Why am I dropping weight but rising in BF%?

Can Jow Forums help me?
2 months ago I started trying to cut and get healthier because I've gotten really fat over recent years because I have an office job I'm always extremely sedentary but first I struggled to lose any weight at all and then when I started to lose weight my bodyfat is rising (which seems to suggest I'm losing muscle rather than fat).

Started at 88kg/194lbs 40% BF (according to scales, I weigh myself every morning after using bathroom and before eating then have my average weight at the end of the week).
5'8"
Male


Week 1: Started at 2200cal because I had no idea what my maintenance level was (my metabolism is fucked up from sedentary lifestyle + about 1500 calories every day for years. I typically only ate 1-2 times a day). By the end of the week I gained weight to 89kg/196lbs. 40%BF

Week 2: Lowered to 2000cal and added 30 minutes of LISS cardio 3 days a week (same days as I lift), still gaining. 90kg/198lbs. 41%BF

Week 3: Lowered to 1800cal, by the end of that week I was maintaining rather than gaining. 90kg/198lbs. 41%BF

Week 4: Stayed at 1800cal but added 2 extra days of 30 minute LISS cardio on the Tuesday and Thursday between lifting, still maintaining. 90kg/198lbs. 41%BF

Week 5: Lowered to 1700cal, increased cardio on days I lift to 40 minutes rather than 30 minutes and now do 30 minutes on every off day to at least meet 10,000 steps a day. By the end of the week I lost 0.2kg. 89.8kg/197.9lbs. 41.5%BF

Week 6: Lowered to 1600cal, added a 4th "workout" day dedicated to some rotator cuff work. Still only lost 0.2kg. 89.6kg/197.5lbs. 41.5%BF

Week 7: Lowered to 1500cal, now I begin to see weight drop of 1.6kg in a week. Back to 88kg/194lbs where I started 7 weeks earlier but now raised to 43%BF.

Week 8: Stayed at 1500, cardio same as previous. Now I drop 2kg in a week. 86kg/189lbs. Rise in BF to 45%.

To me this seems to indicate I'm purely only losing muscle right now.

Attached: A2.jpg (4030x2205, 1.6M)

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healthline.com/health/body-fat-scale-accuracy#how-they-work
fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy
scoobysworkshop.com/body-fat-calculator/
twitter.com/SFWRedditImages

OP here again.

I'm not sure if its just coincidental timing but I've also had to deload my shoulder press, deadlift and bent over row in the last 2 weeks too because I've began failing. One week I was losing virtually nothing and very slowly going up in BF, the next I drop by 100 calories and suddenly losing 2kg and rapidly increasing BF. I thought about reducing my cardio on lifting days from 40 to 30 like every other day, but I'm not sure.

What do you guys think I should be doing? My goal was to get down to around 60-65kg/132-143lbs (years ago before I got the office job I was always naturally around 55-60kg and low BF anyway) and hopefully about 14-15%bf then do a slow bulk but my cut seems to be going terribly right now.

Forgot to mention, pic related is what I do for lifting. 5x5 3 times per week.

+ the rotator cuff/dynamic stretching exercises I added on Saturdays.

Attached: SL5x5+MoreArms.png (731x303, 17K)

either you are not counting calories correctly or your scales are busted. high probability of both. also scales can't measure bf%

Dont trust the scale trust body measurement

I know how to count calories. When I was younger a decade ago I was fit but only like ottormode.

Regardless, if the numbers on MFP are wrong but I'm still eating generally the same thing every day but reducing the amount of it I eat each week, then I'm intaking less calories.

I bought new scales and I also each time use my old Tanita scales just to double check if I'm going up or down when it comes to weight and bodyfat, the numbers it spits out are different but the "up and down" of each weigh in is reflected on both scales. I'm dramatically losing weight in the last 2 weeks but rapidly rising in BF on both scales.

So, you don't think that I'm actually losing muscle mass the past 2 weeks I've lost nearly 4kg collectively? I wasn't sure if it was just a coincidence or not that I've had to deload these past couple weeks too due to failures, could be though I guess.

To clarify on what I'm saying. I'm more looking at which direction the weight and BF on both scales are trending rather than thinking the actual numbers themselves are perfect. The thing that worried me is that it was stalling out for weeks, then suddenly I drop what most people would consider way too much and both scales are saying this as well as both saying I'm rising in BF%. I don't know what the actual numbers are but I can see the trend.

When I'd reduce calories it would be something like rather than having a serving of 200 grams of rice per serving, I'd lower it to 100 grams or something for example. Not much room for error in that.

holy fucking shit calm the fuck down for a second
if ua re losing weight u are losing weight
if ua re losing strength u are losing muscle
forget all that bf% and focus on your lifts and weight as long as its consistent all these changes week to week make it really hard to really see whats going on

The issue I see though is that I've only began lifting again 2 months ago so I'm working up from an empty bar. I do feel like I'm losing strength in the past couple of weeks because I've had more failures and had to deload, but at the same time what if I am just hitting my limit since I was adding weight every session anyway?

