Weight Down, Body Fat Up - ideas?

digit78
digit78 Posts: 177
edited September 23 in Health and Weight Loss
Had my weigh in at the gym (four weeks weigh in), weight is down 1.5kg (3lbs) however Body Fat is up 1.8%. Any ideas on this?

A couple of factors that may need to be considered:

- The last weigh in was following Xmas where diet was alot worse than it has been the last four weeks.
- I did have a blow out on Sunday where I had 1000 more calories than planned.
- I've been doing more cardio and less weights (outside of weights in a cardio session).
- The humidity and heat has been high here so I may be more dehydrated than normal.

Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • pamp1emousse
    pamp1emousse Posts: 282 Member
    It may well be the scales giving you an inaccurate reading - I think their error margin is something like 5%. If it's not and your body fat has gone up then it means you've lost muscle as well as/instead of fat. Maybe you're restricting your calories too much? This may help
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits?hl=guide+to+calorie+deficits
    I would make sure you're keeping up the strength training to preserve your lean muscle mass, but to be honest the scales are so unreliable is perfectly possible that the reading was nonsense :smile:
  • digit78
    digit78 Posts: 177
    It was the same scales, is it possible that they could vary that much?

    I might have to go back to a pure weight session once/twice a week, thats ok though as I enjoy that just havent had as much time in recent weeks).
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    How did they measure your bodyfat. The only real accurate way to check, is the dunk test. All other ways are subject to error.
  • digit78
    digit78 Posts: 177
    They used this:

    http://bodyfatmonitor.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/tanita-bc-545.php_.jpg
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    Most scales are relatively innacurate. Some things that can throw them off are, if you have done any working out beforehand, how much water is in your system, the trainer using them, etc. A couple of years ago I weighed on a Tanita scale, and they told me I was at 5% bodyfat. My calipers said I was closer to 10%. The bf calculators on the internet had me at 8.
  • KokomoJoe
    KokomoJoe Posts: 435
    My home scale measures body fat and in the last 30 days it has gone from 43% to 31%. I don't rely on it that much except for general progress. I haven't hit the 43% in 30 days now and currently it ranges around 38%. It is trending down which is what I want to see, but the actual number I don't believe.
  • eed_bookworm
    eed_bookworm Posts: 58
    Another factor---If you lose weight and do not eat adequate protein, you lose more lean muscle mass!!! You must eat protein, animal, vegetable, whatever you choose, to maintain lean muscle mass. Best of success to you!
  • RaeannePemberton
    RaeannePemberton Posts: 382 Member
    sometimes this can mean that you have lost too much too fast.. and perhaps in the process lost muscle. the body goes to muscle more readily when we go into starvation mode... so make sure you are eating enough and losing no more than 1 to 2 lbs a week.
  • sabrads
    sabrads Posts: 152
    You body fat measurement can be effected by dehydration - if you are dehydrated then it can cause the value to go up in error.
  • LisaSaysHi
    LisaSaysHi Posts: 19 Member
    In order to decrease your body fat percentage, you need to build more lean muscle mass. Cardio is great for burning calories, but it will also burn muscle mass. Work out with weights 2-3 times a week and do cardio on your off days. Alternatively, you can do circuit training which is moving from one weight lifting exercise to another with no more than 30 seconds of rest between exercises. You can do a whole-body circuit in 30-40 minutes and you get the benefits of cardio, too. Also, definitely eat more protein so you're not burning your muscle mass!
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