I am doing something wrong

[Techy]

Hey everyone. I’ve been eating clean for almost a month now. I am losing weight but not sure I’m making gains in muscle to counter the amount of fat I have. I have a Fitbit Aria 2 scale and I think it’s working right. So to give light to some numbers for the past three days. Saturday scale said 351lbs 37.7% body fat (218.5lbs lean and 132.5lbs fat) Sunday 352.2lbs 37.8% body fat (219lbs lean and 133.2lbs fat) and today 347.8lbs 38% body fat (215.7lbs lean and 132.1lbs fat). Just to be sure of this morning's weight I zeroed the scale and weighed myself 6 times(I think I was told to do this one time on fitbits community). Each one was only a difference by like 0.1-0.3lbs so I felt it was unneeded to use those. So the question is am I doing something wrong? Not enough protein? Or not enough calories, though I thought calorie deficits were good for losing weight. I eat between 1800 to as high as 2400 calories. And ballpark 140 to maybe as high as 180grams of protein. Should I just keep weighing myself but not bother looking at it? Just worried I’m losing more muscle due to breakdown. But would rather talk to you all to figure something out. Thank you all for any help.

[LZeeW]

@Techy   I am moving your post to the Manage Weight forum.  I think you will get more help there.  The Scale forum is geared towards device issues.

Have you thought about consulting with a nutritionist for dietary guidance in you journey?  And looking for some expert advice for strength training to maintain muscle mass?

[GZgrl]

Your hydration level can cause fluctuations in your percentages and from day to day it is going to read differently -- this is true for weight as well as BMI.  I suggest not freaking out about it and choose one day a month to be the day that counts.  Generally, unless you plateau, you are going to see your numbers go down over time.  Thats not to say do not weigh at other times, but having a monthly check day will put things into perspective.   Try not to get hung up on the day to day stiff. The longer you are in this game the more you will see that fluctuations are normal.  You may have a pattern that has you going up a week or more and then you see a drop.  Over time, if this is your body's loss pattern you will start to be able to predict whats happening. ANd do make sure you stay well hydrated with plain water. It makes a difference to your losses as well as the numbers on the scale.

[spence429]

Couple of thoughts...

Not sure what you mean by "eating clean". Whatever type of diet you choose, stick to a reasonable calorie deficit and the weight will go. It will fluctuate, and this can be frustrating, but track the downward trend over time.

What is your ideal body weight? Multiply that number by 0.75 to gauge your protein target.

What type of exercise are you doing? If you want to focus on keeping and then building muscle, you'll need to add resistance training. Cardio can be great for overall CV health and burning up calories but it won't build muscles.

As for the dreaded scale....my grown daughter, who lives across town, has my scale. I am "allowed" to use it once a week per our agreement. Otherwise, I hyper-focus on every little pound and lose sight of the big picture. Seeing a weekly trend over months is so much more inspiring to me than sweating over the tenths of pounds lost/gained day to day.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

[Xenovia]

Hey there!

First of all all these commercial scales that show percentages or grams of fat should never be totally trusted.  Many times water retention counts agains fat.  Most of the times and to have a more accurate measurement you have to fast for at least two to three hours before you weigh in.  No coffee, no water no food then you get on the scale.  

Second of all, to ensure there's no muscle lost during a diet you it's good to do some weight training so that you retain muscle througout your weight loss journey.  

Third, it would be good to consult a specialist and have a dexa scan once in a while to see where the fat is and whether your progress is right!  

Best of luck!  

Z

[SunsetRunner]

A good doctor told me years ago that the best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning ... after you pee and before you eat or drink anything. This method eliminates a lot of variables (I just ate, how heavy is a cup of coffee, are my jeans heavy, etc.)

[Techy]

Thank you @LZeeW for moving it and I agree more answers were posted 🙂

Currently don't have the funds for either of those. And yes I have started to ask around and a large reason for the scale reading that is due to muscle catabolism.

[Techy]

@GZgrl Very true on the hydration! And thank you for the comment. 🙂
The last time I eat and drink is around 5-6:30pm and wake up at 3am use the restroom and then weight myself. I love water and it's most of the drink I usually go throughout the day.

[Techy]

Thanks for the comment @Xenovia ! 🙂

Next time I go to the doctor I'll ask about that Dexa scan.

[Techy]

Thanks @SunsetRunner for the comment! 🙂 I like the idea of weighting once a day always around the same time. When I wake up, after using the restroom and no water or pills until weight is scaled just before jumping into the shower. 

Also as a note I have asked around and my biggest is muscle catabolism. So to combat that I'm taking BCAA's in the morning and evening. And eventually when I get that supplement also take an EAA. I've been currently doing just BCAA's as that's all I have available currently and it's working! Today my lean muscle weighted in at 220. Nothing has really changed in my diet other than taking the BCAA's two more times a day. Thank you all for your input and hopefully someone will see all this information when googling around. Happy stepping everyone and have a great week.

[FoCoHiker]

For a few weeks now I've been working out twice a day, have cut down on my daily calorie intake from 3000 to 1700, stopped drinking redbull, water from the time I wake to an hour before bed and eat throughout the day instead of (breakfast, lunch and dinner).  I've lost 7 pounds.  My lunch break at work I do an aggressive walk/hike with a weighted backpack for 4 miles.  When I get home I do a 21-Day Fix workout followed up with a 45 minute bike ride.  The first 30 days is always tough in my opinion (breaking bad habits, adjusting life schedule to have a workout schedule, drinking water, multivitamin and working out more than once a day).  My target steps per day is 18000 and I'm able to achieve this by working out 3 times a day. Hope this helps!