fat % not budging

donjtomasco
donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
I just had my weekly weigh in and lost 1.4 pounds but my fat % actually went up 0.1. In seven weeks I have lost 12.8 pounds but only have lost 1.0% of body fat. Any suggestions? Is this normal? It seems not. My diet seems solid.

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    You cannot measure fat percentage on a scale or on one of those scales where you hold something

    the closest you would get to an accurate BF measurement is a Body Pod or Dexa Scan

    did you do either of those?

    Don't worry about it
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    Thanks. The scale they use (at golds) is a Tanita Body Composition Analyzer TNF-300. It supposedly measures body fat.
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    I don't use calipers or anything else. I am losing inches consistently at my waist, hips and thighs.
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Thanks. The scale they use (at golds) is a Tanita Body Composition Analyzer TNF-300. It supposedly measures body fat.

  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    You cannot measure fat percentage on a scale or on one of those scales where you hold something

    the closest you would get to an accurate BF measurement is a Body Pod or Dexa Scan

    did you do either of those?

    Don't worry about it

    You forgot hydrostatic weighing.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    "supposedly"

    too many factors .. how hydrated you are, whether you've just exercised, callouses etc

    TBH they should be OK over time to measure progress but I wouldn't take the figure as absolute

  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    Thanks Rabbit. I like how you think.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    Also, you will need more of a loss than 1.4# to see a change, IMO. Those scales can give you a baseline to see change over time....weeks, not a single week. Even then they may not be accurate, but they will give you a trend.
  • betuel75
    betuel75 Posts: 776 Member
    as you loose weight you should be able to see it in the mirror and pinch test. It will take more than 1.4 pounds to see it start thining out around the mid section. Have you noticed a difference in the mirror and pinch test after you lost the 12 pounds?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,976 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Thanks. The scale they use (at golds) is a Tanita Body Composition Analyzer TNF-300. It supposedly measures body fat.
    It measures how fast electricity travels from one point to another actually. The slower it takes, the "perceived" reading is that there is more fat impeding the speed. Just increasing water in your system will change the reading even if fat % doesn't change at all.
    As mentioned you need a more precise way to read body fat. IMO, one of the best and inexpensive ways is to watch your clothes fall off you and see progress in a mirror. Definition in your body parts would tell you if body fat is lowering or not.

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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Thanks. The scale they use (at golds) is a Tanita Body Composition Analyzer TNF-300. It supposedly measures body fat.

    Those kind of scales measure hydration, how thick the calluses are on your feet, and how sweaty your feet are, more than they measure bf%.
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
    I use one of those scales once a week at the gym. Two weeks ago, my % dropped almost 3%, while my weight went up. Last week, my percentage went up while my weight dropped several pounds. IOW, what others have said about the scales being better than nothing for tracking long term trends, but useless for week to week fluctuations.
  • Torrinos
    Torrinos Posts: 3 Member
    Hello. I am usually not writing here, but you just appear to be like me one year ago.

    I am in a same boat - trying to cut properly. After few years of search I think I am finally on a right track. I lost 5 kg in a past two months, my lifting weights are stable or even going up and I lost 5cm in my waist. Credit goes to a famous Andy Morgan from rippedbody.jp.

    My advice to you:
    - Forget about BFF measurement on a scale. I used to rely on it a lot. It's a total BS, as the method heavily depends on water amount in your body. Just ignore anything else other than weight.
    - Instead buy MyoTape Body Tape and start measuring your waist and if you are interest biceps, chest or whatever.
    - Track it together with calorie intake
    - Don't try to lose more than 1-1.5 lbs per week. This is important. In my previous cuts I was losing more and it resulted in decreases in lifting weight. Anything more than this and you start losing lean body mass. The keyword here is SLOW.
    - Eat less fat (~0.3 g/lb of LBM)
    - Eat more protein (>1 g/lb of LBM)
    - Lift weights, but don't push too hard - allow yourself to recover. The goal is to retain muscles.

    Repeat for 12-15 weeks or whatever to achieve the required BFF.
    It sounds simple, but this is it. Controlled calorie deficite (~300 cal per day), enough protein, less fat, lifting.

    Good luck!
  • kikichewie
    kikichewie Posts: 276 Member
    Meh. I have a tanita scale and I like it. When my weight fluctuates up, my BF percentage drops for the day bc that extra water is considered lean body mass. When my weight fluctuates down as the water comes off, my BF percentage goes up a tick. That seems completely logical to me. But when I'm successful in tracking my diet and exercising over time, both the scale and the BF percentage trend downward. That's the important thing. The numbers themselves don't really matter. The weight on the scale fluctuates. So does the BF measurement. I'm not sure why anyone would expect one to bounce around and the other to be linear.
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    I definitely see a difference in pants being loser. In the seven weeks I have lost 12.5 pounds, 2 inches in my waist, 1 inch in my hips and 2.5 inches in my thighs. The Golds challenge includes body fat% lost, so I guess it will be with the same scale I have been using when they take the final reading. Not that the challenge is that important, but it is what it is. Regardless of my % fat readings everything else shows progress.
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