Fat loss frustrations

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jenny3008
jenny3008 Posts: 97 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm getting a little disheartened with my percentage fat loss it doesn't make any sense to me so hoping some-one can explain.

I'm 5' 6" weigh about 82kg and according to my withing scale have a body fat %age of about 42%. To be honest this seems a little high for my size compared to the size of people on the TV with similar %age body fat but its fairly consistent within a % or two across a number of household scales apart from one which put me at 38%.

My real cause of frustration comes from the fact that even though I have lost 10kg (13kg at one point) I have lost several inches. 3" from my chest 7" from my hips and 4" from each thigh. I am down about 2 UK dress sizes from a 16 to sneaking into a 12. However my %age fat has only decreased about 2%

I work out hard with a PT 5-7 times a week doing a good mix of cardio, weight ( kettle bells etc) and heavy weights. I know I am gaining muscle as I am much stronger than I was and in places where there is less fat than what there used to be I can see the definition coming through. I'm much healthier and fitter than I was and my skin has improved... not that it was bad before but its cleared up and I look better.

But the %age body weight has hardly dropped and from a health point of view this is what I am most concerned about.

Can anyone help explain to me? I have looked to see if there is anywhere I can have it measured professionally but there doesn't seem to be anywhere within 100 miles of me.

As I mentioned its more the health impact of having 42% body fat that I am concerned about I have a history of Type 2 diabetes in my family and I wish to avoid this.

Replies

  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    It's difficult to get an accurate BF measurement above about 30% so don't worry too much about the exact numbers. You're losing inches so what you're doing is working. Just keep working out, eating at a deficit and making sure you get a decent protein intake and your body fat will continue to decrease.
  • jenny3008
    jenny3008 Posts: 97 Member
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    Hi Karen
    Its not so much the numbers but there is no decrease at all. The trend is flat. I'm an everyday weigher so it fluctuates from 40% to 43% which is where it started.

    I just thought that with a 10kg loss there would have been some sort of reduction in it that would be obvious.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    your scale is innacurate so don't worry about the absolute number .. use it to look at the trend over time

    so if the stupid number is coming down good enough

    my scale measures my BF at 7 - 8% more than any other measure -
  • jenny3008
    jenny3008 Posts: 97 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    your scale is innacurate so don't worry about the absolute number .. use it to look at the trend over time

    so if the stupid number is coming down good enough

    my scale measures my BF at 7 - 8% more than any other measure -

    Hi Rabbitjb

    My main concern is that the number is not coming down. I'm not concerned about the absolute number as I understand it is inaccurate but the trend is practically flat even over a 180 day period within what I believe to be the margin of error on such a scale (1-2% decrease is all I'm showing).

    My PT has one of those scales which give an indication of the fat around your organs etc and this number is quite high for me. This is what concerns me. Not the number per say but the fact that it doesn't seem to decrease.

    I just don't understand how it can not be decreasing when all the other measurements are.


    I'm trying to download the trend picture to show but no such luck yet.
  • Slasher09
    Slasher09 Posts: 316 Member
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    Your body fat IS decreasing if you are noticing this level of results (14+ inches). You ARE losing body fat, there just isn't a body fat reader that is measuring you accurately. It doesn't matter if it doesn't SAY lower numbers, because it is completely wrong/off anyway. Keep up with what you are doing and it will come down even lower.

    It's not like knowing how much you are losing will make you lose more.

    The only real way to get this information is to do really expensive testing where they weigh you underwater, etc.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    BF scales that depend on electric impedance are susceptible to many factors such as water content, sodium intake even temperature and humidity. If your initial measure was off and you are using it as a baseline then your actual bf might be down without any change or even an increase in numbers. These things are off +-5% within measures!

    Don't worry about them, keep on keeping on. And keep measuring, if you like, you will see the differences.
  • jenny3008
    jenny3008 Posts: 97 Member
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    Thanks Slasher09

    I guess the real reason it is bothering me is that I decided to use that trend as an indication of my increasing health. I'm spent a lot of time trying not to get too hung up on the weight figure on the scale as I'm much more interested in having a body in good physical shape with toning and definition than being 60kg for example.

    I guess I'm going to have to spend some time getting into the mindset that how my clothes fit and how I can perform at the gym is a better indication.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    Slasher09 wrote: »
    Your body fat IS decreasing if you are noticing this level of results (14+ inches). You ARE losing body fat, there just isn't a body fat reader that is measuring you accurately. It doesn't matter if it doesn't SAY lower numbers, because it is completely wrong/off anyway. Keep up with what you are doing and it will come down even lower.

