Body Fat Percentage

Okay, so I know that body fat percentage estimates on scales can be pretty off, but mine has not changed despite losing 40 pounds now. I went from 207 down to 166 currently, but it has always been around 40% no matter what. It will go either direction for a day or so but always comes back. My husband is also losing weight, and the same scale has the percentage going steadily down for him, so it isn't just completely broken. What could be going on?

Replies

  • dykask
    dykask Posts: 800 Member
    I think it is pretty easy to lose muscle mass and fat at the same time. Maybe you lost 20 pounds of fat and 20 pounds of muscle, so you end up with the same fat percentage. I try to eat enough calories so that with working out I can maintain muscle mass well losing weight. I'm not sure how well it will work out, but I'm trying.

    Look up skinny fat, it is a real thing for people to look thin but still carry a lot of fat.
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
    Well it could be that you have lost muscle as well as fat in the same proportion as you've lost weight. Did you incorporate strength training and keep up your protein during your weight loss. Did you lose the weight fast (more likely to have lost more muscle if it was a rapid weight loss).

    There are a few other things that I find can alter my scales results for BF%, hydration which is kinda hard to control. Surprisingly exfoliating the soles of my feet, if they are very hard (or dirty) I think it can affect the results. Have I just had a shower, slightly moist feet give a lower BF%. I doubt this would explain consistent results it more explains the inconsistent results I get sometimes.

    I started at your weight but I havent got down as low as you and mine dropped from 42% @207 to 37.5% @183. Which if I track down to goal seems consistent with what I woudl expect to see my BF end up at. My scales then went funny and I got 26%-30% before they stopped reading BF% all together. I am currently waiting on replacement scales which doesnt seem to be your issue. So I am really not much help.
  • kaitlinfurby13
    kaitlinfurby13 Posts: 25 Member
    I have been doing cardio and strength as well as having a two year old who loves to be lifted constantly lol. My weight loss hasn't been particularly fast as I lose around 2 pounds a week but have weeks where I lose less. Never more. I also keep my macros pretty consistent with how mfp has them set up, and if I "go over" on one it is almost always protein.
  • dykask
    dykask Posts: 800 Member
    edited June 2016
    Personally I'm shooting for 1 Kg / month so you are losing weight about 4x what I'm losing. I think really burning 2 pounds of fat a week is unrealistic at your weight. That is roughly 7000 calories! 1000 calories a day of fat burn is basically starvation survival even for a large man. So you are probably losing some combination of fat, lean body mass and water. Hydration could really push up your fat measurements, fat is basically dry and muscle is pretty wet, if you aren't hydrated enough the scale could see it as more fat.

    One thing to try is to take your fat measurement at the same time each day, like right after you get up and before you eat or drink. That is just to try and get some consistent hydration while taking the measurement.
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    Okay, so I know that body fat percentage estimates on scales can be pretty off, but mine has not changed despite losing 40 pounds now. I went from 207 down to 166 currently, but it has always been around 40% no matter what. It will go either direction for a day or so but always comes back. My husband is also losing weight, and the same scale has the percentage going steadily down for him, so it isn't just completely broken. What could be going on?

    Ignore, you said yourself those are not accurate, scales do nothing more than guess your bodyfat. You'd be just as accurate drawing a number out of a hat. Your weight is down so that's good, now start measuring your waist and neck and track those. Without any specialist equipment, that's your best way of tracking fat.
  • dykask
    dykask Posts: 800 Member
    edited June 2016
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    Ignore, you said yourself those are not accurate, scales do nothing more than guess your bodyfat. You'd be just as accurate drawing a number out of a hat. Your weight is down so that's good, now start measuring your waist and neck and track those. Without any specialist equipment, that's your best way of tracking fat.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage#Height_and_circumference_methods
    That method is known to be inaccurate for body fat percentage. However I completely agree measuring one's waist is a very good way to track progress. It just doesn't tell you much about what percentage of your body is fat. Here is an interesting article: http://time.com/14407/the-hidden-dangers-of-skinny-fat/

    Note: I just think the OP has lost the weight too fast for it to all be fat. However I don't have any clue to how much she suffered so I could be completely wrong.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Bodyfat scales are awfully inaccurate. Test it out by weighing yourself first thing in the morning, then drink a litre of water and try again. The variation will probably be massive.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Hi, if you've lost weight fast enough to be losing that much muscle, you might also have lost bone. If osteoporosis runs in your family I urge you to get a bone density test or just assume you've lost bone and take steps now to improve it.

