Fasting= increase in bodyfat%?

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DizzyLinds
DizzyLinds Posts: 856 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been doing the 5:2 diet...so two 24 hour fasts per week...eating pretty well rest of the time and training hard...mix of circuits and heavy lifting on the stronglifts programme.

My bodyfat% was 22.8 and today my pt did my measurements again and it came out at 24% which I'm not at all happy with. However, recently I've had people say I look like I've lost a bit of weight and am looking really good.

Anybody else experienced this?
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Replies

  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
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    Quite the opposite happens with Intermittent Fasting or Eat Stop Eat method.

    I haven't seen anyone go up in body fat % with IF. That is also speaking from my personal experiences.
  • jesusHchris
    jesusHchris Posts: 1,405 Member
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    Those caliper measurements seem pretty arbitrary, depending on who is doing them and where they happen to pinch that day. Do you have access to any more accurate testings? There are mobile hydrostatic body fat events all over the place for pretty cheap.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    How was it measured? A lot of the methods used at gyms are not accurate (some are even completely worthless...the scales are a scam and no better than a carnival fortune telling machine). Dunk tests are an accurate measurement, but hard to come by (I'm married to a physicist, so he can set them up for me). Personal trainers are not scientists. But, I do not do IF, and never plan on it.
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
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    You may be burning more lean mass than fat
    or, the body fat test has a margin of error
    or some combination of the 2

    Low protein and/or low net calories would promote burning of LBM
  • holly3585
    holly3585 Posts: 282 Member
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    I agree with paleopath-- i have heard the BF measurements can be petty off- maybe just a bad measurement before or this time?? Or maybe your caloric intake isn't high enough with two fasting days....for the IF research I've done, essentially your non-fasting days should have the extra calories to make up for you fasting days so that your weekly calorie average is you 'net' calorie goal??
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    So I've been doing the 5:2 diet...so two 24 hour fasts per week...eating pretty well rest of the time and training hard...mix of circuits and heavy lifting on the stronglifts programme.

    My bodyfat% was 22.8 and today my pt did my measurements again and it came out at 24% which I'm not at all happy with. However, recently I've had people say I look like I've lost a bit of weight and am looking really good.

    Anybody else experienced this?

    Despite the magical thinking behind fasting, calorie intake still matters. Also using calipers can vary every test due to the skill of those doing the testing
  • maverick48
    maverick48 Posts: 69 Member
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    How long have you been doing this program? The results should be more obvious after a while and your bf% will go down.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Quite the opposite happens with Intermittent Fasting or Eat Stop Eat method.

    I haven't seen anyone go up in body fat % with IF. That is also speaking from my personal experiences.

    You haven't looked hard enough
  • Drunkadelic
    Drunkadelic Posts: 948 Member
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    that's such a small change that hydration or TOM could cause it. Almost every way BF% is calculated is fairly inaccurate so don't stress :)

    Another thing I'd like to point out - IF is not the be all, end all. I looked into it and it seems great, but it doesn't always work for everyone, especially women. We are all individuals and different things work for different people. That's why humans are so fcking cool ;)
  • DizzyLinds
    DizzyLinds Posts: 856 Member
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    If I'm honest I like how IF feels for me. I'm possibly not eating enough but then again my calories recently have been a lot higher over the weekends.

    Been doing it now for 4 weeks. My protein is generally around 13og per day. If I'm honest my TOM finished 3 days ago and I lifted very heavy yesterday so not sure if that makes a difference.

    I'm a PE teacher so generally active throughout the day. Might be best to reduce training?
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
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    If I'm honest I like how IF feels for me. I'm possibly not eating enough but then again my calories recently have been a lot higher over the weekends.

    Been doing it now for 4 weeks. My protein is generally around 13og per day. If I'm honest my TOM finished 3 days ago and I lifted very heavy yesterday so not sure if that makes a difference.

    I'm a PE teacher so generally active throughout the day. Might be best to reduce training?

    There is nothing in IF that implies your calories should be low. It's the same amount of calories with specific timing. The same rules of energy balance apply. If you're in a surplus you'll gain; in a deficit you'll lose. In a huge deficit, you will likely lose LBM and performance. TOM should not affect BF%; it affects water.
  • DizzyLinds
    DizzyLinds Posts: 856 Member
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    When it's TOM though you often get water retention.

    With the 5:2 fast you break the fast with 500cals. My performance seems to be great at the moment too!
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Water weight will be measured incorrectly by the scale as BF (but again, the scales are a scam, there is no scientific validity to them what-so-ever, ask any scientist. Personal trainers are not scientists).
  • Silverkittycat
    Silverkittycat Posts: 1,997 Member
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    that's such a small change that hydration or TOM could cause it. Almost every way BF% is calculated is fairly inaccurate so don't stress :)

    Another thing I'd like to point out - IF is not the be all, end all. I looked into it and it seems great, but it doesn't always work for everyone, especially women. We are all individuals and different things work for different people. That's why humans are so fcking cool ;)

    truth. :)
  • DizzyLinds
    DizzyLinds Posts: 856 Member
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    Bump
  • DizzyLinds
    DizzyLinds Posts: 856 Member
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    bump again
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    are you bumping your post to get more answers about a 1.2% change in BF using calipers?

    if so, your answers are already given. does caliper testing even seem like something you should put a lot of stock in?
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Those caliper measurements seem pretty arbitrary, depending on who is doing them and where they happen to pinch that day.

    This.
  • xXmimiXx
    xXmimiXx Posts: 564 Member
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    I haven't been fasting and mine has gone down....

    Maybe if you're not feeding your body and it's freaking out a bit it's keeping the fat stored so that the next time it's not being fed it has an easiy-access energy source to tap in to?

    Ok so I am not scientifically minded but I know what I mean, I just don't have the lingo!!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    As others have said, that's such a small variance in bf% that it could easily be attributed to error in measurement, bloat, etc.

    Also as others have said, you're still governed by energy balance regardless of your meal timing/frequency. IF is not a magical lipolytic solution that allows you to violate thermodynamics.

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