Is it possible? (Bodyfat %)

coastie_wife07
coastie_wife07 Posts: 99
in Health and Weight Loss
A month ago my bodyfat % was 28.8% (trainer measured)

Yesterday measurement was 22.7% (a different trainer measured)

This morning I told the trainer that did the first measurement about the difference and he looked at me right in the face and said there is no way I could have lost that much body fat within a month when it takes people at least a year to lose it.

Trainer # 1 said he didnt have thetime to do my measurements yesterday or this morning and that is why I asked trainer # 2

So is it possible to lose this much?
Should I have trainer # 2 re measure?

Should I just wait it out a month and have trainer # 2 do the measurement again??

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    One of them messed up. No way you lost that much BF in one month.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Totally possible. I went from 40% to 27% last year in a month alone. This year from 31.9% BF to 25% last month. Wait til next month and have it done again, you may not be able to lose as easy this time because your BF is lower but you will be able to see then whether the 2nd trainer got it right. :)
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    What was your workout regime like in that month? If you were lifting heavy everyday and alternating cardio then I can see it happening.
  • coastie_wife07
    coastie_wife07 Posts: 99
    I wish the first trainer wasnt being a butt and would have said to come back tonight and he would re measure
  • coastie_wife07
    coastie_wife07 Posts: 99
    What was your workout regime like in that month? If you were lifting heavy everyday and alternating cardio then I can see it happening.

    Lifting everday (Jaime Eason's Livefit program)

    and cardio, between elliptical, treadmill, and arc trainer, switching when I got sick of it
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    If it bothers you that much, ask him to re-measure again if you see him on the floor.. any trainer for that matter. Let us know when you do cause I'm curious.

    I do believe it is possible for you to lose that much because it has happened to me even in the high 20 percent.. your workout routine seems pretty solid and similar to how I worked out. I think, while not promising it is accurate, that you have lost a significant amount in your BF%.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    Possible? Yes. Likely? No.

    4-5% BF in a month is fairly normal if you are losing at a high rate, 2-3% is more nornal if you are losing slowly.

    It doesn't take at least a year to drop from 28.8% to 22.7%, that's just silly. That shouldn't be difficult at all to accomplish in 2-3 months.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    I find that hard to believe, especially given that measuring body fat has lots of room for error.

    That's roughly 6% body fat in a month. VERY rough estimates of weight loss based on that 6% BF loss are as follows:
    @ 250lbs, weight loss would be 15lbs
    @ 225lbs, weight loss would be 13.5lbs
    @ 200lbs, weight loss would be 12lbs
    @ 175lbs, weight loss would be 10.5lbs
    @ 150lbs, weight loss would be 9lbs
    @ 125lbs, weight loss would be 7.5lbs

    Does your weight loss in that same timeframe come close to those above numbers? Not sure what weight range you fall into...
  • bearwith
    bearwith Posts: 525 Member
    My trainer did mine and it was different in the space of 3 minutes depends on how hard you hold the machine. Also can depend on whether you used the same machine.
  • coastie_wife07
    coastie_wife07 Posts: 99
    If he is there tonight I will have trainer # 1 do the measurement and see what he comes up with.

    I know trainer # 2 will be there so I could have him re check as well.

    Trainer # 1 said that everyone measures differently but the differece should only be by 3%


    I have stayed the same weight between 127 & 129 for months now
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    If he is there tonight I will have trainer # 1 do the measurement and see what he comes up with.

    I know trainer # 2 will be there so I could have him re check as well.

    Trainer # 1 said that everyone measures differently but the differece should only be by 3%


    I have stayed the same weight between 127 & 129 for months now
    So you would have lost ~7.5lbs of fat, and since your weight stayed the same, that means you would have had to add about the same in lean mass. Giving you the benefit of the doubt with water weight, I think it's highly unlikely that you lost that much body fat in such a short amount of time, especially given that you are already fairly lean.
  • coastie_wife07
    coastie_wife07 Posts: 99
    If he is there tonight I will have trainer # 1 do the measurement and see what he comes up with.

