Bad, confusing results. What went wrong?

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Mutant13
Mutant13 Posts: 2,485 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone.

So I've had a little problem. I've been lifting for a while now and have had great results so far. I've gotten my body fat way down and seen some great definition.
I wanted to gain some lean mass and so I started eating a surplus. Started off great, gained a bit of muscle and no fat at my first evaluation after the start of my bulk.

Went for my second (monthly) evaluation tonight, and was disappointed and confused to find if gained fat AND lost some muscle. I don't understand what happened?!

I'm going to give as much info as I can below because I would love to have some light shed on what went wrong. Now, it wasn't a huge fat gain, about 1.5% but in combination with the muscle loss I am concerned. I get that bodies do weird things sometimes but I'd like to know if there is anything I can do to stop this from happening again.


So here's what you probably need to know.
I lift heavy 3/4 x a week. Compound lifts and some isolations, progressing in weight whenever I can
I eat near to dead on 2000 cals a day. Everything gets measured or weighed, I like to be precise
My macros are 1g of protein per lb, 0.3g of fat and the rest in carbs. My protein does end up a little over most days
I eat mostly good, whole food. About 85% - 90%
The worst aspect of my diet is that I tend to have too much sugar and sodium. I've been working on both, and the majority of the sugar is from fruit, dairy etc, some is from honey and the occasional bit of Nutella or cookies
I take my vitamins, drink my water etc etc
I don't do regular cardio, I do walk a lot, that's about it.
I don't have any illnesses or intolerances to my knowledge

Any ideas anyone? Should I eat more/less? Could it be a hormonal thing? Should I adjust my macros? Are aliens/witches involved?

I know it sounds like I might be freaking out. I'm not really, I just want to understand what the problem is. Thanks in advance for your help.

Replies

  • dazza_098
    dazza_098 Posts: 78 Member
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    make sure your proteins are up if you wanna gain muscle and not body fat try get 0.7 - 1 gram of protein per pound of lean mass (body weight minus body fat percentage) for instance im 193 pounds and 18% body fat meaning about 35 pounds is body fat so im 158 pounds of lean mass so ill have 110 - 158 grams of protein a day to gain muscle and you need a surplus of about what ever you burn in a day above your maintenance so say your maintenance is like mine which is 2300 and if i was to burn 200 then id eat 2500 i hope this helps
  • FitBeto
    FitBeto Posts: 2,121 Member
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    So you took BF% and calculated with your weight and your "LBM" came out less then what it did the first time you measured?

    And, as you know, you will gain fat in a bulk regardless of your cleanliness, but just because you eat at a caloric surplus doesn't completely mean you will gain muscle. I lost a piece of my 6 pack puzzle coming off my last bulk, but i have included sprints now in my workout and the little *kitten* back.


    Also I would recommend reading up on these :

    http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_truth_about_bulking

    ETA: And also, 2000 may not be what you need for a surplus, is this at least 250-500 over your TDEE? And do you eat back exercise calories?
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
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    What method are you using to calculate these figures?

    If its a electronic scale or calipers these are likely to just be wrong. The amount of muscle a female can gain in a 4 week period is relatively small and these devices can be out by up to 5-10%, making it almost impossible to actually track your progress that way.

    Get stronger
    Hit macros
    Go by the mirror and how your clothes feel
    micro manage less
  • dazza_098
    dazza_098 Posts: 78 Member
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    well i eat under my maintenance and do zig zagging and its worked so far and ive lost near 70 pounds doing that but yeah if you wanna gain muscle you need to eat your lean mass in protein grams it can be hard doing dieting i know and with a surplus its easy to get body fat added but yeah protein is your best friend for gaining muscle over fat
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Your carbs ratio might be a bit high (might just be my maths tho :/). Mabey play with your ratios a bit - get a bit more fat and protein.
  • denezy
    denezy Posts: 573 Member
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    I too am wondering what your measurement tool is for this? Seeing as how all of them are not accurate, I'd suggest that it is just plain wrong.
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Most likely:
    your bf% estimation is off
    you retained less water this time - remember that LBM is not only muscle, it's bones, fluids ect


    now this week example: WARNING TMI
    I was 21% bf 63 kg on Monday
    I was 21% bf 64kg on Wednesday

    the bf% estimation I'm using is navy calc which takes into consideration my waist, hips and neck size
    it does not take into consideration my waist on navel level size

    did I gain muscle? NO
    I didn't poop since Monday and I was eating on maintenance not deficit since then, My waist at navel is actually 1.5 cm bigger 8somehow this is where I get bigger when I don't poop or am bloated)
    So yes, I gained LBM but it was not muscle, it was poop.

    I'm pretty sure that I will lose that 1 kg of LBM by Saturday
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
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    I expect the measurements may have had inaccuracy - either this measurement or your earlier measurement. You seem unlikely to be losing muscle mass and gaining fat on your diet and exercise regimen.
  • Mutant13
    Mutant13 Posts: 2,485 Member
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    Hi guys thanks for all the advice. I will sit down when I have a sec and reply properly to everything but my bf measurement is done with calipers.

    I am willing to put it down to a miscalculation, I just want to ensure it couldn't be anything else
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    Water percentage.
  • Tilran
    Tilran Posts: 626 Member
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    but my bf measurement is done with calipers.

    I am willing to put it down to a miscalculation, I just want to ensure it couldn't be anything else


    Calipers are about a 5% error which in a low BF% is huge....honestly when you get that low, Bodpod is your best bet. I think that one is till a 1-2% error rate, but its much more accurate.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    I also think you want to cut back a bit on carbs and add some fat. There are a lot of vitamins that are fat-soluble, so if you aren't eating fat you won't absorb them.

    Eating healthy fats doesn't make you fat, despite what we've all been told our entire lives.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Calipers have a 3-5% margin of error. If you say the change was only 1.5%, that's way too small a change to be significant.
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    Calipers have a 3-5% margin of error. If you say the change was only 1.5%, that's way too small a change to be significant.

    Yup. The time you do it can also vary the result.....BF% usually comes up higher after a workout.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    I also think you want to cut back a bit on carbs and add some fat. There are a lot of vitamins that are fat-soluble, so if you aren't eating fat you won't absorb them.

    Eating healthy fats doesn't make you fat, despite what we've all been told our entire lives.
    Have you actually looked at her diet? She eats plenty of fat.

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