Body fat% keeps going up...why?
OrianaK
Posts: 3 Member
I've been watching what I eat (fruits, veggies, very minimal carbs, nothing packaged or processed, proteins {I usually meet or come close to mfp recommendation}) I drink a gallon of water a day and I'm exercising about an hour or so, sometimes longer everyday. I do cardio kickboxing, some strength training and I'm trying to get into jogging/running. I have an Aria smart scale by fitbit and almost everyday my body fat percentage goes up. I've lost about 3 lbs or so in 2 1/2 weeks. Am I doing something wrong?
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the body fat % reading on those scales are wildly inaccurate.0
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I used the skinfold calipers also and it was almost exactly the reading the scale gave me.0
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Those types of scales can NOT accurately measure body fat. I would ignore it.0
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Those scales aren't considered terribly accurate. If you do continue to use it, do it under the same conditions of hydration each time - so first thing in the AM before you drink anything would be easiest.
http://dailyburn.com/life/health/how-to-measure-body-fat-percentage/0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Those scales aren't considered terribly accurate. If you do continue to use it, do it under the same conditions of hydration each time - so first thing in the AM before you drink anything would be easiest.
http://dailyburn.com/life/health/how-to-measure-body-fat-percentage/
Thanks for the tip. I did use the skinfold caliper to determine body fat percentage the same time I started using the biometric scale. I got basically the same results...there was a 1% difference.0 -
Are you experienced with using calipers? Skin fold testing is wildly inaccurate if done by inexperienced/ untrained people0
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Skinfold calipers are also pretty difficult to use consistently. Technique can make the number vary all over the place.0
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Watching what you eat (low carb, low fat, fad of the year) and drinking a gallon/day of water have no direct correlation to reducing body fat. If they indirectly cause you to eat less calories then you expend, then you'll lose weight and most of it will be fat. So we can ignore that portion of your post. You did say you lost weight though, so you would expect a drop, but 3lb isn't much of a weight change and could all be water weight, we don't know.
As for you, you are relying on a bio-electrical impedance device, which are not particularly accurate. If you are changing the scenarios under which you are measuring (right after waking up vs after exercising) you will get different results, which may lead to what you are experiencing.
2-3 weeks also isn't long enough to determine a trend. I take my BF% every monday with calipers and fully expect some Mondays to be up/steady, and other Mondays to be down despite losing weight.
So, ultimately, understand the limitations of the tool and take the readings with a grain of salt.0 -
Calipers can also be inaccurate especially if done by someone who isn't trained.0
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LOL sooooooooo is anything accurate? I'm seeing a pattern here. Even my bod pod test seemed to say 2% error rate on either side. Greattttttttt. So I can't even bank on that 27%? Maybe it's 29%? Or should I be optimistic and say 25%. Yeah. For sure 25...maybe 24.99 even... Yeah...0
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CalorieCountChocula wrote: »LOL sooooooooo is anything accurate? I'm seeing a pattern here. Even my bod pod test seemed to say 2% error rate on either side. Greattttttttt. So I can't even bank on that 27%? Maybe it's 29%? Or should I be optimistic and say 25%. Yeah. For sure 25...maybe 24.99 even... Yeah...
DEXA is considered to be one of the more accurate measures.0 -
CalorieCountChocula wrote: »LOL sooooooooo is anything accurate? I'm seeing a pattern here. Even my bod pod test seemed to say 2% error rate on either side. Greattttttttt. So I can't even bank on that 27%? Maybe it's 29%? Or should I be optimistic and say 25%. Yeah. For sure 25...maybe 24.99 even... Yeah...
iirc DEXA is more accurate but yeah, there isn't much out there that's 100% accurate.0 -
Seems like a crappy metric to strive for or measure progress by unless you're already fit considering how difficult it is to accurately measure.0
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CalorieCountChocula wrote: »Seems like a crappy metric to strive for or measure progress by unless you're already fit considering how difficult it is to accurately measure.
I get the sentiment, but the scales are fine for showing trends if used correctly (same time every day over a long period). All you really want is for that number to work its way downward. As long as you don't put stock that the actual number is correct, you'll be fine.0 -
CalorieCountChocula wrote: »Seems like a crappy metric to strive for or measure progress by unless you're already fit considering how difficult it is to accurately measure.
I get the sentiment, but the scales are fine for showing trends if used correctly (same time every day over a long period). All you really want is for that number to work its way downward. As long as you don't put stock that the actual number is correct, you'll be fine.
I feel like this should be correct but in practice isn't. Any temporary spike throws the whole thing off and it doesn't seem to recover. Maybe the results are better if you're leaner and don't swing as much water as I do. Just to throw out a couple of my numbers back last August I had a day where I was 237 and 28.9%. Cut to just a couple weeks ago and I was 226 and 28.5%. I call BS.0 -
CalorieCountChocula wrote: »CalorieCountChocula wrote: »Seems like a crappy metric to strive for or measure progress by unless you're already fit considering how difficult it is to accurately measure.
I get the sentiment, but the scales are fine for showing trends if used correctly (same time every day over a long period). All you really want is for that number to work its way downward. As long as you don't put stock that the actual number is correct, you'll be fine.