    4 surgeries, 2 bone grafts, 3 plates later, I wish someone had warned me about bone loss during weight loss.
  • dykask
    dykask Posts: 800 Member
    Bodyfat scales are awfully inaccurate. Test it out by weighing yourself first thing in the morning, then drink a litre of water and try again. The variation will probably be massive.

    That is why I recommend only doing the scale body fat measurement at the same time of day and hydration level each time. There also scales that actually do a reasonable job, but they aren't cheap scales and often require hand held electrodes. Even then it is just a measurement and might be off. If you get consistency though then progress can be tracked. The same is true with skin fold tests, consistency allows trends to be found.

    I think there is two effects going on. 1) There is some inconsistently in how the measurements are taken; and 2) Not all the weight being lost is fat. Personally I think is extremely difficult to only lose fat when weight is lost. Typically lean body mass will be lost too, one can only work to reduce that loss.

    The OP mentions she does cardio. That might actually be hurting her fat burning and it might be better to push strength more than cardio while losing weight. If cardio is being done, maybe intervals of a more intense pace would help and would probably shorten the workouts. The point is to stress the muscles so the body is hopefully repairing them instead of just stealing calories from them. Doing that should also create more thirst and probably a higher hydration level is better for burning fat. While I do cardio for my heart, I really think the amount that has to be done to help with fat burning is just unreasonable for most people unless they are willing to except slower fat loss. There are people that don't mind running 50+ km a week, I'm not one of them.

    There could be hormonal factors too, but I don't have the knowledge to comment about that.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited June 2016
    Scales don't measure BF accurately. Have you tried measuring waist/hips etc? there are online sites that will guide you through calculating an approx BF, that'll give you a better idea than the scales. To have lost 40 lbs you HAVE to have reduced body fat.
    Anyway, bf is not really an issue imo, you should be seeing improvements yourself by now for the better. Keep up the good work :smile:
  • frannyupnorth
    frannyupnorth Posts: 56 Member
    edited June 2016
    Whilst impedance measurements of body fat percentage can be quite variable due to hydration levels and monthly cycle, if you measure consistently they do allow you to trend.
    Also it's a percentage of your body mass so although your percentage has stayed the same you still have fat loss. Say for example you had 35% body fat then;
    35% body fat is 72lbs at 207lbs and 58lbs at 166lbs. Of the 41lbs you had lost, ~14lbs is fat mass, unfortunately the rest is lean mass. I personally think that this happens when you set aggressive weight loss targets based on records I've kept of my own weight loss. Initially I was losing muscle and fat, but by having a smaller deficit I'm getting there slower but conserving my lean mass.

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  • dykask
    dykask Posts: 800 Member
    Scales don't measure BF accurately. Have you tried measuring waist/hips etc? there are online sites that will guide you through calculating an approx BF, that'll give you a better idea than the scales. To have lost 40 lbs you HAVE to have reduced body fat.
    Anyway, bf is not really an issue imo, you should be seeing improvements yourself by now for the better. Keep up the good work :smile:

    1st: There is no doubt the OP has reduced body fat. You don't lose 40 lbs without doing that. There is doubt about how much fat has been lost. If it is only partly fat and partly water and muscle is completely possible for the percentage of body fat to be the same.

    2nd: Measuring waist/hips etc isn't going to be any better than BMI. How actuate it is really depends on how close you fit a model that the equations were built for. Those measurements themselves are useful for tracking but probably lead to a poor estimate of body fat for most people.

    3rd: You are complete correct that losing 40 lbs must be showing some awesome improvements.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    dykask wrote: »
    Bodyfat scales are awfully inaccurate. Test it out by weighing yourself first thing in the morning, then drink a litre of water and try again. The variation will probably be massive.

    That is why I recommend only doing the scale body fat measurement at the same time of day and hydration level each time. There also scales that actually do a reasonable job, but they aren't cheap scales and often require hand held electrodes. Even then it is just a measurement and might be off. If you get consistency though then progress can be tracked. The same is true with skin fold tests, consistency allows trends to be found.

    I think there is two effects going on. 1) There is some inconsistently in how the measurements are taken; and 2) Not all the weight being lost is fat. Personally I think is extremely difficult to only lose fat when weight is lost. Typically lean body mass will be lost too, one can only work to reduce that loss.

