Body fat percentage change?

fontinathefox
fontinathefox Posts: 124 Member
edited December 21 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all

I have just had a bad weekend food- and drink-wise, since I had a family member visiting. We don't see each other often so I knew I wasn't going to be able to stick to healthy eating while he was here. I feel bad now for what I've eaten but I'm back on it today so it'll be fine. Now, my query is regarding my body fat percentage. I checked it a week ago and it was 26% - I stepped on the scales again this morning and it's gone up to 27.8%?? I know I've not eaten well in the last 4-5 days, but that seems a lot! Does this seem right, or are my scales just a bit rubbish?

Thanks

Replies

  • gogophers
    gogophers Posts: 190 Member
    Forget about body fat percentage. It's only useful on a macro-scale not to check for changes over a period of a couple days or weeks.
  • Cheval13
    Cheval13 Posts: 350 Member
    no worries. What may have happened is that you had more sodium and carbs these past few days, which means that you retained more water. Since the step-on scale basically runs through water and fat to determine amount of mucsle, it may have overestimated your fat%. Wait a few days before checking again. It should be back to normal. :)
  • fontinathefox
    fontinathefox Posts: 124 Member
    no worries. What may have happened is that you had more sodium and carbs these past few days, which means that you retained more water. Since the step-on scale basically runs through water and fat to determine amount of mucsle, it may have overestimated your fat%. Wait a few days before checking again. It should be back to normal. :)

    Aah, that all makes sense! Good point. I'm back in the gym tonight so will soon undo all the damage I did over the weekend :smile:
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