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dropping weight vs. dropping fat %
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 2006-03-03 11:01 AM |
Extreme Veteran  477  |  Subject: dropping weight vs. dropping fat %I'm sure this topic has been discussed but I haven't seen it and I have a question. I am 6' 2.5" and I've dropped from 222 on New Year's Day to 205 this morning. I've been weighing myself on a scale at the school where I teach and they have a fairly expensive scale with body fat % compenent. The body fat % for me, in this same time period, has not changed...it varies slightly from week to week but not much at all (maybe 15.4 - 16.2). I know some people like these scales and some do not, but I thought I could at least use it to judge if I'm making progress. My question is...shouldn't the fat % be dropping some? I do not think I am losing muscle weight. Believe me...I am happy that I am dropping some pounds and I feel better and training is easier and hopefully injuries will be reduced...I am just curious about the fat %...really not that important to me. Thanks for any insight. |
| 2006-03-04 10:42 AM in reply to: #359972 |
Master 2033 | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % I have been struggling with the same issue for a while. I have learned to focus on how I look, feel, and the fit of my clothes. As long as I feel better and look better I don't sweat it. I did a little research and found out they measure based on averages. If you look at most triathlete's legs its easy to see most of us do not have "average" muscle mass in our lower bodies this will throw BF measuring devise off by a lot. Your level of hydration will also effect it. Best bet is to use calipers. |
| 2006-03-04 11:05 AM in reply to: #359972 |
molto veloce mama 9311 | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % even thought the bf has not dropped, you have lost fat (and probably some muscle too). here is the formula someone shared with me a while back: weight x bf% = bf lbs weight - bf lbs = lean mass this is rough, since water and other things are mixed, but you can use it to chart your progress in general terms. 222 x 16% bf = 35.5 lbs body fat 222 - 35.5 = 186.5 lbs lean mass as compared to 205 x 16% bf = 32.8 lbs body fat 205 - 32.8 = 172.2 lean mass hope this helps. btw, i would strongly recommend also doing body measurements and tracking them. mybodycomp.com has a good tracking system (once you navigate through the singles area  ). |
| 2006-03-04 4:17 PM in reply to: #359972 |
Member 9 Savannah, GA | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % I have one of those scales and have had a similiar experience. I find the body fat goes down whenever my weight spikes due to waterweight and goes up if I'm dehydrated. I think going by the fit of my clothes is a good indicator of well I'm doing. If my jeans are looser at a given weight than they were last week, then I figure I'm doing something right. |
| 2006-03-04 6:48 PM in reply to: #359972 |
Champion 19812 MA | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % I used to go to gym where they had a electronic type BF way to measure. I didn't work out at all before I joined and in 6 month did strength training 3x a week...so obviously my lean body mass went up, but not with the system they used. It went down like 10 pounds. I found it frustrating and not accurate. Now I go about once a month and have the fitness guy at my work gym measure using calipers. In over a month my lean body mass went up just about a pound which seems more reasonable as I do strength training and am lifting heavier weights. But even that is funny, I use an online calcualator to figure body fat...and I play with the numbers....very heavily dependant on your weight. I'd suggest moving to the caliper method. I don't believe you have lost that much lean body mass.
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| 2006-03-04 9:40 PM in reply to: #359972 |
Elite 2999 Hattiesburg, Mississippi | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % Have you been doing any weight training?? If so has the weight you've been lifting decreased. If you have not been lifting then alot of it probably is muscle weight because you have done nothing to spare it. |
| 2006-03-05 6:08 PM in reply to: #359972 |
Expert 664 Ross, Ohio | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % I love this topic since I spent the last year losing about 60 pounds so far. I have a scale that was nice and pricey and I thought I was really cool for having a scale that could give me this information. However what I found out was that these scales typical range for accuracy is 2-4% and some can have a +/- range of 6% and I was stupid for spending my money on this thing. Many factors including time of day since your body compacts during the day effect what happens. If you are going to use these it is best to do it first thing in the morning, and never after you get out of the shower. In addition always try to do it at the same time of day. I learned about these after getting madder and madder because of how they fluctuated. The most accurate way to get your body fat is stil in a dip tank after measurements, can usually be done at a hospital. Normally they run about $50, so i like to make it a once per year thing. I try and do it the week between Christmas and New Year that way I do not eat like I want to (I still eat my fair share) since I know I have the test coming up. Good luck. |
| 2006-03-07 5:05 PM in reply to: #359972 |
Master 2629 brummie land | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % yeh - bought some bf% scales and my % is horribly high! i am not overweight and obviously quite toned. yes a i have a bit of a belly and my hips are a bit wide but i am shocked at my %. can you guys recommend anything? are the scales crap or is my bf% really that high? |
| 2006-03-08 12:49 PM in reply to: #359972 |
