Body Fat % increase ???

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spongebob2509
spongebob2509 Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
looking for some advice really, been weighed at the gym today down another 6lbs in 3 weeks (yay) but my %body fat had increased by a quite alot. My muscle % was also down.

I am eating around 1300-1500 cals aday doing 3x60min cardio workout a week at the gym plus cycling 4mile to and from the gym. Also doing 25mins of weights a day at home (simple curls etc)

So what is going wrong? Im guessing the increase in %body fat isnt healthy. I did some quick searches and it seems alot of people dont trust the body fat scales but Im really quite worried that im doing some serious harm to myself .

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    1300-1500 is not enough to eat for a man. Eating too little will cause your body to burn a high amount of body fat. The smaller your deficit the higher % of fat you will burn. I would suggest eating no less than 1500 Net (1500 plus eat back what you burn). Maybe change your goal to lose 1.5 lbs/week instead of 2 as well.

    The last thing you want to do is lose more muscle than fat. How much protein are you eating? MFP defaults to 15%, I would suggest changing this to 20-30% as protein helps to build and retain muscle.
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    1300-1500 is not enough to eat. Eating too little will cause your body to burn a high amount of body fat. The smaller your deficit the higher % of fat you will burn. I would suggest eating no less than 1500 Net (1500 plus eat back what you burn)


    thank you for that :smile: , i new i had read something like that somewere, arh just noticed you were saying it to a man , do the same rules apply to women?
  • ArchyJill
    ArchyJill Posts: 548 Member
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    How did you measure your body fat at the gym? If calipers then ignore...they are horribly inaccurate. If the hand-held gadget it is only giving you readings for upper body, and if it's the step on scale variety then only readings for lower body (with both of these varying a lot according to your hydration levels). If you are doing all the right things (eating right and working out hard, and be honest with yourself!) then don't worry about the numbers and have faith you are on the right path.
  • spongebob2509
    spongebob2509 Posts: 27 Member
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    I am trying to up my cals but finding it hard, protein i am eating around 14% a day and again finding it hard to up this i feel full all day and it does seem counter-productive to eat when not hungry lol

    So your suggesting if i up my cals and protein I should still loose weight ?

    Measurement was taken using Stand on scales and i have to say it has been very vaired every time ive had it taken but i worry that the gym wouldnt use it if it was really badly inaccurate
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I am trying to up my cals but finding it hard, protein i am eating around 14% a day and again finding it hard to up this i feel full all day and it does seem counter-productive to eat when not hungry lol

    So your suggesting if i up my cals and protein I should still loose weight ?

    Yes, as long as you eat under your maintenance calories you will lose weight, and the smaller your deficit the slower you should lose, but more of the loss will come from fat, instead of muscle.
  • spongebob2509
    spongebob2509 Posts: 27 Member
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    So my RMR is currently 2480 should i aim to eat around 1800 cals aday? and more on workout days?
  • MrsWibbly
    MrsWibbly Posts: 415 Member
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    I have a hand held body fat monitor that I use at home which is hyper sensitive to how hydrated I am and also how I grip the thing. It can vary by over 2% in one day!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    So my RMR is currently 2480 should i aim to eat around 1800 cals aday? and more on workout days?

    You should eat 750 calories below your maintenance, which are probably higher than your RMR. If your maintenance is 2480 you should eat 1730, plus eat back what you burn, to lose 1.5 lbs/week.
  • ArchyJill
    ArchyJill Posts: 548 Member
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    I am trying to up my cals but finding it hard, protein i am eating around 14% a day and again finding it hard to up this i feel full all day and it does seem counter-productive to eat when not hungry lol

    So your suggesting if i up my cals and protein I should still loose weight ?

    Measurement was taken using Stand on scales and i have to say it has been very vaired every time ive had it taken but i worry that the gym wouldnt use it if it was really badly inaccurate

    Any equipment available for everyone to use at the gym has been beat to death and is almost certainly innacurate. Your protein needs to be way higher and I bet your fat is too high now. A lot of people have success with a 40-40-20 ratio (carb-protein-fat%).

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