body composition (confused) please help

Slimpossible007

I use this and I am aware that it is not fully accurate, but looking for a little advice,
http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

FIRSTLY .. sorry for the length, just trying to get as much detail as possible to get help on my next step

I am 5'6 and 44 years old I am wearing the same clothing size as I was 3 years ago and wondered how I managed to gain this weight (20lbs) and not notice it going on .. so here's what I have found from looking back at old MFP entries

2014
weight 185 lbs
lean mass 105 lbs
fat 80 lbs
43% bf
waist 39 inches << smallest part of the waist
hips 43 inches << round the bum largest part

TODAY
weight just over 205 lbs
lean mass 119 lbs
fat 86lbs
42% bf
waist 38 inches << smallest part of the waist
hips 44 inches << round the bum largest part

So now I weigh 20lbs more, 14lbs of that is lean mass I've 1 inch less on the waist and 1 inch more in the booty

I'm a little confused and wondering if this is good or if its simply a bad calculator :-/

I've not been conscious of trying to gain lean mass (I only walk) and do housework etc .. so I thought it might just be the calculator that was wrong, till I noticed my old and new waist measurement (I was wondering how I could be 20lbs heavier while still wearing the same jeans (and all clothing)

any thoughts appreciated ?

when I reached 155 lbs I wasn't really happy with my shape (i wish I had logged my stats at that weight) my profile picture is when I reached 155 lbs

I have been back on MFP for 1 month now and currently eat at an average of 1600 a day .. I am currently losing weight (7lbs down in 33 days) ) and went up 2lbs lean mass in the last month (I was 117 when I rejoined)

SezxyStef

you haven't gained 14lb of muscle...

those calculators are bogus and typically incorrect.

you gained weight and at the size you are 20lbs won't make much of a differnece in your clothing size really...I've been there...185 I was a size 16...205 I wore the same clothing.

at this point look in the mirror and be honest with yourself...and get on an accurate scale too.

FatWithFatness

These calculators are not accurate as far as bodyfat %, but usually within 4% give or take, if you tend to store fat around your mid section they are even less accurate.

Are you strength training?

Slimpossible007

SezxyStef wrote: »

you haven't gained 14lb of muscle...

those calculators are bogus and typically incorrect.

you gained weight and at the size you are 20lbs won't make much of a differnece in your clothing size really...I've been there...185 I was a size 16...205 I wore the same clothing.

at this point look in the mirror and be honest with yourself...and get on an accurate scale too.

That's the point .. I am looking in the mirror and I see no change .. the camera tells the same story, no change, but I do gain and lose weight very evenly so its always difficult to notice. it was the waist measurement going down that threw me .. sees strange to gain that much weight yet lose an inch from my waist

Slimpossible007

FatWithFatness wrote: »

These calculators are not accurate as far as bodyfat %, but usually within 4% give or take, if you tend to store fat around your mid section they are even less accurate.

Are you strength training?

I did do push ups and other body weight stuff also machines at the gym (but not so much as I would expect a difference of that size) ... I tend to gain weight all over quite evenly, so its very difficult to see weight going on anyway, but the measurement that got me was that my waist has lost an inch It just doesn't seem normal that I could be up 20lbs and down an inch in the waist

however looks like I have the answer .. the calcs are not to be trusted.

FatWithFatness

They're a good tool for an estimate if they are consistent, but don't trust that 20% is actually 20%, you need to also use the scale. I'm sure given that you're strength training you've put on some lean body mass, as a newbie especially.

Keep eating at a deficit, weight loss is not a liner progression, if you haven't lost in several weeks, make an adjustment, e.g. move more or eat a little less, and give time for that adjustment to to take effect. Most people are just not patient enough.

Slimpossible007

TY I will remember that, and use it only as a guide ..

I am happy if the inches keep dropping

30kgin2017

I lose and gain weight fairly evenly as well. I have heaps of clothes that I have been able to wear over a 20lb weight difference. But there are some clothes that dont accommodate weight fluctuations and those are the ones that tend to end up at the back of the cupboard and I just forget about them.

I have Bf% scales and although they are not accurate they do give me a good trend. I dont have issues with random fluctaions in BF% from day to day but I also skip weighing days I know would throw it off. One thing I have noticed is that my BF% now is lower at this weight than when I have weighed this previously. IMO this is because I have incorporated exercise into my lifestyle, I have also noticed this with some of my less forgiving clothes that I can wear at a higher weight. As long as I dont diet stupidly (i.e. really low cal or calories just made up of rubbish food) and keep up exercise I also tend to lose relatively little lean body mass. I think I lost something like 12kg with only about 1kg drop in lean body mass last time but I also went from zero exercise to 6 days a week and 100% on point for food. This time round I am exercising about 4 days a week and am a bit more balanced with food hoping to really make it a lifestyle change rather than a 'diet'.

Slimpossible007

30kgin2017 wrote: »

I lose and gain weight fairly evenly as well. I have heaps of clothes that I have been able to wear over a 20lb weight difference. But there are some clothes that dont accommodate weight fluctuations and those are the ones that tend to end up at the back of the cupboard and I just forget about them.

I have Bf% scales and although they are not accurate they do give me a good trend. I dont have issues with random fluctaions in BF% from day to day but I also skip weighing days I know would throw it off. One thing I have noticed is that my BF% now is lower at this weight than when I have weighed this previously. IMO this is because I have incorporated exercise into my lifestyle, I have also noticed this with some of my less forgiving clothes that I can wear at a higher weight. As long as I dont diet stupidly (i.e. really low cal or calories just made up of rubbish food) and keep up exercise I also tend to lose relatively little lean body mass. I think I lost something like 12kg with only about 1kg drop in lean body mass last time but I also went from zero exercise to 6 days a week and 100% on point for food. This time round I am exercising about 4 days a week and am a bit more balanced with food hoping to really make it a lifestyle change rather than a 'diet'.

This is the thing, all of my clothes still fit, my measurements are the same, (or better) 1 inch smaller waist 1 inch bigger hips ...... bust, and every other measurement I take are all the same. except my neck which has gone up a little. the mirror and the camera show the same body, but the scale says I'm bigger. I know the scale works, (that was the first thing I checked)

Those measurements above were taken 3 years apart. I don't know how quickly you can grow muscle when your diet changes from atrocious (which mine was back then, low cals bad food choices etc) to pretty healthy (higher cals / protein) but i am eating in deficit because my aim is to lose weight at the moment, I can work on building muscle at a later date.

I was shocked when i realised I was 20lbs heavier with a smaller waist and bigger hips. the calc may not measure BF accurately but the tape measure measures inches just fine

I think the shape change may be because I exercise more (7 days a week), and have done for quite a while, my hard work paying off I used to avoid exercise like the plague

I will continue with just the inches and ignore the BF etc ... the inches are what matters anyway