Weight climbing but bodyfat decreasing...Am I doing this right?

lucyholdcroft363
lucyholdcroft363 Posts: 124 Member
edited November 17 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey all! So I only started truly getting serious about my fitness about a month ago! I now do cardio two days a week and strength training for three days! During this time I've gained upward of five pounds but also dropped 2% body fat. I don't have a clue how this works, but does this mean I am gaining muscle on the scale? :)

Replies

  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    I took a quick peek at your diary, and every single day I saw (only went back 3 or 4 days) I noticed you were eating .8 of a banana for exactly 84 calories. This leads me to believe that maybe you aren't tracking all the rest of your food as carefully as you think you are.

    Also, what is your calorie goal? It seems rather high to me, but I don't know your stats so I could be wrong about that.

    Are you weighing your foods?
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited May 2015
    How are you determining the loss of bf%?

    Unless it's a DEXA scan, it's likely innacurate.... Sorry.

    Editing to add that it's likely water weight, considering most of your intake is Carbohydrates. Which makes you hold water. Where's your protein and fat?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    What are your goals?
  • rupertspenser
    rupertspenser Posts: 567 Member
    its very possible that you are gaining in muscle as you drop fat... how are you measuring your bf % ? cause if its right it will only be muscle or water your gaining! do well done! ;)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    rupertspenser wrote: »
    its very possible that you are gaining in muscle as you drop fat... how are you measuring your bf % ? cause if its right it will only be muscle or water your gaining! do well done! ;)

    Nope
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    OK I looked at your profile and your diary for a few days

    I assume your goals are to lose body fat as you have put in 10lbs weight loss and to preserve as much LBM as you do

    I would refocus on your diary ..you are not getting a decent nutritional spread in that, your protein is low, and whilst it's fine to eat chocolate and skittles and food you fancy you should do so as well as hitting your macro (protein and fats as minimum) and your micro targets

    If you have changed up exercise it is very likely that you are holding on to water for muscle repair

    But fix your logging and try to eat enough protein and wide range of fruits and vegetables ...all weighed accurately

    The advice I was given was as minimums look to achieve, within your calorie defecit

    0.8-1g protein per lb of LBM
    0.35g of fat per lb of bodyweight
  • lucyholdcroft363
    lucyholdcroft363 Posts: 124 Member
    My macro targets ARE 80/10/10 because that is a diet that works for me and I feel energised and healthy on! :) I'm also a vegetarian.
    I'm actually aiming to maintain my weight and I do have an active lifestyle involving a lot of walking and sports so my daily goal is about 2400/500 calories which was working completely before i upped my exercise
    My loss of bf% is used on a scale which while the complete number may not be accurate, the loss is still accurate whether or not my bf % is really what is says (or so I was informed haha!)
    I weigh all foods - the .8 of a banana is because I couldn't find anything accurate so I worked out how many calories are in the bananas I ate and then just used an average banana and found what percentage of that the bananas I eat would be.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    lucyholdcroft363 wrote: »
    My macro targets ARE 80/10/10 because that is a diet that works for me and I feel energised and healthy on! :) I'm also a vegetarian.
    I'm actually aiming to maintain my weight and I do have an active lifestyle involving a lot of walking and sports so my daily goal is about 2400/500 calories which was working completely before i upped my exercise
    My loss of bf% is used on a scale which while the complete number may not be accurate, the loss is still accurate whether or not my bf % is really what is says (or so I was informed haha!)
    I weigh all foods - the .8 of a banana is because I couldn't find anything accurate so I worked out how many calories are in the bananas I ate and then just used an average banana and found what percentage of that the bananas I eat would be.

    From what I understand with scales is that water weight contributes to lean mass, so an increase in water would lower your bf %
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited May 2015
    You are aiming for 10% protein? And you have a fitness goal?

    Protein aids muscle repair
    Fat helps the body absorb nutrients

    Scales are ok to measure BF progress over significant time - months not weeks and the reading can be affected by many factors
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    If your intake hadn't changed, and you have increase exercise, you did not gain any real weight. It is simply water retention. Very common when changing or adding in exercise. You cannot add more WEIGHT, muscle or otherwise, just by adding more exercise.

