How is this possible?

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CasablancasTX
CasablancasTX Posts: 108
in Health and Weight Loss
I have one of those hand-held body fat percentage things and I tested myself in July and it said I had 42% BF. I've lost 50lbs since then and it says now my BF% is 37.5. Can this be right?

I know the gadget was right in July because I also had my BF tested at a doctor's office in July and it said 42% as well. I exercise and work out with weights, so I'm mortified that all this work could have made such little progress. What could be going on here?
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  • VRoseDuda
    VRoseDuda Posts: 129 Member
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    compare it to a simple BMI calculator...just google it. I don't know your start and current weight so it is hard to say if it is correct or not.
  • CasablancasTX
    CasablancasTX Posts: 108
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    Starting weight was 285 and now I weigh 234. My BMI went from 36.6 to 30 so far. What did I lose if not fat?
  • olsondre
    olsondre Posts: 198 Member
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    I don't trust the hand held body fat tests at all. With that being said, that % could be pretty close for your weight, depending on how tall you are or if you are very muscular

    Regardless, your progress is great
  • KevinStamey
    KevinStamey Posts: 2 Member
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    I use one of the handheld body fat devices and found it's very sensitive to how you hold it. Make sure your palms are fully engaged with the metal sensors. It's also sensitive to hard hard you press. Experiment and take different readings and see if you can't get a lower reading by holding it differently.
  • jessicawrites
    jessicawrites Posts: 235 Member
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    Please take this with a grain of salt (anyone who knows about body composition, please feel free to correct me). I'm not a nutritionist or any kind of health professional, but:

    285 x 0.58 (aka, 285 - 42% body fat) = 165.3 lb that are not fat
    234 x 0.625 (aka 234 - 37.5% body fat) = 146.25 lb that are not fat

    Therefore, it would appear that you lost about 30 pounds of fat, and about 20 of other stuff (probably muscle?). In other words, while it may be a really good idea to increase workouts designed to preserve muscle mass, you're still losing fat.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
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    That means you lost ~32lbs of fat. Those hand held BF% devices aren't the most accurate, but having 64% of the weight lost come from fat seems normal.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    compare it to a simple BMI calculator...just google it. I don't know your start and current weight so it is hard to say if it is correct or not.

    BMI has nothing to do with body fat %

    You might have lost a lot of lean mass. Do you do strength training?
  • Bobby__Clerici
    Bobby__Clerici Posts: 741 Member
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    That's actually about right, but I'd start tracking body measurements as well.
  • CasablancasTX
    CasablancasTX Posts: 108
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    I do strength training 3 times a week, so I cannot believe I've lost 20lbs of muscle. I notice a difference in the way that I look as in I am more toned and tight than I used to be and have much better muscle tone. I just don't know what to think.

    I'm mostly completely disgusted that I've been working so hard and only lost 5% of my body fat.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
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    I would highly suggest you get a DEXA scan or a hydrostatic test done to test your body fat. Those handheld things are not accurate at all and have been all over the map. I got my DEXA done for about $80 when I was losing every 6 months, and it was great to have the full report available and see where my progress was with some certainty.

    It won't help you figure out how far you've come, but it'll be great going forward!
  • olsondre
    olsondre Posts: 198 Member
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    Well, you have lost 50lbs and seem to be happy with the improvement in the way you look. You should be proud of that and continue on. I second the suggestions of getting a dexa scan and tracking body measurements. The body fat will keep coming off
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    At 285 and 42% body fat, means you had 119 lbs fat and 165 lbs lean body mass.

    At 234 if you lost pure fat such that your lean body mass is still 165 lbs, you would have 69 lbs of fat remaining, which would be about 31% body fat.

    If it really is 37.5%, you are now at 88 lbs fat and 146 lbs lean body mass, meaning you lost 31 lbs of fat and 19 lbs of lean body mass (muscle)

    ETA: apparently a bunch of other posts said effectively the same while I was eating/writing mine. Oops. ;)
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    I'm mostly completely disgusted that I've been working so hard and only lost 5% of my body fat.
    Your percentage went down by 5%, but you actually lost 25% of your fat already. You started at ~120 and went down by ~30. It looks much better when you see it that way! :)
  • Craigamears
    Craigamears Posts: 65 Member
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    The 19 pounds of non-fat is not necessarily all muscle. It could include the water weight we all initially lose when we start eating right, the contents of your bowels, and ligament and connective tissue changes. The important thing is that you have lost the fat and are feeling good and strong. Remember your fat loss which is impressive!!!
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
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    The 19 pounds of non-fat is not necessarily all muscle. It could include the water weight we all initially lose when we start eating right, the contents of your bowels, and ligament and connective tissue changes. The important thing is that you have lost the fat and are feeling good and strong. Remember your fat loss which is impressive!!!

    ^ This too. Lean body mass is not muscle mass, though muscle mass is a component of that.
  • CasablancasTX
    CasablancasTX Posts: 108
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    I'm mostly completely disgusted that I've been working so hard and only lost 5% of my body fat.
    Your percentage went down by 5%, but you actually lost 25% of your fat already. You started at ~120 and went down by ~30. It looks much better when you see it that way! :)

    Thank you for trying to make me feel better, but that's really little consolation. I've lost 60% of the weight I wanted to lose, but only 30lbs of fat. That means for all my hard work, I'm only 25% of the way there? I was only going to try and lost 35 more pounds. Now it seems I have a TON left to go.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,017 Member
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    How much protein are you consuming daily?
  • RobynLB
    RobynLB Posts: 617 Member
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    I do strength training 3 times a week, so I cannot believe I've lost 20lbs of muscle. I notice a difference in the way that I look as in I am more toned and tight than I used to be and have much better muscle tone. I just don't know what to think.

    I'm mostly completely disgusted that I've been working so hard and only lost 5% of my body fat.

    5% body fat is a big change. Don't be disappointed.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
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    I do strength training 3 times a week, so I cannot believe I've lost 20lbs of muscle...

    You haven't. You've lost about 30 pounds of fat and 20lbs of stuff that isn't fat. There's a lot in your body that isn't fat or muscle either and some of it you want to lose, like excess water weight and extra skin, connective tissue, etc. you have only because your body is wider than it needs to be.
    I'm mostly completely disgusted that I've been working so hard and only lost 5% of my body fat.

    5% of your starting body fat would be about 6lbs. You've lost about 30lbs of fat, which is closer to 27%. That's not bad. You still have a long way to go, which is why your BF percentage still seems high, but you're definitely making progress.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    You want to be 200 lbs and in great shape? Are you super tall, or am I missing something else here?

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