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I've been dieting and losing weight for around 3-4 months now and have been mainly doing cardio but still doing resistance as well. On average, I am losing 9lb a week however I got weighed today and was told my body fat has not gone down at all and still remains at 40%.

Could anyone please shed some light in why this is and how what I could do to bring my body fat down?

Update:

My diet (Same all week, apart from sundays)

Morning:
- Oats (30g) + water + Sweetener
- OR Porridge + Sweetener 

Lunch:
- Tuna / Chicken / White fish

Dinner:
- Steak / Chicken / Tuna + (Protein Shake)

No carbs, drinking nothing but water.

Trainning

Roughly, on average, 6 days a week:

Morning:

Resistance (12 reps 3 sets):
 - Butterfly curls (8kg+)
 - Smith Machine (40kg - 60kg)
 - Deadlifts (50kg)

Cardio:
 - Treadmill (walking at around 5.2 speech with intervals of 1.5 minutes at speed of 12.5 - 15.5)

Evening:

Resistance
 - (Mainly the same, chest machine, and zipper wire - Same reps / sets)

Cardio:
- More cardio at the evening, longer walk time. Aim to burn around 1k calories per day.. So 500+ in the morning and 500+ in the evening.

P.S. No measurements was taken, I was asked to stand on a machine and put my hands on this bar.

RMalke
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Phorce
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    You're going to have to tell us what you're eating and what exercise you're doing in as much detail as possible--at least several paragraphs--for us to be able to debug this. – Dave Liepmann May 23 '13 at 19:33
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    Also, please explain how the body fat is being measured. It's entirely possible the method is to blame (For example, in extremely obese people, loose skin from recent weight loss can throw off caliper measurements.) – JohnP May 23 '13 at 19:38
  • @Dave Liepmann thanks! I'm heading home now so as soon as I am back I will update this information :) – Phorce May 23 '13 at 19:42
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    If you've really lost 108-144 lbs and are not completely shredded at this point, simple math says either the initial 40% was a very low estimate or you're 7 feet tall. – Affe May 23 '13 at 20:52
  • @DaveLiepmann Please see my updated post and if so, suggest a solution :) Thank you – Phorce May 23 '13 at 21:05
  • @Affe Hey, I am not completely shreded and I have done the math. I get weighed every week and are roughly coming out with around 9lb per week. I don't understand what I am doing wrong. Please see my update – Phorce May 23 '13 at 21:05
  • The update is good! What's the exercise, how much, how often? How much did you weigh and do you weigh now? – Dave Liepmann May 23 '13 at 21:07
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    I just said that to reinforce that the problem is with the measurements, not you. If tracking that # is really meaningful to you it may be worthwhile to find a gym or clinic that has a hydrostatic tub and pay to get a real number over 4 mos or 6 mos or whatever. – Affe May 23 '13 at 21:17
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    @Phorce - Just a small note, you say you are not eating carbs, but the oats and the porridge are both carb sources. I also hope that you are doing this under medical supervision, as that is a very restrictive diet that can easily lend itself to deficiencies. – JohnP May 23 '13 at 21:43
  • @DaveLiepmann Hey, updated my post for the exercise I do :) I weighed 19.8 stone when I went in, roughly weighing in at 18.1 - 17.8kg – Phorce May 23 '13 at 22:17
  • @JohnP I didn't know this. I've cut carbs completely out of my diet; not seeking medical advice as didn't think it was needed. I'm fine on the diet, but, I'm considering about doing extreme fasting in order to shred. I want to restrict my diet more... Not good? – Phorce May 23 '13 at 22:18
  • This post has become quite dangerous. Go consult a professional and someone who can see and talk to you. The direction you want to go can get unhealthy very quickly. I'm not saying don't do it, but go somewhere better than here. –  Jun 28 '14 at 16:46

1 Answers1

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Ok, the last line of your post now makes it clear. The type of measurement that they are doing is called bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA). These have an error rate of anywhere from plus or minus 5% on up depending on the quality of the unit being used.

BIA can also run high or low depending on factors such as skin sweat, level of hydration, timing of your last meal, things like this.

Hydrostatic weighing (When done properly by both tester and testee) and DEXA scanning are the two best methods for determining body fat. Next up would be a 9 point or 7 point skin caliper test, again dependent on the skill of the tester. Then 3 point caliper, circumference measurement and personally I place BIA at the bottom of the heap.

BIA is good for trends over time, if you can manage to get on one at the same time in the same condition every day. Many Tanita or similar scales have the impedance built in, so you can weigh/analyze at the same time every day (Such as right out of bed).

I would not place too much stock in the unit at the gym, as long as the weight and the mirror are both giving you good feedback, keep it up!

JohnP
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