AboutTodd Bublitz, RCEP Expertise I can answer questions on Cholesterol & Lipids. I can explain how diet can and cannot improve your cholesterol & triglyceride levels.
Experience I have 17 years experience in cardiovascular disease prevention, rehabilitation and education. Researcher in cardiovascular exercise, cardiac function and cardiac testing. I developed and maintain Lipid-Clinic.com
Also run Nuclear Cardiology Research Organizations National Lipid Association
American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
Question thanks so much for your answer. i guess my concern is: is it possible that i am loosing just as
much muscle as fat because i am not exercising quite as much as i should? my body feels like i
actually have more muscle than when i started all this, but just making sure?
you are right about these scales not being all that accurate, but i bought a very "high end" Tanita
and i am aware of the hydration factor. it also could be that i got a lemon.
u
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Followup To
Question -
I bought a scale that measures body fat percentage along with
weight. In 5 months I have lost 34 pounds and my BMI has gone
from 29.6 to 25. Yet the scale tells me that my percentage of body-
fat started at 40 and is now 41. How is that possible?
(I am a 48 year old woman 5,11" and currently weigh 179 pounds. I
am moderately active and I need to loose another 20 -30 pounds
to be at the lower end of healthy weight.)
Answer -
Uta,
You may have bought a bad quality scale. Scales that also try to calculate body fat based on
Bioimpedance Analysis (BIA). This technique tends to underestimate fat in overweight people.
Also, your hydration status can significantly alter the reading. BIA has an accuracy of +/- 5-6%
compared to the more accurate method of hydrostatic weighing (under water weighing).
If you have lost 34 lbs and your BMI has gone from 29.6 to 25, it certainly appears that the body
fat analysis is incorrect. I wouldn't worry about it, you are obviously making good progress.
Keep up the good work.
Todd
Answer Uta,
You bring up a good point, but I didn't mention the possibility of half of you weight loss being muscle because it is not a realistic possibility that half of your weight loss is muscle.
It is true that when people lose weight, they probably will also lose some muscle tissue and this is more pronounced in people who do not exercise during weight loss. However, the amount of muscle loss is typically much smaller than the amount of fat loss.
In your case, half of your weight loss would have to have come from muscle for your body fat % to remain the same. If this were to occur, your weight loss probably would have stopped and you probably would have felt weak and generally poor.
