I had to do a bit of a fast overnight for a CT scan of my lungs this morning. Just a routine check-up after last year’s shenanigans. Partly why I cooked that pork butt yesterday. So I could load up going in and have something to look forward to coming out.
It also gave me a chance, after the morning ablutions, to get a good clean read from the ol’ bathroom scales. I know, I know, I know. Never trust the scale. Especially not the cheap, shitty, Chinese-made body-composition scale ($47 on Amazon) that I use. But, fuggit, I got on the scale today and I have thoughts.
I had a good overall result this morning. Down about 1kg over a month, and 12 kgs since the start of the year when I cut back on my alcohol and bakery treats, and ramped up my strength training and protein.
I’m currently sitting on 86.3kgs, less than half a kilo off my goal weight now, BUT…
I can see my goal weight needs to be adjusted. I probably have another four kegs of mostly visceral fat to get rid of. Visceral fat is the hard, nasty stuff that packs itself in around the organs of your midsection - the viscera - and basically crushes the shit out of them over time. It’s the kind of fat that’s likely to kill you one way or another.
So, okay, fine. On track with that even if the journey is going to be a bit longer than I thought.
But I have this ridonkulous body composition scale, and I couldn’t help looking at the extra data.
It makes no sense. Tracking over 9 months, it says I’m down the 12 kilos, but my body fat has only dropped 3%.
If I’d lost muscle mass by calorie restricting and cranking out the cardio like I used to, that might be so. But I haven’t. I’m actually eating more than I was before, but I’m leaning into the protein and fat and away from the sugary carbs. My goal this year was body recomposition. To lose fat and build muscle, and it is possible to do that. It’s just not easy. It’s why I’ve been seeing a nutritionist and lifting weights with my PT.
Well, I have built muscle. (Thanks strength training). And I have lost fat. (Thanks mid-week pig protein!)
But these stupid scales are simply incapable of parsing that data.
So, long story short, I should probably ditch them for an old mechanical set.
I'm 5kgs down from the beginning of the year. Cut the carbs down but not put. Reduced the beers. I think there are 2-3 more to go, so definitely going to keep at it. Scales can go to all of Dante's levels of hell.
I have one of them fancy ones too, and it's definitely untrustworthy. For instance I'm reasonably sure I'm adonis-like but it seems to think something else, more at the other end of the scale (no pun intended).
Yesterday we were living in the future; today the future be hating.
I don’t do scales anymore . I have a pair of jeans that are snug and one a size bigger. I’m fitting in the snug jeans easily now . When they get tight it’s time for more f’n salads and protein and no sugar. Easier than looking at that damn scale .
I'm not going to talk about my weight issues. My son on the other hand, is in bulking season. He is eating 5 to 6 meals a day plus pre-workout blends and protein shakes. Heavy weight sessions on a program from the strength and conditioning coach with a goal of 106 kgs. He is finding it hard to crack 101 kgs and has been told to simply eat more. I wish I was 18 again.....
Persistent rain's been cutting down my bike riding and lo: the scales say that I'm heavier than usual. Who'd a thunk? Options not enticing. Hoping forlornly for sun.
I'm 5kgs down from the beginning of the year. Cut the carbs down but not put. Reduced the beers. I think there are 2-3 more to go, so definitely going to keep at it. Scales can go to all of Dante's levels of hell.
I have one of them fancy ones too, and it's definitely untrustworthy. For instance I'm reasonably sure I'm adonis-like but it seems to think something else, more at the other end of the scale (no pun intended).
Yesterday we were living in the future; today the future be hating.
I don’t do scales anymore . I have a pair of jeans that are snug and one a size bigger. I’m fitting in the snug jeans easily now . When they get tight it’s time for more f’n salads and protein and no sugar. Easier than looking at that damn scale .
I'm not going to talk about my weight issues. My son on the other hand, is in bulking season. He is eating 5 to 6 meals a day plus pre-workout blends and protein shakes. Heavy weight sessions on a program from the strength and conditioning coach with a goal of 106 kgs. He is finding it hard to crack 101 kgs and has been told to simply eat more. I wish I was 18 again.....
Hah, I have the exact same scale, and 'lo I dinnae trust it (other than as a scale).
Interestingly, this dropped into my mailbox earlier in the week - https://www.strongerbyscience.com/research-spotlight-changes-in-body-composition/.
TLDR: commercially-available machines like that are utter shit
To quote from the summary email:
**Study overview**
A recent study by Tinsley et al investigated methods of tracking changes in body composition in
19 subjects who were trying to gain weight.
They reported body composition estimates (body-fat percentage, fat mass, and fat-free mass)
from over a dozen different estimation methods using several different combinations of devices.
**Results**
To be concise, most of the commercially accessible devices did pretty poorly when it comes to
tracking changes in body composition.
this post has reminded me that my belt is getting tighter and that maybe i shouldn't have put that butter chicken in the slow cooker this morning
I think you might need to save up for a crosstrainer and LI cardio. Fat now need to get burned. And drop that damn donut JB!
Persistent rain's been cutting down my bike riding and lo: the scales say that I'm heavier than usual. Who'd a thunk? Options not enticing. Hoping forlornly for sun.
I have no idea how those scales can possibly determine body composition. DEXA scan seems to be the not very cheap way to be sure