Weight dropping but body fat going up

Options
tulsaBill
tulsaBill Posts: 84 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been steadily loosing about 2lbs a week since Jan. Up until 4 weeks ago my bf% was dropping in line w/ the weight loss. Now in the last three weeks my bf% has been creeping back up. It's been bound to a range of 27.6 - 28.6 for the last month but weight has dropped from 254-248 in that same time. So I am loosing muscle but not sure why.

I've not really changed my diet, I'm now about 1820 cal a day and for the last 6 months I have been reducing that number in line with the weight; taking away about 20 cal every two weeks or so to keep my TDEE -20% in line.

6 weeks ago I started lifting 2x a week. I can feel myself getting stronger and I am getting some definition in my arms and back. I do the same cardo as always; I walk or jog a 5k every weekday (more on weekends). Last month I logged 100miles.

I try to keep my macros to about 40,30,30 carbs, fat, protein. If I don't hit that mark it's usually less crabs and more fat. 30% protein is hard to hit daily but I do try. I log everything even when I do go over.

The only thing that might be a 'change' in my routine is stress. Things are moving at work and my stress level has gone up some but it's not unbearable. My trainer suggested a good Vit B complex but I've always been hesitant to supplement.

So, what do you think could be other possible factors in steady weight loss but bf% increase?

Replies

  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
    Options
    How are you measuring your BF%?
  • tulsaBill
    tulsaBill Posts: 84 Member
    Options
    Fit bit scale. I know that it may not be 100% accurate but at least it gave a base line and even if the number to start with was not accurate a + or - would be relative to the baseline (even if the baseline was not correct).
  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
    Options
    Personally, I'd get it measured by your GP. They'll give a more accurate reading.
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
    Options
    Does the scale have different settings for "athletic" and "normal"? I have a different brand BF scale that has two settings (along with guidelines on which one to choose based on workout schedule), and they give different numbers. If your scale has those settings, perhaps you crossed their dividing line.

    Edit to add: the "Athletic" number is lower on my scale as they use a different calculation based on the resistance that accounts for something that I don't remember off the top of my head since I don't have the booklet in front of me.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    Options
    Maybe change your deficit to o nay lose one pound or just half a pound a week?
  • tulsaBill
    tulsaBill Posts: 84 Member
    Options
    Thanks all. I've thought about changing the setting but at 250lbs I don't think I can call myself 'athletic' just yet. :-) I might try it and see what happens.

    For the last 6 months I've used this method to set my deficit: I started with -2lb a week and used MFPs calculations. With every 5lb lost I reset the goals and got a new daily cal goal. Once MFP takes me below 1700 cal a day I change the deficit by .5lb and start over. Now I am at -1.5 a week and soon I should be at -1lb a week. I figure this way by the time I zero in on my goal I should have a pretty good ideal what my true maintenance cal will be.

    I'm a numbers guy so I keep a pretty complex spreadsheet with all my data. It's been useful to see what changed in behavior to the week have impacted the results. In this case however the numbers are not relieving their secrets. It's been suggested that I may be over-training (ie doing too much cardio) and there may be something to that. I think I'll cut out the daily jogs on lift days and see what that does.

    66899_624553590901728_1789535743_n.jpg

Categories