Hydrostatic BF% analysis - Need help

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Phaedra2014
Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I had a hydrostatic BF% analysis done in June, this year, and another one done today.

In June, my stats were:

Weight 137lbs

LBM 113

Fat Mass 24.3

BF% 17.5

In September, same year, my results are:

Weight 132 lbs

LBM 108

Fat Mass 24.2

BF% 18.2

So yes, I have lost 5 lbs in 3 months but I have also lost LBM, which I DID NOT want to lose. I did a lot more cardio over the summer i.e. swimming, Zumba, Piyo, Plyo and my strength training went down a little bit but I did keep it going 2 times a week. Until June, I was lifting 4 times a week and my cardio came in the form of HIIT or sprints or short runs.

My question is, how do I increase my LBM? I do enjoy cardio. I am also planning on training for a half marathon but will take it slow and run in the Spring.

I do care about weight loss but I care more about preserving (and gaining) LBM.

What suggestions do you experienced folks have for me?

Thank you.

Replies

  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    What height are you? 132 seems like a nice weight to be at. I would spend a few months at maintenance or even a small surplus and work on building things up again. No need to cut back your cardio if you enjoy it, just eat accordingly.

    Depending on age, you might need to be thinking about bone density too. I'd get back to the weights and up calories.

    Also, before panicking - do you know how accurate hydrowhatyamabob is? Most measurements have a margin of error - google that before making any drastic changes.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
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    I'm 5'2" so not very tall.

    I'm not panicking at all. I'm interested in knowing how to increase my LBM.

    Hydrostatic BF% is probably the most accurate test available.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    you gain LBM by eating in a surplus while progressively resistance training. if you're still trying to loss weight, you're going to lose some LBM with it but you can minimize the loss by eating enough protein, keeping the deficit reasonable, and keeping the cardio to a reasonable amount.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    you gain LBM by eating in a surplus while progressively resistance training. if you're still trying to loss weight, you're going to lose some LBM with it but you can minimize the loss by eating enough protein, keeping the deficit reasonable, and keeping the cardio to a reasonable amount.

    What he said. Every word.
  • GetSlimEquestrian
    GetSlimEquestrian Posts: 31 Member
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    My advice: Eat at maintenance calories for a while, scale back on the cardio (only 2x a week), increase strength training (3-6x per week). Make sure to lift heavy for the strength training. And make sure to eat enough protein.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Even with hydrostatic weighing, your numbers are not that different and are within the standard of error for that test. You are also looking at a three month retest time, which is the minimum I would consider waiting before repeating this type of test. In other words, be cautious about over analyzing the results.

    Even with your possible loss of LBM, your FFM number is significantly higher than average for your height. Training effects are highly specific to the type of training that is performed. If you had a higher than average amount of muscle, and you decreased your volume of resistance training, then muscle mass will decrease.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
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    This is all wise advice. Thank you.

    I did increase cardio quite a bit over the 3 months but now I will go back to lifting more and scaling back on cardio.

    I was doing mostly 20 minute HIIT or sprints for cardio then decided to do fitness classes people talk about at the gym. It did not give me the results I hoped to achieve.
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
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    What was your average daily protein the last few months?
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    Hydrostatic BF% is probably the most accurate test available.
    Not these days. For consistency between tests I'd trust DEXA over hydrostatic any day.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
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    What was your average daily protein the last few months?

    I was hovering around 130gr but in the last 2 months, I increased carbs and decreased protein to about 100gr.

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