    I know trainer # 2 will be there so I could have him re check as well.

    Trainer # 1 said that everyone measures differently but the differece should only be by 3%


    I have stayed the same weight between 127 & 129 for months now
    So you would have lost ~7.5lbs of fat, and since your weight stayed the same, that means you would have had to add about the same in lean mass. Giving you the benefit of the doubt with water weight, I think it's highly unlikely that you lost that much body fat in such a short amount of time, especially given that you are already fairly lean.

    I think you are right, my scale athome has a body fat thing on it and I just did it and it came out to 27.4, which seems more likely to me then a 6% difference
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    One of them messed up. No way you lost that much BF in one month.

    I must agree with the above. I'm assuming they used calipers which are not all that accurate to begin with, especially when dealing with 2 different measurers. To get the most accurate reading you need to have the same trained measurer and the exact same spots must be measured. And still there is the margin of error.

    Unless you had some procedure that would make you expect that type of fat loss (such as liposuction), it is so improbable that it borders impossible that you lost that much in one month.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    I thought you weighed more...

    But regardless - there's a lot of info that is not being shared. Do you weigh daily and what have your fluctuations been like if so in the last month? Have you noticed a difference in your measurements? Do you measure?

    This would only make sense to me being possible if your weight has stayed the same or has been hovering over 130 and yo-yoing back and forth down to 127.. You can retain a lot of water when gaining muscle due to the need to repair them but I dunno...
  • coastie_wife07
    coastie_wife07 Posts: 99
    One of them messed up. No way you lost that much BF in one month.

    I must agree with the above. I'm assuming they used calipers which are not all that accurate to begin with, especially when dealing with 2 different measurers. To get the most accurate reading you need to have the same trained measurer and the exact same spots must be measured. And still there is the margin of error.

    Unless you had some procedure that would make you expect that type of fat loss (such as liposuction), it is so improbable that it borders impossible that you lost that much in one month.

    Yes calipers where used and the leg measurement was not in the same spot as the first one.

    Now I dont know which trainer to trust to do it
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    I would of thought it very unlikely. It seems a large amount to drop in just 4 weeks. But hey, stranger things have happened? Re-measure. Thats the only way to know for sure...
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    One of them messed up. No way you lost that much BF in one month.

    I must agree with the above. I'm assuming they used calipers which are not all that accurate to begin with, especially when dealing with 2 different measurers. To get the most accurate reading you need to have the same trained measurer and the exact same spots must be measured. And still there is the margin of error.

    Unless you had some procedure that would make you expect that type of fat loss (such as liposuction), it is so improbable that it borders impossible that you lost that much in one month.

    Yes calipers where used and the leg measurement was not in the same spot as the first one.

    Now I dont know which trainer to trust to do it

    It doesn't really matter, as the actual number doesn't matter so much as the change in that number over time. It doesn't matter what the number is, as long as it's smaller than it was last time.

    If you have the first trainer do the measurement, you'll have a somewhat more reliable comparison to last time. If you have the second trainer do you, you'll be starting from today.
  • coastie_wife07
    coastie_wife07 Posts: 99
    When I go back this afternoon I'll have trainer # 1 do the measurement if he is there, if he isn't I'll have him do it tomorrow.

    I do measure my body, the difference in inches and etc every few months, some have gotten smaller, some bigger, etc
  • Liftnlove
    Liftnlove Posts: 235
    Virtually impossible. Your body would look dramatically leaner with that kind of drop. Does it?
  • coastie_wife07
    coastie_wife07 Posts: 99
    There was only one trainer at the gym last night and it was a totally different guy.

    I decided to wait it out 2 weeks or a month and get it re done instead
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    They are probably both wrong.

    Body fat measurement is notoriously inaccurate, it's not a good way to attemp tracking your progress IMO.

    http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=146

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