Body fat?

[magpie26 244]

Maybe I know the answer already and maybe this goes into another section but, I've lost approximately 48 (OMG!) pounds since my last pre-op appointment (liquid diet-now roughly 11.5 weeks) but the last 4-5 days my body fat has gone up! Does this mean I need to start amping up strength training? Those days also were extremely hectic and I was under my Protein goal but maybe by 10 grams one day more I think but I have been way more mindful and have kept a premier with me in a cooler if I'm out for a long time and try hard to get more fluids. Seems early to have this happen. Generally I get 70-90 protein a day.

I have an aria type scale.

[Orchids&Dragons 9,047]

Don't fret too soon. The body-fat measurements are notoriously inaccurate.

[magpie26 244]

I figured, but I was like, WTH?! When I first saw them.

[Frustr8 7,886]

I hope,mine don't say something nasty like 85% or 90%. Then I will be Blubber Broad!!!

[Jodi1980 63]

I like when the bmi and weight scale spits out your body "age" ....LMAO...apparently I'm 52...

[Frustr8 7,886]

I'm afraid when they add my BMI and weight,up, I'll be the same age and density,as Plymouth Rock. Oh, I hate to be taken for "granite"!😳

[Jodi1980 63]

@frust8 omg...i friggin can't

[RickM 1,747]

Assuming that you are using one of the body fat/composition scales, then this is an indication that your hydration may be marginal. The scales measure impedance (electrical resistance) between your feet or hands to determine body fat, This makes them sensitive to hydration as that influences your resistance. If you measure yourself first thing in the morning when we are typically somewhat dehydrated from sleeping, the fat measurment is typically higher, often 4-5 points, than it is in the late afternoon when we are better hydrated.

First thing to do is the measure yourself at the same time of the day each time, and don't worry about a point or two of difference one way or another, as that is within their normal error band. It is the overall trend over time that is important, rather than any one measurement which can be off some by virtue of you having a bad day hydrationwise.

If you want to be sophisticated about it, you can take a moving average to smooth out the bumps and jiggles in the curve. Take, say, the last 10 daily readings, add them up and divide by 10 - that is your average daily reading for the past 10 days. Then the next day, drop the oldest reading and add in the new reading and again, divide by 10. This should give you a smoother curve and a better idea of what's really happening as you average out the minor errors from hydration fluctuations.

[Matt Z 4,139]

^All of this^

Measuring at the same time, doing the same things, each day are the best way to get the best measurements and allow for proper trend tracking. Don't stress too much about some slight variations. But yes, at this point you should be doing some strength training.

[Creekimp13 5,840]

Hydrostatic is the way to go.

See if your fitness center has an underwater scale.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Measure-Body-Fat-via-Underwater-Weighing/

[RickM 1,747]

1 hour ago, Creekimp13 said:

Hydrostatic is the way to go.

See if your fitness center has an underwater scale.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Measure-Body-Fat-via-Underwater-Weighing/

Dunking or Dexascan are generally better accuracy wise, but typically only used every six months or year, while the scales are good for trend tracking as they can be used daily. It's the classic tradeoff between accuracy and cost or convenience - both have their place when used appropriately.

The absolute accuracy of any of these is somewhat impaired for us by the the algorithms used, which typically compare between the test subject and the "normal" population, so they tend not to be quite as good for us fatties/former fatties whose body comp isn't quite normal - think about the excess skin and how that can skew the readings. Dexa is a bit better as it eliminates more variables, but still not quite as good as autopsy - which isn't usually too convenient for us!

[Mhy12784 423]

Odds are you've never had an accurate body fat as it's expensive to have done and not many places do it. And if you're like many of us, loose skin makes doing the classical measurements far more difficult.

Personally I think the most accurate easy way of guessing your body fat is to use measuring tape and entering it on one of the online websites.

[magpie26 244]

All awesome points/ideas! Thankfully (as of now since I'm only a few months post op) the loose skin isn't an issue. They just opened a boxing club/studio near me, I'm pumped, I've always wanted to do some boxing! My next on my bucket list is joining the roller derby! I've even found skates for my extra wide feet (seriously, I am not just a fatty, I also have dinosaur bones! ) Exercise CANNOT be boring for me or I won't commit.