    It's not like knowing how much you are losing will make you lose more.

    The only real way to get this information is to do really expensive testing where they weigh you underwater, etc.

    In regards to the bolded, there are other options that aren't as expensive as hydrostatic weighing that are still more accurate than a bathroom scale.
    DEXA Scans
    BodPods
    Calipers (when done by a trained and experienced person)

    As for what you're asking about OP. The scales (both bathroom and handheld devices) are highly inaccurate. Anything can throw the number off: hydration level, food recently consumed, recently used the restroom. If you are seeing inches lost, you are losing fat. Even if it doesn't show up on the scales. Keep tracking the measurements to see if they do eventually change. (I may be wrong, but I believe over a certain BF%, those scales lose what accuracy they did have.)
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    You can use all the info together - weight, bf%, performance, size but understand that one or two might not move in the short term and then adjust your thinking. Long term, they will all go where you want - it's the trip, not the end goal.

    BTW, there is no real need to spend lots of money on those expensive bf% evaluations they are also somewhat inaccurate (but less so).

    Think about how these things might impact your own motivation and cut out the negative implications of disappointed measurements, if you can. They can lead to giving up.

  • jakicooke
    jakicooke Posts: 149 Member
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    how very strange ive been having the same frustration myself I have lost over 63 pound last year and then in December got on some scales in the gym that do body fat % and it gave me 38% - I felt physically sick. I workout 3 times at least with it always being body weight resistance or weights and try to get a few runs in too. I have decided to book in to have it done in a Bod Pod at our local university im trying for next week. with it being a students clinic they cost is very very reasonable
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
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    Scales that measure body fat have inherent flaws in the way they measure so you may not be getting an accurate reading--rather an estimate with a lot of error built in. And each one is different--if you are measuring between a couple of different scales then it will be even more inconsistent.

    As rudimentary and pinch-y as the calipers are, when done by a trained individual, it is a better measure. Does your PT know how to do this? Or your doctor?
  • jenny3008
    jenny3008 Posts: 97 Member
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    mitch16 wrote: »
    Scales that measure body fat have inherent flaws in the way they measure so you may not be getting an accurate reading--rather an estimate with a lot of error built in. And each one is different--if you are measuring between a couple of different scales then it will be even more inconsistent.

    As rudimentary and pinch-y as the calipers are, when done by a trained individual, it is a better measure. Does your PT know how to do this? Or your doctor?

    Hi Mitch16
    Yes my PT has a rather expensive set of calipers and does know how to do it. I could ask him to take the measurements again...... just have to work up to preparing myself for the lecture on how I'm focussing too much on numbers over progress :D

    I don't really measure on a lot of scales as a matter of course its just between my PT's, my partners and mine I have seen the measurement on a few as it tends to follow the weight one.
    EvgeniZyntx wrote: »
    You can use all the info together - weight, bf%, performance, size but understand that one or two might not move in the short term and then adjust your thinking. Long term, they will all go where you want - it's the trip, not the end goal.

    Evgenizyntx
    I completely agree with you, but I expected a change over the course of a year and that's only since I started logging it on here. Its not changed much in 2.5 years and I just hoped it would.
    Perhaps when I get it lower and closer to 30% it will suddenly drop off as the scales seem to be better around that level.

    Thanks all for the advice. I guess I need to stop concentrating on the actual number so much and focus more on the wobbly bits reducing
  • mich19025
    mich19025 Posts: 55 Member
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    Just another thing to think about. When you lose 'weight' don't always assume that it is fat that you are losing. This weight is made up of muscles, water, glycogen and fat. That is why some people set macros in their diet to focus on losing as much fat as they can without sparing muscle and add in resistance training.
  • jenny3008
    jenny3008 Posts: 97 Member
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    mich19025 wrote: »
    Just another thing to think about. When you lose 'weight' don't always assume that it is fat that you are losing. This weight is made up of muscles, water, glycogen and fat. That is why some people set macros in their diet to focus on losing as much fat as they can without sparing muscle and add in resistance training.

    Hi Mich
    I'm fairly sure I am ok with the muscle retention, or at least I spend enough time resistance training to try and ensure that I don't lose muscle. I'm making a lot of progress in terms of my abilities in the gym so I don't believe that I am losing muscle.

    As far as water goes, I would quite happily lose some of that. My body is a demon for holding onto it. One sneaky meal in a restaurant has been known to cause my weight to increase by 4kg overnight and then it takes weeks to come back down.

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