My body fat percentage isn't dropping much

azwen

I'm happy with my weight loss so far (average about ¾ to 1 lb. per week), but my body fat percentage isn't dropping very much. It was 22.8 three months ago, and now it's 21.5 (according to my scale). In the same amount of time, I've lost 13 lbs. I do lift weights two to three times a week (I have a trainer that I work out with once a week), and I do cardio as well. The past month, my cardio has been mostly Hip Hop Abs workouts, which also include a lot of strengthening exercises. I have had my goal set at losing 1 lb. per week, which gave me 1200 calories. I thought maybe I should change it to 0.5 lb./week. Would losing weight a little more slowly be helpful? I get 60-80 g protein a day; should I increase that as well? When I reach my goal weight (10 more lbs.) I plan to talk with my trainer and focus on building muscle; I'd like to have more strength as well as definition. However, I also want to see my body fat percentage go down to around 17%. Should I be doing something differently now to hang onto more muscle?

philwrightfitness

What is your total body weight? Otherwise I'd eat more protein 1g per pound of lean body weight

azwen

I'm 5'7" and I weight 140. I'd like to lose ten more pounds of fat, then work on building muscle. I'm just concerned that I'm not maintaining my muscle mass effectively if my body fat percentage isn't dropping much.

hazleyes81

The scale can be wonky when it comes to reading body fat. How often do you weight and check body fat with that thing?

azwen

I weigh myself first thing in the morning. Perhaps that's not the best time to check body fat percentage? Maybe it's actually gone down more than I think. My trainer is going to check my body fat and measurements this week; I'm curious to see how close it is to my scale.

SLLRunner

I'm happy with my weight loss so far (average about ¾ to 1 lb. per week), but my body fat percentage isn't dropping very much. It was 22.8 three months ago, and now it's 21.5 (according to my scale). In the same amount of time, I've lost 13 lbs. I do lift weights two to three times a week (I have a trainer that I work out with once a week), and I do cardio as well. The past month, my cardio has been mostly Hip Hop Abs workouts, which also include a lot of strengthening exercises. I have had my goal set at losing 1 lb. per week, which gave me 1200 calories. I thought maybe I should change it to 0.5 lb./week. Would losing weight a little more slowly be helpful? I get 60-80 g protein a day; should I increase that as well? When I reach my goal weight (10 more lbs.) I plan to talk with my trainer and focus on building muscle; I'd like to have more strength as well as definition. However, I also want to see my body fat percentage go down to around 17%. Should I be doing something differently now to hang onto more muscle?

Scales with body fat percentage are not all that accurate.The result depends on many things, including how well hydrated you are.

WalkingAlong

Plus if you really are at 21%ish that's pretty much ideal for a woman. You can get lower, of course, but you're getting down to the nitty gritty and it's not going to be as easy as dropping down from a higher value.

philwrightfitness

If you are 140 and say 22% body fat that means your lbm is about 109 lbs so up your protein to 109 grammes per day and reduce your other macros to keep within your calorie target , this should help you preserve more muscle and lose a greater percentage of fat

Chieflrg

Scales are not accurate on reading body fat percentage. It basically is a gimmick to get you to sell a product.

If you are still losing weight I wouldn't change a thing as the last ten pounds is usually the hardest. Since you are talking to your trainer about bulking soon, you will eventually want to start upping your calories. You won't want to do this all at once, so you might want to switch to 1/2lb loss per week soon to get you started in that direction.

azwen

I definitely still need to lose about 10 lbs. of fat. My upper body is getting pretty lean, but my belly and lower back are hanging onto some fat. I want to add a bit of muscle eventually, so it bothers me to think I am losing muscle now. But I guess it is impossible to hang onto all your muscle while losing weight? I will definitely increase my protein this week to over 100, and maybe change my goal to ½ lb. a week to make it easier to fit in more protein. I can always change it back to 1 lb. again if I don't see results in a few weeks.

karenj_m

Where did you get 1200 calories? Do you eat calories back from exercise? If so, okay......

if not.....

Using the TDEE method at 25% reduction and using moderately active with your stats....you should be eating around 1580 per day (TOTAL - do not eat anything else back) to loose a pound every 6 days or so.


http://www.calculatorlab.com/HowDoIMeetMyWeightLossGoal/index.php#cutby20

PS: if you're paying a trainer, have them give you a body fat test with the pinchers....those combo weight/body fat scales aren't very accurate. The body fat pinchers are at least a little better.

Higher protein, heavier weights during your workouts, and try adding 1 HITT (30 minutes) workout (FREE on YOUTUBE).

azwen

MFP gives me 1200; I usually eat some of my exercise calories back, so I'm really eating 1300-1500 most days. I've been scared to eat them all back. I could start eating them all back if that helps me get enough protein. I'll look into HIIT as well. Thanks!

karenj_m

Also MFP over estimates on their exercise burns.....per all the other posters here.

I don't use their exercise tool.....I just use the food logging, and work my butt off doing exercises.


Try to keep your calories consistent for 2 weeks....as tight as you can, so you can see what numbers are working for you. Pre-plan your food the day before so you can tweak stuff before that day begins and get closer to your goal numbers. Too much of a range along with possible inaccuracies can kill all your hard work.

Hang in there, tighten it up and continue working hard at your workouts....you can do it

azwen

Thanks for all the help and encouragement! I'm going to increase my protein to 110g and look into doing more HIIT-style workouts for cardio.

azwen

So I had my trainer check my body fat, and my scale at home is way off. I am at 29%, which is more reasonable given my appearance. I'd like to get it to the low 20s as I lose ten more pounds. Three months ago, he measured my body fat percentage and it was 39%, so that's a pretty good drop.