Losing muscle and gaining fat.
healthy491
Posts: 384 Member
I eat at maintenance calories and workout but im losing muscle and gaining fat. Anyone knows why ? I use a body fat analyzer to measure fat and muscle percentages.
0
Replies
-
What type of body fat analyzer are you using? What are your workouts like? What's the time frame?
A couple guesses - your body fat analyzer is not very accurate, or the person doing the testing isn't well trained.
OR - your workouts aren't effective.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/body-fat-analyzers/faq-200579440 -
Hmmm. Is it possible that you've calculated your maintenance calories wrong and you're actually too high? Also, are you doing fasted workouts? If so, it's possible you're burning muscle instead of fat.1
-
Hmmm. Is it possible that you've calculated your maintenance calories wrong and you're actually too high? Also, are you doing fasted workouts? If so, it's possible you're burning muscle instead of fat.
I workout fasted; it has never caused an issue with muscle loss and I can't see why it would. I believe the only issue here is that the OP's method of body fat analysis is inaccurate.1 -
What type of body fat analyzer are you using? What are your workouts like? What's the time frame?
A couple guesses - your body fat analyzer is not very accurate, or the person doing the testing isn't well trained.
OR - your workouts aren't effective.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/body-fat-analyzers/faq-20057944
Im using Kinetik body composition monitor .
My workout includes 45 min elliptical training 6 days a week and sit ups along with some squats0 -
-
healthy491 wrote: »What type of body fat analyzer are you using? What are your workouts like? What's the time frame?
A couple guesses - your body fat analyzer is not very accurate, or the person doing the testing isn't well trained.
OR - your workouts aren't effective.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/body-fat-analyzers/faq-20057944
Im using Kinetik body composition monitor .
My workout includes 45 min elliptical training 6 days a week and sit ups along with some squats
Do you have access to weights? This is going to be much more effective than body weight workouts for maintaining lean muscle mass. You want to do progressive lifting.0 -
What is the timing and frequency that you are doing your BF analysis? And over what time period are you seeing the gain fat/lose muscle results?0
-
healthy491 wrote: »What type of body fat analyzer are you using? What are your workouts like? What's the time frame?
A couple guesses - your body fat analyzer is not very accurate, or the person doing the testing isn't well trained.
OR - your workouts aren't effective.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/body-fat-analyzers/faq-20057944
Im using Kinetik body composition monitor .
My workout includes 45 min elliptical training 6 days a week and sit ups along with some squats
Do you have access to weights? This is going to be much more effective than body weight workouts for maintaining lean muscle mass. You want to do progressive lifting.
Was gonna buy some today. I can only lift 1-1.5 kgs tho
I am really weak .. I cant even lift 6 bottles of water !! 0 -
richardgavel wrote: »What is the timing and frequency that you are doing your BF analysis? And over what time period are you seeing the gain fat/lose muscle results?
I usually do it once a week and every week I can 0.1% fat and lose 0.1% muscle0 -
How long have you been monitoring your body fat/muscle percentages? How long have you been seeing this trend (losing muscle/gaining fat)?0
-
-
Lift weights and eat a high protein diet2
-
Can I ask what you eat roughly on workout days and how long you are working out for?
Sugar free biscuits in the morning (450 cals )
Cereal as snack (100 cal)
Lunch : wrap with 2 egg whites and vegetables (350 cal)
Snack : protein bar (150 cal)
Dinner : wrap with cottage cheese and vegtables (375 cal) and some fruit afterwards
0 -
So if I'm reading this right, you've been doing this once a week for 4 weeks, the last 3 weeks have shown the trend in question, correct?
IMO, 4 data points, each of which varies by .1% is not significant enough to worry about, especially given the questionable accuracy of those home devices. Keep tracking things, but IMO, I'd need more meaningful data before I made any changes. Assuming you trust your intake estimates.1 -
So if I'm reading this right, you've been doing this once a week for 4 weeks, the last 3 weeks have shown the trend in question, correct?
IMO, 4 data points, each of which varies by .1% is not significant enough to worry about, especially given the questionable accuracy of those home devices. Keep tracking things, but IMO, I'd need more meaningful data before I made any changes. Assuming you trust your intake estimates.
Yeah ur right
And i didnt gain any weight so0 -
healthy491 wrote: »richardgavel wrote: »What is the timing and frequency that you are doing your BF analysis? And over what time period are you seeing the gain fat/lose muscle results?
I usually do it once a week and every week I can 0.1% fat and lose 0.1% muscle
None of those types of body fat monitors are accurate to that degree, and lots of things (including hydration) can cause variance in your readings. You're worrying about something that isn't statistically significant.1 -
healthy491 wrote: »Can I ask what you eat roughly on workout days and how long you are working out for?
