lost inches but gained BF???

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jlcarcajc4
jlcarcajc4 Posts: 71 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So since Feb. 28th I lost 3 pds and lost a couple inches total overall. When I went to recalculate my BF from last time (2/28) using the same calculator (fat to fit radio military body fat) I actually gained? I went from 45.8 to 46.3??? I started following "body by you" just this week, but prior I was doing 6 days a week DVDs ( mostly Jillian's ripped in 30 completed & The Firm Basic sculpting). I had a few bad days in there around Easter. Is it normal to gain BF while losing inches?

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  • sadyel
    sadyel Posts: 250
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    Those calculators arnt very accurate your best going to a gym and having it tested properly on one of those machines im not sure what they are called sorry I had mine done I was 30% I need to get it done again soo
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
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    I would say there was probably an error in measurements either the first time or this time...
  • donna_glasgow
    donna_glasgow Posts: 869 Member
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    its a body fat % .. so if you have lost weight then your % may have gone up
  • ntdrive
    ntdrive Posts: 105 Member
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    I would say there was probably an error in measurements either the first time or this time...

    ^^ this
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
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    Its definitely possible, especially on calorie restricted diets. You can easily lose lean muscle mass in addition to body fat.

    Eating enough of the right type of calories and strength training will help to minimize this. But, also, those calculators are't super accurate.
  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,411 Member
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    If you can, go to a medical clinic that has Dexa Scan machines (bone density). The machine also does body comp scans and clinics usually offer them at a reasonable price. Highly accurate, my clinic includes the photos that actually show your body and where all the fat deposits are along with the reports.
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
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    Its definitely possible, especially on calorie restricted diets. You can easily lose lean muscle mass in addition to body fat.

    Eating enough of the right type of calories and strength training will help to minimize this. But, also, those calculators are't super accurate.

    http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/4608-losing-too-much-muscle/
    http://gabbysgfree.com/2013/02/whole30-wrap/
  • dclem2012
    dclem2012 Posts: 60 Member
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    I would guess that to be a measurement "taking" differntial on your part. Muscle weighs more than fat but takes up less space, so your measurements should go down.

    But do to human error, you may hold a tape is slightly different spots when you measure, especially if you are toning up..

    At a 3 pound loss, I think their would be barely any difference in BF% over the length of time you are talking about. I would ignore the apparent gain at this time and keep on eating healthy and exercising.
  • jlcarcajc4
    jlcarcajc4 Posts: 71 Member
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    Thank you all! I appreciate your help. I will look into a more accurate method! :smile:
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    So since Feb. 28th I lost 3 pds and lost a couple inches total overall. When I went to recalculate my BF from last time (2/28) using the same calculator (fat to fit radio military body fat) I actually gained? I went from 45.8 to 46.3??? I started following "body by you" just this week, but prior I was doing 6 days a week DVDs ( mostly Jillian's ripped in 30 completed & The Firm Basic sculpting). I had a few bad days in there around Easter. Is it normal to gain BF while losing inches?

    Unless your initial measurements were done with calipers or using hydrostatic displacement in a specially designed tub, online calculators are most likely going to give you this type of result.

    If your calculations went up, my guess would be that 1 of two things happened.

    1) your body is holding water in the muscles
    2) you've lost fat and gained muscle mass.

    Taking a look at the second point, while a pound of fat is equal IN WEIGHT to a pound of muscle, they're NOT the same volume, meaning they don't take up the same space. Muscle is going to be more dense. (D =M/V) Think of it in terms of a a pound of bubble wrap takes up more space than a pound of bricks. They both weigh a pound but don't take up the same amount of space.

    So it's entirely possible for two people to have the same number using an online calculator, but for the calculations to be wrong. If we take an athlete who's 5'8 and 200lbs of mostly muscle, they're going to look considerably different than someone who's the same height, same weight, and primarily beer gut and pizza. Yet the calculator would tag them both as obese.

    Go with the tape measure and how your clothes feel. :)

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