Member 35 | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % I am not sure how much muscle vs. fat you lost. Last June I was at about 185 lbs. I'm now at 148 lbs. I feel like I didn't weight train enough when I lost most of my weight (so I lost a lot of muscle mass!). Today I got my body fat checked at the gym -- 33% That is absolutely horrible for a woman. Granted the guy just took 1 measurement at each site (rather than 3 and average), so it may be a little skewed. I am going to get it checked again next month. I am shooting for under 30% bodyfat. I don't think that the scale is necessarily the best measure of how you look. According to this website I am at the lower range for an overweight person my age (which coincides with my BMI). According to other sites, I am obese! I am really not sure what to make of it.. |
| 2006-03-08 6:10 PM in reply to: #360826 |
Master 2060 Northern California | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % autumn - 2006-03-04 9:05 AM even thought the bf has not dropped, you have lost fat (and probably some muscle too). here is the formula someone shared with me a while back: weight x bf% = bf lbs weight - bf lbs = lean mass this is rough, since water and other things are mixed, but you can use it to chart your progress in general terms. 222 x 16% bf = 35.5 lbs body fat 222 - 35.5 = 186.5 lbs lean mass as compared to 205 x 16% bf = 32.8 lbs body fat 205 - 32.8 = 172.2 lean mass hope this helps. btw, i would strongly recommend also doing body measurements and tracking them. mybodycomp.com has a good tracking system (once you navigate through the singles area ). For your sake my man, you better hope this is WRONG!!!! If you lost 17 lbs and 14 of it was muscle? You are gonna be even worse off in another couple months than when you started. My suggestions: - Stop weighing yourself - The body fat scales are wrong. Depending on time of day/water/food/sleep/bone density/etc. the BF% on these things can range from 5-15% different. - Incorporate resistance training into your routine. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn just by sitting on your butt! If the measurments above are even CLOSE to being correct, you have lost a LOT of muscle! It can take upwards of a year to put that back on! Anyway -- If you really want to check your BF% -- buy the 3-point calipers and get good at using them. They may be off, but they will be CONSISTENTLY off and you can use the weekely changes to adjust your diet. |
| 2006-03-09 6:57 AM in reply to: #359972 |
Extreme Veteran 477 | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % I appreciate everyone's input. I do agree that how I look and feel is most important...I was more curious than anything. I may check out the calipers just to see how they compare. When I've been using the scale I have been doing it first thing every Friday morning so it has been fairly consistent as far as most factors that would affect the reading. I would like to get in some more weight training, but it comes back to that nasty four letter word...TIME. I do very little weight training several times a week now. |
| 2006-03-09 11:14 AM in reply to: #359972 |
Regular 84 Arlington, VA | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % Just thought I would chime in too. I have the exact same problem. I lost 15 pounds and my body fat percentage hasn't moved at all on my scale. I haven't been lifting, but since I went from sitting on the couch to exercising regularly, I highly doubt all my loss has been muscle (There isn't 3 inches of muscle in my waist to lose). I've just stopped staying on the scale long enough to have it read the percent.
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| 2006-03-09 5:38 PM in reply to: #365169 |
Master 2060 Northern California | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % ekl26 - 2006-03-09 9:14 AM Just thought I would chime in too. I have the exact same problem. I lost 15 pounds and my body fat percentage hasn't moved at all on my scale. I haven't been lifting, but since I went from sitting on the couch to exercising regularly, I highly doubt all my loss has been muscle (There isn't 3 inches of muscle in my waist to lose). I've just stopped staying on the scale long enough to have it read the percent.
Congratulations on your weight loss. Just FYI -- your body is made up of two things: Fat and Lean Body Mass (muscle, water, bones, organs). That is all. Women also lose weight in a different fashion and from different places than men. However, this does not diminish your fantastic achievement! |
| 2006-03-21 3:59 PM in reply to: #359972 |
| 13 | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % It's starting to sound like a broken record, but I also have one of those scales. I've been using it for awhile now, and recently I lost some weight. I went from 175 to 164 and the % reading didn't change (about 13%). I really hoped to lose some fat. I knew that since I wasn't lifting weights, I should expect to lose some muscle, but it still seems odd to lose it in the exact lean/fat ratio that I already had. According to the scale, I lost 9.6 lbs of lean mass and 1.4 lbs of fat, but I went from size 36 waist pants being tight to size 34 falling off and my legs look the same. It all doesn't add up. My confidence in the accuracy of the scale is way down. |
| 2006-03-21 6:22 PM in reply to: #359972 |
Expert 725 Wilmington, NC | Subject: RE: dropping weight vs. dropping fat % I had considered buying one of those fancy (and expensive) scales. After doing some research, the body fat measurement is pretty much totally inaccurate. It's only "measuring" your lower body and extrapolating the rest. In addition, any change in water weight throws it off. Accuracy is plus/minus several % points from day-to-day. If you're trying to see tenths of percent in change, you're wasting your time. Better and more accurate to get your local gym to do a caliper test periodically. |
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