Sugar free biscuits in the morning (450 cals )
Cereal as snack (100 cal)
Lunch : wrap with 2 egg whites and vegetables (350 cal)
Snack : protein bar (150 cal)
Dinner : wrap with cottage cheese and vegtables (375 cal) and some fruit afterwards
Are you a vegetarian? There is a lot of protein but not much carbs. I think more carbs and water but im no expert. Good luck either way mate
Macro distribution isn't really germane in this conversation (exercise is going to matter much more for her body composition than individual macros), but it's actually the other way around. Lots of carbs but limited protein and very little fat. She's getting protein only from the egg whites (8g for both), the protein bar (maybe 20g), the cottage cheese (20-30g depending on the brand) and maybe another 10g from everything else. That's 68g total, and I think I'm overestimating. All her vegetables, fruits, biscuits and cereal are carbohydrates. But again, that's not going to meaningfully impact a body fat analysis scale that is fluctuating by 0.1% per week. That's statistically insignificant.1 -
Hmmm. Is it possible that you've calculated your maintenance calories wrong and you're actually too high? Also, are you doing fasted workouts? If so, it's possible you're burning muscle instead of fat.
I workout fasted; it has never caused an issue with muscle loss and I can't see why it would. I believe the only issue here is that the OP's method of body fat analysis is inaccurate.
Fasted workouts are great for losing fat (I've had great success with this too), but there comes a point, depending on how long your session is, when your body will start burning muscle instead of fat. I'm not sure how long OP's training sessions are - just throwing out suggestions.
http://www.muscleforlife.com/fasted-cardio/
0 -
healthy491 wrote: »
Ah, okay, gotcha. I made an assumption that when you said you were gaining fat that meant you were gaining weight.0 -
healthy491 wrote: »richardgavel wrote: »What is the timing and frequency that you are doing your BF analysis? And over what time period are you seeing the gain fat/lose muscle results?
I usually do it once a week and every week I can 0.1% fat and lose 0.1% muscle
None of those types of body fat monitors are accurate to that degree, and lots of things (including hydration) can cause variance in your readings. You're worrying about something that isn't statistically significant.
This is why I asked about timing. I measure every day and I generally get swings from .1% to .4% per day, with larger ones on weekends due to long cardio and hydration swings.maybe measure daily to get a better understanding of what your trend line actually looks like.1 -
richardgavel wrote: »healthy491 wrote: »richardgavel wrote: »What is the timing and frequency that you are doing your BF analysis? And over what time period are you seeing the gain fat/lose muscle results?
I usually do it once a week and every week I can 0.1% fat and lose 0.1% muscle
None of those types of body fat monitors are accurate to that degree, and lots of things (including hydration) can cause variance in your readings. You're worrying about something that isn't statistically significant.
This is why I asked about timing. I measure every day and I generally get swings from .1% to .4% per day, with larger ones on weekends due to long cardio and hydration swings.maybe measure daily to get a better understanding of what your trend line actually looks like.
Yeah I do that sometimes and it remains the same
0 -
healthy491 wrote: »Can I ask what you eat roughly on workout days and how long you are working out for?
Sugar free biscuits in the morning (450 cals )
Cereal as snack (100 cal)
Lunch : wrap with 2 egg whites and vegetables (350 cal)
Snack : protein bar (150 cal)
Dinner : wrap with cottage cheese and vegtables (375 cal) and some fruit afterwards
Wait, you're maintaining at ~1400 calories?
Your OP said you were maintaining. I'm kind of confused now.
0 -
How many grams of protein a day do you consume?healthy491 wrote: »healthy491 wrote: »What type of body fat analyzer are you using? What are your workouts like? What's the time frame?
A couple guesses - your body fat analyzer is not very accurate, or the person doing the testing isn't well trained.
OR - your workouts aren't effective.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/body-fat-analyzers/faq-20057944
Im using Kinetik body composition monitor .
My workout includes 45 min elliptical training 6 days a week and sit ups along with some squats
Do you have access to weights? This is going to be much more effective than body weight workouts for maintaining lean muscle mass. You want to do progressive lifting.
Was gonna buy some today. I can only lift 1-1.5 kgs tho I am really weak .. I cant even lift 6 bottles of water !!
You'll get there. That was me at one point, too! 1 -
RosieRose7673 wrote: »healthy491 wrote: »Can I ask what you eat roughly on workout days and how long you are working out for?
Sugar free biscuits in the morning (450 cals )
Cereal as snack (100 cal)
Lunch : wrap with 2 egg whites and vegetables (350 cal)
Snack : protein bar (150 cal)
Dinner : wrap with cottage cheese and vegtables (375 cal) and some fruit afterwards
Wait, you're maintaining at ~1400 calories?
Your OP said you were maintaining. I'm kind of confused now.
yes , as I save up calories for the weekend since i eat a lot of junk food on the weekend0 -
Start strength training. You can't gain any muscle without it. You can recomp on maintenance calories. I've read about dieting, losing weight without exercise/strength work, and losing muscle every time, so that each time you lose weight and gain, you become more fat (even at the same weight). Its a scary thought. Get some weights, get to the gym, or do body weight stuff(like push-ups, planks, squats, lunges, plyos)1
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 398.3K Introduce Yourself
- 44.7K Getting Started
- 261K Health and Weight Loss
- 176.4K Food and Nutrition
- 47.7K Recipes
- 233K Fitness and Exercise
- 462 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.7K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.5K Motivation and Support
- 8.4K Challenges
- 1.4K Debate Club
- 96.5K Chit-Chat
- 2.6K Fun and Games
- 4.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 17 News and Announcements
- 21 MyFitnessPal Academy
- 1.5K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions