gone DOWN in that same time.

Although I have gained about an inch on my waist, hips, and a quarter inch in my neck, I don't feel bloated or look swollen, which makes me think I'm not retaining water. I don't understand what's happening. When I've gained weight before it's been a lot slower and traceable to changes in my diet or exercise.

Anyone have any ideas what's happening?

Replies

  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    How are you measuring your bf%? Bf%scales are very inaccurate
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    How do you know your body fat percent has gone down? How much weight and what is the last "month or so" exactly? What is your lifting routine? Have you been tracking your food religiously in this app?

    It is possible to be bigger but look better.
  • ONUnicorn
    ONUnicorn Posts: 45 Member
    edited June 2016
    I use a fitbit Aria scale. It displays your weight and bodyfat %. I know there are more accurate ways of calculating it, but the scale has generally been consistent with it, until now.

    I don't currently lift weights. I average 8,000 steps a day. I have not been religiously tracking my calories in the app, but I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch probably 75% of the time and I know how many calories it has.

    Today is June 11. On April 11 I weighed 251.3 pounds with 48.3% body fat. On May 11 I weighed 254.2 pounds with 46.8% body fat. Today I weighed 257 pounds with 45.4% body fat.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    edited June 2016
    Okay well if I were you I would start tracking calories because that's really the only way to be sure of what you're eating. And like someone said, those body fat scale things are not accurate. They might give you a good estimate but that's it.

    And by tracking calories I mean use a food scale to weigh and measure your intake. Eyeballing and using cups and spoons is also inaccurate.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    ONUnicorn wrote: »
    but I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch probably 75% of the time and I know how many calories it has.

    I could have said exactly that to describe my "before I started caring if I lost weight" time prior to January 25.
    After January 25, I started logging everything I ate for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, and a few months later improved the accuracy of my logging by purchasing a digital kitchen scale. You know what? I'm losing weight now, and I know how much weight I should be losing because I know what my calorie deficit is.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-3-the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-parts-1-and-2/the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-part-1/



    I wouldn't put much credence in your scale. I have a scale that measures my body fat too but on days when I haven't had enoughto drink it shows on my body fat percentage.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    ONUnicorn wrote: »
    I use a fitbit Aria scale. It displays your weight and bodyfat %. I know there are more accurate ways of calculating it, but the scale has generally been consistent with it, until now.

    I don't currently lift weights. I average 8,000 steps a day. I have not been religiously tracking my calories in the app, but I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch probably 75% of the time and I know how many calories it has.

    Today is June 11. On April 11 I weighed 251.3 pounds with 48.3% body fat. On May 11 I weighed 254.2 pounds with 46.8% body fat. Today I weighed 257 pounds with 45.4% body fat.

    You're not gaining any muscle or losing body fat by walking 8000 steps per day and not lifting, especially when you've gained weight. I also have the Aria and my BF% reading had gone from a consistent 17.5-18% to 14-16% in the past month. Why? The change in weather made my apartment warmer and more humid which affected the scale. I DO lift weights and exercise six days per week in addition to walking 15K+ steps per day and I still wouldn't believe I dropped bodyfat that quickly. As much as I love the simplicity of my Aria, it's useless overall for bodyfat percentages. A rapid drop/gain BF reading from it is never to be trusted. What you can trust in though is the fact that you've gained weight. The inches you've gained reflect that. Your breakfast and lunch may be the same 75% of the time but it doesn't mean the calories are. You need to track your food.

Categories