    If you've increased calories as well you may have gained, but it is not as simple as adding 5 pounds of pure muscle. More actually, bc you said your body fat has decreased by 2%, so that would mean even more muscle. Just doesn't work that way. More likely you have increase muscle slightly while decreasing fat slightly, and have lots of water weight.
  • DevilsFan1
    DevilsFan1 Posts: 342 Member
    Your goal is 2500 calories per day for weight loss? Are you burning 1000 calories a day in exercise and not tracking it? 2500 seems awfully high for a woman trying to lose weight. I'm a44 year-old male and 2500 calories per day is my maintainence caloric intake.

    As others pointed out, your macros are out of balance for muscle gain. I seriously doubt you are putting on any measurable muscle with an 80-10-10 plan. If you don't have a problem with whey, try to mix in at least one protein shake per day to increase your protein intake.

    In short, I doubt you are calculating your body composition correctly and with the amount of calories you are ingesting, I suspect you are putting on fat and not muscle.
  • DevilsFan1
    DevilsFan1 Posts: 342 Member
    Also, I suggest you use a tape measure to track your body instead of relying on a scale. Even the Navy Body Fat calculation will give you a decent idea of your progress.
  • Sutnak
    Sutnak Posts: 227 Member
    edited May 2015
    Water weight will really throw the results of a bodyfat scale off. A lot. The results should be taken with a grain of salt and are only good for showing a general trend over a long period of time.

    There's no conceivable way you gained 5lbs of muscle in a month. If any, maybe a few ounces.

  • Ms_LisaKay
    Ms_LisaKay Posts: 103 Member
    DevilsFan1 wrote: »
    <snip>
    If you don't have a problem with whey, try to mix in at least one protein shake per day to increase your protein intake. </snip>

    And if you do have a problem with whey, there are soy-based protein supplements available. Just thought I would throw that in.
  • fearlessleader104
    fearlessleader104 Posts: 723 Member
    You gained 1lbs of fat per week is the most likely scenario.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    You are
    lucyholdcroft363 wrote: »
    My macro targets ARE 80/10/10 because that is a diet that works for me and I feel energised and healthy on! :) I'm also a vegetarian.
    I'm actually aiming to maintain my weight and I do have an active lifestyle involving a lot of walking and sports so my daily goal is about 2400/500 calories which was working completely before i upped my exercise
    My loss of bf% is used on a scale which while the complete number may not be accurate, the loss is still accurate whether or not my bf % is really what is says (or so I was informed haha!)
    I weigh all foods - the .8 of a banana is because I couldn't find anything accurate so I worked out how many calories are in the bananas I ate and then just used an average banana and found what percentage of that the bananas I eat would be.

    The loss is not accurate, the weight gain is accurate. Is there a reason you are logging very little exercise, when you say you are doing lots of sports? Because your diary shows a lot of calories for a woman trying to lose or even maintain, but not the exercise to explain this. And since your weight is going up, the most probably scenario is you are just putting on weight, as in fat.
    The most alarming thing in your diary is quality though. I do not believe in low carb diets having any benefit for the average person, and I love fresh fruit and believe they are a healthy choice. But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, since it lives so little room for anything else. There is no way you can remain healthy, let alone build muscle with the things you are eating, this is not vegetarian, it is some weird fad. Talk to your dr, and if you have been eating this way for a while, ask for a blood test, before you start losing your hair and faint. As for muscle, chances are you are losing what you already had, not building more.
  • rhoda1990
    rhoda1990 Posts: 25 Member
    DevilsFan1 wrote: »
    Your goal is 2500 calories per day for weight loss? Are you burning 1000 calories a day in exercise and not tracking it? 2500 seems awfully high for a woman trying to lose weight. I'm a44 year-old male and 2500 calories per day is my maintainence caloric intake.

    As others pointed out, your macros are out of balance for muscle gain. I seriously doubt you are putting on any measurable muscle with an 80-10-10 plan. If you don't have a problem with whey, try to mix in at least one protein shake per day to increase your protein intake.

    In short, I doubt you are calculating your body composition correctly and with the amount of calories you are ingesting, I suspect you are putting on fat and not muscle.

    I'm a 24 year old female and I'm losing weight on that amout. And yes her macros are out of wack!

  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
    10% protein is not enough for even a sedentary person. The fact that you’re lifting and doing cardio, you’re not doing yourself any favors with this macro ratio.

    I also suspect your bf measurement is whack. You may be pulling water, but I suspect you’re gaining fat as well.
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