    The OP mentions she does cardio. That might actually be hurting her fat burning and it might be better to push strength more than cardio while losing weight. If cardio is being done, maybe intervals of a more intense pace would help and would probably shorten the workouts. The point is to stress the muscles so the body is hopefully repairing them instead of just stealing calories from them. Doing that should also create more thirst and probably a higher hydration level is better for burning fat. While I do cardio for my heart, I really think the amount that has to be done to help with fat burning is just unreasonable for most people unless they are willing to except slower fat loss. There are people that don't mind running 50+ km a week, I'm not one of them.

    There could be hormonal factors too, but I don't have the knowledge to comment about that.

    Bodyfat measurements are inaccurate. Period. Calipers or DEXA scans have the lowest errors. Go by what you see in the mirror!

    Hydration and cardio do not affect fat burning directly. Increasing your caloric deficit does!

    Your point about strength training retaining muscle mass is correct, along with sufficient protein
  • dykask
    dykask Posts: 800 Member
    Bodyfat measurements are inaccurate. Period. Calipers or DEXA scans have the lowest errors. Go by what you see in the mirror!

    I really disagree with the calipers being lowest method. I used to use calipers a lot and it is very difficult to even get a consistent measurement let alone an accurate one. It does sound like DEXA scans would be accurate, but I don't have any experience there.

    Calipers are a poor method of body fat measurement for the following reasons:
    1) Most people try to measure themselves and it is very difficult to get good and consistent measurements.
    2) Most calipers are cheap plastic toys not up for the job, a good quality calipers can cost hundreds of USD.
    3) Most people don't have the proper training to take caliper measurements correctly.
    4) Many equations used were based off of dissection's of bodies over a hundred years ago, I think around the civil war in the US. Anyway the data model probably isn't a close match to most people.
    5) Skin folds require many measurement points to be accurate as where people store fat varies widely.
    6) Repeated measurements made in slightly different locations, directions and pressures can give different results.

    Much of the above applies to diameter measurements, however at least those measurements are more useful for other things like buying smaller clothes!

    Scales that use BIA can be reasonably accurate but the following needs to be followed:
    1) Standardize on when the measurement is done, for example right have you get up in the morning before eating or drinking and pretty much wearing the same thing. That is so you are at the same hydration level.
    2) A reasonable scale won't be cheap for a scale and will have electrodes for both the feet and hands. One of the cheapest I've seen is the Omron Body Composition Monitor Scale, but that runs up to nearly $100 USD.

    If you use a cheap scale and don't standardize on measurements you likely won't get good results. Passing current through both the hands and feet are is important because it allows for multiple current paths and measurements.

    The big advantages of scales are:
    1) They are fast and can be done correctly by a single person.
    2) They are really measuring body composition, excluding bone density. Body composition is what is missing from many methods.
    3) The results are repeatable with consistent inputs. (i.e. The user is in control of accuracy.)
    4) They can make multiple types of measurements at the same time.

    Seriously, if measuring impedance was as inaccurate as many people claim, we wouldn't even have simple things like radios that work. The problem isn't the technology it is how it is used.

    The OP is asking about why her scale measurements aren't showing changes in her body fat percentage. Most likely is that while she has lost a lot of weight she still have the same percent of body fat. That means fat, lean body mass and water have all been lost. Cardio can be good for burning fat, it can also be good for using up lean body tissue so that might be a factor. The other possibility is inconsistent measurement times and conditions.

    I do use a scale and by varying my hydration and weight I can skew the results 0.3% for my body fat and up to 1% on my % muscle mass. Body fat % is more impacted by changes in weight than hydration. It makes sense that women would see more variation than men.
  • kaitlinfurby13
    kaitlinfurby13 Posts: 25 Member
    I do weigh at the same time every day immediately after getting up and before drinking or eating anything. Since I'm only 5'3" and barely out of obesity I didn't think that losing around 2 pounds a week was excessive since I have such a long way to go. It is slowing down some since I have gotten under 170 which I expected. I guess I will just up my lifting a good bit and possibly cut back on my cardio. I guess I just never thought of running as causing you to lose muscle. Would it be too horrible to keep doing what I'm doing then wait until I'm done losing fat then add back muscle?
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Here is the best advice you are doing to get.

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    Carry on with what you are doing.