I feel like this should be correct but in practice isn't. Any temporary spike throws the whole thing off and it doesn't seem to recover. Maybe the results are better if you're leaner and don't swing as much water as I do. Just to throw out a couple of my numbers back last August I had a day where I was 237 and 28.9%. Cut to just a couple weeks ago and I was 226 and 28.5%. I call BS.
Going back further, one day in May 2014. 251 and about 29% LOL. Yeah. OK.
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There is one way to get accurate bf measurements but you kind of have to be dead
even with the inaccuracies of calipers or anything else you use if you treat it as a tool and track the downward tread and use it in conjunction with scales and body measurements. 0 -
There is one way to get accurate bf measurements but you kind of have to be dead even with the inaccuracies of calipers or anything else you use if you treat it as a tool and track the downward tread and use it in conjunction with scales and body measurements.
Sweet! I'm not fully convinced I'll reach my goal weight until 6 months after I'm dead so can we hold off on the test until then? #finallybeachready #absnotflabs #shirtlessselfietime0 -
Measuring BF is very hard to pull of with accuracy. I'd say your best bet is to simply measure your waist, hips, chest, arms, and thighs with tape every month or so. You CAN also plug these numbers in to an online calculator which can give you an estimate of your BF, but again- this may not be completely accurate.0
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FabianRodriguez94 wrote: »Measuring BF is very hard to pull of with accuracy. I'd say your best bet is to simply measure your waist, hips, chest, arms, and thighs with tape every month or so. You CAN also plug these numbers in to an online calculator which can give you an estimate of your BF, but again- this may not be completely accurate.
I approve of this post.
Don't pay too much attention to the actual bodyfat estimates (they may be way off) but look at the trends.0 -
Jump up and down in front of a mirror nekkid
Not genitals or boobs and still jiggling? Body fat!0 -
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My scale told me my BF was 21.8% yesterday
Funnily enough I was wanted to believe it more than when it told me I was 33% or 28%
I wouldn't mind if it was consistently inaccurate so I could track trend ..stupid device0 -
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I have the aria scales.This happens to me. There's a few things that can alter readings.
1) I will lose weight and show a lower BF% immediately after a shower
2) How clean/dry my feet are
3) How much did I drink yesterday
4) How late did I eat last night
5) TOM
You get the idea. To see my trending I look at the look at the dashboard and look over a month period. Is my body fat lower or higher than last month. If the little trend line is going down then I am heading in the right direction.
If I have a splurge weekend I will often find that I've put on weight but BF% is lower. Hydration is a huge factor in this. My lowest and most accurate weight for me is Friday morning because I tend to eat more consistently through the week and I drink lots of water at work. My weekends I eat all over the place and will often end up drinking more water later in the day to make up for not drinking as much during the day. Also I find after a big workout (my weekends are usually way more active than my weekday) I will always weigh more the next day. I've read this is due to the body holding onto more water to aid recovery.
Moral of the story. Look at the trend dont look at daily fluctuations.0 -
strong_curves wrote: »CalorieCountChocula wrote: »LOL sooooooooo is anything accurate? I'm seeing a pattern here. Even my bod pod test seemed to say 2% error rate on either side. Greattttttttt. So I can't even bank on that 27%? Maybe it's 29%? Or should I be optimistic and say 25%. Yeah. For sure 25...maybe 24.99 even... Yeah...
iirc DEXA is more accurate but yeah, there isn't much out there that's 100% accurate.
My Dexa scan and my Aria scale were within 1% of each other.0 -
I'll also add that I have looked at those sites where you see a picture and a bf% and I estimate that my current bf% readings are pretty close to the picture. @37% my tummy still has a little overhang but the "W" is now more of a long "U" and my waist is narrowing to come back to my more normal hourglass/pear shape.
When I started I was about 42% BF. I've lost about 10kgs since then.0 -
I used the skinfold calipers also and it was almost exactly the reading the scale gave me.
Skin fold calipers are horribly inaccurate unless the user is very experienced and properly trained. Even then, the margin of error will be more than you have lost. In short, ignore both your scale and skinfold. If you are a really accurate measurement a DEXA scan is the best. Bodpod is ok, but even it has it issues.
The long and short of it, go by how you clothes are fitting, pictures, and the fact that you are losing weight.
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strong_curves wrote: »CalorieCountChocula wrote: »LOL sooooooooo is anything accurate? I'm seeing a pattern here. Even my bod pod test seemed to say 2% error rate on either side. Greattttttttt. So I can't even bank on that 27%? Maybe it's 29%? Or should I be optimistic and say 25%. Yeah. For sure 25...maybe 24.99 even... Yeah...
iirc DEXA is more accurate but yeah, there isn't much out there that's 100% accurate.
My Dexa scan and my Aria scale were within 1% of each other.
Even a broken clock is correct twice a day. The correlation between the two does not say anything about the accuracy of your scale. It simply says that this one time it got it pretty close. The problem with the scales is they are not even ultimately accurate to themselves, and they can be thrown off easily, most notably by water consumption as hydration is part of how it measures your body fat.0 -
Bioelectrical impedence can be wildly inaccurate, as many people have said. A great option, one that calculates full body composition (body fat, lean mass, organs, etc) is hydrostatic weighing. Our local university does it here, costs about $50 Canadian, and is one if the most accurate tests you can do.
You can do it at the star of your journey, middle, and end to see just how far you've come. Highly recommend it!
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