Body Composition Machine (help?)

[SimonLRead28]

Hello everyone,

In January 2018, I was 19st (266lbs, 121kg) and managed to get this to 16st (232.4lbs, 105kg) by November. Then I became ill for several months and went to 18st (252lbs, 114kg). I'm back to it again, but I’ve been doing more weights than before and so I want to focus more on body composition this time, rather than weight alone. I acknowledge I’m not in great shape, but it's a work in progress.

Readings have been taken at 9am. 34 years old, 188cm tall. Daily calories for maintenance 2450, calories eaten 1900 to 2000. Exercise 30 to 45mins a day, but quite a bit of walking in my job. Fitbit says I burn about 3500 on a weekday and about 2400 on a rest day.

I’ve used a body composition machine three times over the past two months and I’m trying to work out if I’m on the right track.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Aug 20 – Weight 116.2kg

Fat percentages

Trunk 34.6%  // Right Arm 27.4% // Left Arm 30.3kg

Right Leg 25.3% // Left Leg 25.8%

Total fat percentage 30.9% (35.9 kg)

Muscle percentages (in kgs)

Trunk 40.5kg  // Right Arm 4.6kg // Left Arm 4.5kg

Right Leg 13.5kg // Left Leg 13.3kg

Total muscle percentage 65.7% (76.4 kg)

Sep 13 – Weight 115kg

Fat percentages

Trunk 33.6%  // Right Arm 25.5% // Left Arm 29.6kg

Right Leg 25.8% // Left Leg 27.2%

Total fat percentage 30.6% (35.2 kg)

Muscle percentages (in kgs)

Trunk 40.4kg  // Right Arm 4.7kg // Left Arm 4.5kg

Right Leg 13.2kg // Left Leg 13.1kg

Total muscle percentage 66.0% (75.9 kg)

Oct 4 – Weight 116kg

Fat percentages

Trunk 34.8%  // Right Arm 24.3% // Left Arm 28.4kg

Right Leg 22.1% // Left Leg 23.2%

Total fat percentage 29.9% (34.7 kg)

Muscle percentages (in kgs)

Trunk 40.3kg  // Right Arm 4.9kg // Left Arm 4.7kg

Right Leg 14.0kg // Left Leg 13.6kg

Total muscle percentage 66.7% (77.5 kg)

[Dominique]

Body composition doesn’t change much over a few weeks, even if/when you are doing all the right things in terms of nutrition and training. And even when using a fancy device that sends an electrical current through both your legs and your hands (if it’s what you have been using), it doesn’t necessarily give you accurate numbers for body fat and muscle mass. You’re on the right track having now incorporated weight training into your workout regimen. I would just trust the process and use tangible indicators, e.g. waist circumference for body fat and see how you’re doing with the main lifts (e.g. bench press, squat, deadlift). For lifts, it’s probably a better idea (= safer) to track 10 reps. max. rather than 1 rep. max. If – over time – your waist is shrinking, you know you’re losing fat. If you’re able to lift more, you know you’ve gained strength, and probably muscle mass too.

"Body recomposition" (losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time) is the holy grail in fitness circles, but very hard to achieve. As a youngish male new to lifting and still carrying a fair amount of extra weight, you may be the perfect candidate for "recomp", meeting all the criteria. Take advantage of this!