Body Fat % Question

I have a scale that calculates my body fat % and it seems like the more lbs I lose, the higher my body fat % goes up. WTF?? I know I’m losing inches because my pants are looser and I’m way beyond the initial water weight loss that you lose the first month or so. Help!

Tue. Oct 10, 12:58pm

You need to build some muscle, that's all. If you're losing weight due to eating differently and doing a lot of cardio, then you're burning fat AND muscle. Doing some strength (weights) training will build some muscle, which will balance out your body fat. Muscle also burns 10 times more calories in a day, so building muscle will help you lose more weight/fat. (I'm not talking about bodybuilding here, just some good strength exercises with low weights.)

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 2:47 PM

I agree with the previous response that weight training is a good idea to build muscle and decrease your body fat % but saying that muscle burns 10 times more calories in a day is totally meaningless. 10 x more than what?

Research suggests that you burn an extra 5 or 6 calories per day for each pound of muscle. That may not sound like alot but it still more than a pound of fat

Electronic monitors can vary notoriously in reporting your BF depending on whether you've exercised recently or not, how much fluid you've taken in, time of the month etc.. You best bet is to try to take your measurements around the same time of day, with the same type of conditions if possible.

You might also want to get a calipher to get a more accurate assement of your BF and don't forget a tape measure o take your waist measurements, which may indicate loss of "visceral" fat in the abdomen, which isn't always captured by other methods

Hope it helps. Most important don't let the numbers drive you crazy. Just concentrate on all the stuff your doing right

Link

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 3:34 PM

One additional point about exercise, especially resistance training: you can seemingly hit a plateau when you start exercising, yet feel better, get looser fit on clothes, and see inch losses in your body. What is happening is simple, you are losing fat and gaining muscle. Since muscle builds more slowly than fat burns off, just keep with it and you will start losing again.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 3:39 PM

OP here. Thank you all for the great advice

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 5:09 PM

Sorry, I was writing quickly and didn't finish my thought. A pound of fat burns 3 - 6 calories a day. A pound of muscle burns 30 - 60 calories per day. So muscle burns 10 times more calories than fat.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 5:38 PM

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