weight about the same, but body fat decreasing

pandafoo
pandafoo Posts: 367 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there! I hope some of you can help shed some light on my situation. Last time I weighed myself and took measurements was on June 3rd. For the past month, admittedly I've been going over calories on the weekends. However, I'm still under my net calorie goal to lose 1 lb/week. Also, I've been exercising about 6 times a week for the past month. I take mostly classes that have a strength training component, and also play tennis and take spinning classes.

These are the stats for my starting point on MFP (when I started getting serious again), a month ago, and now:

April 19:
-weight: 168.8
-BF: 40.4%
-waist: 33
-hips: 41
-upper arm: 13.25

June 3:
-weight: 161.4
-BF: 39.1%
-waist: 31
-hips: 40
-upper arm: 13

Today
-weight: 161.8
-BF: 36.5%
-upper arm: 12.75 (waist and hips remained the same)

So in the past month, my weight has gone up slightly, my BF has dropped 2.6%, yet my measurements are still about the same. Is this possible? I thought given the first two variables, my measurements would become smaller to reflect the BF loss. I'm using a Tanita body fat scale, and I know generally these scales are inaccurate. (When I went for a health check-up recently, the nurse gave me a handheld device which reported my BF as being 5% lower.) But if I'm consistently using my scale to measure BF, I think the trend should be somewhat accurate even if the absolute numbers aren't.

I would appreciate any insight you can provide about what could be going on. Thanks!! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • riley711
    riley711 Posts: 298 Member
    You are burning fat and build muscle (toning)!!!! Awesome job Hsin Hsin!!!:happy:
  • pandafoo
    pandafoo Posts: 367 Member
    Thanks Charlene! But shouldn't my measurements be smaller compared to last month if I'm really toning up? That's what I'm confused about.
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
    Most ways are incredibly inaccurate, especially a scale.....I have one, I change bf% multiple times a day. They even state about a 4% error either way. The scales measure hydration and that is different for most day to day, moment to moment.

    If you are eating in a deficient, you are not gaining muscle. There are noob gains but not enough to hide fat loss or cause a change to the scale.

    Your measurements will change when bf% changes. If you started a new workout, like lifting, you may be holding water and this is masking any fat loss. Your muscles will do this to help repair themselves.

    You also have more of a weight range as opposed to a set number. Water weight, digestion, hormones and a zillion other things can affect you by a few pounds. An example is that I weigh 2-4lbs different at night from morning, depending on sodium, digestion, and hormones.

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