If I am losing weight and losing strength and therefore muscle, what should I do?

Just read your post again user and you'll see where you fucked up.
>shit metabolism
>eat normal human caloric intake
>gain fat, duh
>unpatient as fuck - panic, revert to old shit low calorie eating
>start adding cardio lower eben more
>probably consuming even less calories than when you started
>congrats you played yourself
If you are fat and eating like a twelve year old girl first thing you should do is get a normal male metabolism, so you actually have some damn calories to cut.
I am absolutely postive you severely lack consistent fiber in your diet. I would start adding oatmeal, beans and peas to your diet effective immediately. Also lots of berries and a consistent pineapple as to cure any digestion or bowel problems.
That being said, to not get huge lardo you need to up your exercise. Start doing the damn stairmaster HIIT style, and get to be proficient at a lot of pushup and pullup
variations

Scales cant measure your bodyfat you fucking moron. Its a gimmick.

Also your full body compound driven routine isnt going to ever progress, you'll stall in less than a month just because you are not eating anything. I would focus on getting strong at bodyweight exercises you can do (I am very doubtful you can do weighted chinups and weighted dips at 40% body fat). Start with an assisted pullup machine (godsend for skinny fat fucks) and try to do pushups, try on knuckles to not fuck joints. Also don't run until 20% bodyfat (verybadfor knees)
The only compunds that is worth progressing is the OHP (PRESS trademark) as it's a true testament to putting on real muscle)

Bodyfat measurements on these scales are very inaccurate anyways, and given that you’re a fat fuck the measurements are basically worthless. Just keep losing weight, it’s mostly fat you are losing anyways
Stronglifts is not a cutting routine, something more hypertrophy focussed will be easier on you and be more effective at keeping muscle around. You will lose some strength dropping a massive amount of weight, that’s just part of the process
Rather than using those scale measurements, 8RMs on your compounds give a pretty decent idea of whether you are losing muscle or not. Don’t compare to anything that isn’t at least 2 weeks into the diet as you will lose some strength just from going into a calorie deficit. If your 8RM bench, OHP, row, squat etc stay at a similar level during the cut or drop by 10% at most you aren’t losing much muscle, don’t worry about it

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If I were to eat at what is supposed to be a "normal maintenance" though even with consistently lifting and cardio I'm going to end up well over 100kg (I've never been over 90kg in my entire life).
Yeah I'm kind of low on fibre but I usually do try fit oatmeal, a quest bar or something more fibrous in each day.

Yeah I replace the weighted chins and dips with assisted chins and dips (with a band) and the entire reason I'd been doing LISS cardio is because of the exact issue you mentioned, if i do anything too fast it wrecks my knees. A year ago I tried to regularly do cardio without lifting but when I put in a session of HIIT I damaged my knee so badly I had a limp for 3 months.

Hypertrophy routine gor cutting
Sticky says other things

How old are you? Maybe you are too old to build muscle mass naturally? That why you are looking strength and gaining fat.

Lifting weights isnt burning enough calories, trust me. You need to do something that actually makes your heart run faster
Not enough fiber, make sure to always be at 50g of fiber per day until your body gets accustomed
Do HIIT on a stair master or incline treadmill, it doesnt mean you have to run just it gets your heart going

I’m guessing your diet is high in plant foods/carbs which is extremely catabolic. More protein

Where are you getting your calories from? You're probably making this more complicated than it needs to be. Eat Chicken/Turkey breast, green vegetables, eggs, oatmeal, tuna, drink water only. Walk 4 miles a day on a treadmill until you've lost enough weight you can do HIIT without hurting your ankles. Do the compound lifts to spike testosterone - overhead press, deadlift, bench press, squats. Aim to lose 1lb a week. Bodyweight will fluctuate and not move down in a straight line, so be patient and weigh in the morning once a week on an empty stomach.

27.
I'm not willing to take anything because I'm trying to actually get healthy and I'm predisposed genetic heart disorders and kidney/liver. So the fact doing a cycle can increase your LDL and taxing on your kidney and liver really doesn't fit me.
I do want to look better, but I want to actually be healthier too.

I eat 170g of protein a day, my family owners a butchery so I get meat half price.
I eat around 100g carbs, 50g fat and 170g protein daily.

see I get my carbs mostly from rice, bread/wraps, potato, sweet potato, corn, etc.
I get my protein from 50/50 lean beef and chicken breast and occasionally plain no fat greek yogurt. The last 30g of protein a day or so I fill with protein shake which also allows me to take my creatine with it.

Yeah, but that is why in the OP I said I currently ended up doing LISS cardio 7 days a week though. My heart rate averages 125bpm during this.

