Dieting down but losing muscle and gaining fat.

FitVibration

I can understand losing a little muscle while dieting down but fat percentage going up was unexpected.

I’m working out 6 days a week. I resistance train 40 minutes and do 30 minutes of cardio. I also consume about 150 grams of protein throughout the day. I’m losing about a pound a week.

Is body fat percentage going up and muscle mass going down normal when dieting down?

psychod787

FitVibration wrote: »

I can understand losing a little muscle while dieting down but fat percentage going up was unexpected.

I’m working out 6 days a week. I resistance train 40 minutes and do 30 minutes of cardio. I also consume about 150 grams of protein throughout the day. I’m losing about a pound a week.

Is body fat percentage going up and muscle mass going down normal when dieting down?

Generally losing some muscle mass is normal with weightloss. But losing more muscle mass that fat is not normal. How long as the trend of losing more lean mass than fat mass been happening?

Lietchi

How are you determining your fat mass is going up and muscle going down? If it's a body composition scale telling you this, take the results with a grain of salt, those things are unreliable and can give different results just by not having the same level as hydration as the previous measurement.

sijomial

FitVibration wrote: »

Is body fat percentage going up and muscle mass going down normal when dieting down?

No it's not normal, especially for someone exercising/training, the majority of your weight lost should be fat.
You should expect to lose some lean mass but not all lean mass is muscle.

But the big question is how exactly are you measuring body composition?

(If you are using domestic BIA scales then please don't make decisions or get discouraged based on what could be awful quality data.)

psychod787

sijomial wrote: »

FitVibration wrote: »

Is body fat percentage going up and muscle mass going down normal when dieting down?

No it's not normal, especially for someone exercising/training, the majority of your weight lost should be fat.
You should expect to lose some lean mass but not all lean mass is muscle.

But the big question is how exactly are you measuring body composition?

(If you are using domestic BIA scales then please don't make decisions or get discouraged based on what could be awful quality data.)

This was my thinking as well. That's why I asked how long this is happening. If it had been a trend for weeks i would worry, but if it's just week, it could just be white noise.

FitVibration

@sijomial Very inconsistent. Off and on. But, I’m using a BMI scale.

FitVibration

@Lietchi BMI scale 🤷‍♂️

FitVibration

@psychod787 Very inconsistent reading. A day here and there. It’s not consistent. But, still surprised.

psychod787

FitVibration wrote: »

@psychod787 Very inconsistent reading. A day here and there. It’s not consistent. But, still surprised.

I have read several studies on lean mass loss during weight loss. One was on weight training post menopausal women and they lost 85% fat mass and 15% lean mass. The only other one i have read was the Biggest losers season 8 studies. They lost 80% fat mass to 20% lean mass. Those folks were in extreme deficits. Remember that not all lean mass is muscle. Some could be large amounts of body water.

sijomial

FitVibration wrote: »

@sijomial Very inconsistent. Off and on. But, I’m using a BMI scale.

BMI stands for Body Mass Index normally - simply a height to weight ratio which tells you absolutely nothing about body composition.

BIA is Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis - a very low power electrical charge is put through your body which measures your electrical resistance and then makes a whole of of assumptions based on that figure. Typically either two feet, or two hands or sometimes both hand and feet sensors.
Some can be reasonable if used carefully to minimise variations in hydration levels (which seriously screws the result) and some are simply awful all of the time.

I've used some which are reasonable for a trend if used sensibly and some which are just good for a giggle.
If you have a small deficit, a good protein intake and are training then what your scales are telling you isn't to be trusted. Suggest taking tape measurements and progress photos.

PS - inconsistency in results should tell you that your scales are at fault. Neither fat nor muscle changes that quickly. Water does though!

FitVibration

My mistake. I meant to say I have a Withings Body Comp scale. It’s like the best out there but it’s hardly perfect. Not an exact science for sure 👍

Dogmom1978

None of them are remotely accurate. I would ditch that scale and not try to use a commercial scale to determine body fat. All it will do is frustrate you. I just did a quick google search and found a report that they are on average off by 9%