HIIT is what caused my knee to be messed up for months years ago.

Also if 100 cal higher I only lose 0.5lbs a week and at my current calories I've lost about 4lbs a week, what am I supposed to do? There isn't much in between, I mean I can reduce my cardio from 7 days a week to 4 and see what happens I guess but I have a feeling it'll go straight back not losing anything.

you cant maintain muscles with low cal diet

Do you not have a stair master? 125 bpm is nothing. Go into 150-160. You need only 10 minutes of constant switching between going for high heart rate and lower heart rate. HIIT for fat guys is just alternating the high bpm to lower bpm.
Drop the shit carbs bro, get carbs from oats, beans, peas, wild rice and ONLY really dark bread (if it aint got close to 30g of protein per 100g dont eat it)

I expected to lose some muscle, but not 2kg of muscle in 1 week and a rise in BF consistently on two sets of scales.

>Do you not have a stair master?
Nope. Only access to a treadmill.
To be fair on the days I was doing 40 minutes (so 3 days a week on lifting days) I was doing a kind of lower speed version of HIIT but I didn't call it HIIT because it didn't involve getting to a running pace because it destroys my knees.
It was going between walking pace at a 1% incline for 5 minutes and a power walking/jogging pace at 0% for 5 minutes and repeat for 40 minutes in total. The rest of the cardio I was doing the other 4 days a week were 30 minutes of just LISS walking walking pace.

Is potato or sweet potato really shit carbs though? That is probably my most common source of carbs. Second would be tied between rice and bread/wraps (usually wholemeal).

Thanks for the advice

"The problem is, these devices are very sensitive to hydration -- how much fluid is in your body," Bryant tells WebMD. So it's important to strictly follow the guidelines for weighing yourself -- time of day, fluid and food intake. "

Man, those scales are shit reading BF because they use a current. The scale might be reading something that doesn't translate to actual body fat. Maybe the current reading changes because you are loosing fat and the scale will still say you are gaining.

Just don't use that shit, keep lifting and dieting with enough protein and you won't loose that much.

Also read this

healthline.com/health/body-fat-scale-accuracy#how-they-work

Not sure about sweet potato as I have never tried it but white flour based pastries and bread are pure kill.
Doing that much cardio is overkill, start with 10 minutes and gradually increase intensity and or duration. The main objective is to not have grandma's metabolism anymore.
Godspeed user we're all gonna make it!

The sticky is full of shit anyways. What does it suggest for cutting again? Haven’t read it in years

LISS cardio is king for fat loss, especially when out of shape. you can do it for 60 mins every day with no rest days and be fine. also vastly lower chance of injury.

i would get a thyroid check and a testosterone check. being that overweight makes me think low T, hypothyroid. if either is the case you are going to have a hard time losing weight.

You're becoming a manlet

Those electrical impedence meters are fucking garbage, dude.

I have one of those scales, the BF% readings they produce fluctuate incredibly
The companion phone app has a setting for athletic body composition which gave me a completely different reading, trying looking for that settings?

Same, athletic mode gives 13%, regular 17%, reality is probably somewhere in between. Either way, I don’t think the scale will really work at 40ish % anyways with any reasonable accuracy

if I stand on it consecutively it gives the same reading or maybe sometimes 0.1% difference but it only ever tends to change day by day.

I usually weigh myself with 2 different scales just to make sure one isn't off in terms of which direction my weight or BF% is trending.

Those scales don't work at all. If you really want to measure your bodyfat percentage, just get some calipers.

>eating bread
ngmi bread will bloat you and kill fat loss

is there any evidence for this other than broscience?

No, the guy is a moron. Plain bread won't make you feel full even if you eat like 3000kcal. But there's nothing wrong with eating bread if your protein, essential fatty acid and micronutrient intake are adequate and you're just filling up carb calories.

In my experience potatoes are better for the digestive system and harder to overeat but bread works as intended.

Just make sure you're getting enough protein and sleeping 8+ hours a night to minimize muscle loss on a cut. Digital scale body fat measurements are notoriously inaccurate.

>Measure your waist and neck using the navy method of measuring bodyfat fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy
>use a caliper and the 3 point method of measuring. scoobysworkshop.com/body-fat-calculator/

Keep your calories at 2200ish, protein 2 grams per kilo. 50g fat and 225-250 carb. To low a deficit leads to muscle loss. Aim for 0.5 to 1.5kilo weight loss a week

You are so fat though at this point a caliper wont even be necessary so just use waist and neck measurement on the navy method and as you get lower use caliper. The scales dont measure correctly.

>i would get a thyroid check and a testosterone check. being that overweight makes me think low T, hypothyroid.
his hormonal readings are gonna be fucked due to his huge deficit

I don't think the calories are as low as people are suggesting. Height and frame factors into it a lot.