Hey everyone this question is probably best answered by a coach or nutritionist but my coach and I are stumped. I have been on the protocol for about 4 months now and have lost 65 lbs so far. However the BMI and body fat percentages are doing weird things which we do not understand. For instance this week according to the biometric impendence from Ideal, I lost 4 lbs of muscle and no fat. However I gained a half inch in my chest from pushups, half inch in my arms from the same and lost an inch in my abdomen which I assume would be from fat. This is not the first time this has happened either, any thoughts on why the electrical readings are so far off. I am not diabetic which I'm told can effect the results. Weight and inches are falling off so i'm not overly concerned just looking for a logical answer. I have just begun running 10 or so miles a week and on those days I have increased my protein intake by adding the cran granata shake after my 2 mile runs. I'm getting plenty of protein so can't imagine I am actually losing muscle and since I have lost 3 inches in my abdomen over the last 3 weeks its hard to imagine I didn't lose fat.
Last edited by Jcrews5508; 02-10-2014 at 02:56 PM.
1) The bioimetric impendence scale is notoriously inaccurate; and
2) When you're talking fat loss v. lean muscle loss the "lean muscle" includes everything that is not fat. Connective tissue, water, etc., etc.
If your weight is going down and so are your measurements and you are getting enough protein to support your exercise, then you are doing fine in my opinion. I'm no expert but from everything I've read and experienced on IP, I wouldn't worry about it.
Agree there can certainly be inaccuracies in the device.
Is it the IP handheld one that your coach uses?
Do you test under the same conditions each time? (same amount of food/water prior, standing in same position)
For example, if you had some water prior to weigh in last week and you went first thing before eating anything this week that can be dramatic on the device.
It is probably a fluke thing or body adjustment thing (losing the non-fat stuff that is not muscle).
Consider using one of the other proteins than the cran-granata one after a work out. That one is collagen and not a complete protein. You can also tolerate one that has a tiny bit more carbs and calories if you want--like chocolate drink mix or the mango pre-made--especially immediately following a workout.
If you are OK with revealing it, are you at some previous sticking point in previous attempts at weight loss (assuming this is your last diet and not your first ; )? Are you at some milestone weight (halfway to goal, 20 lbs from goal, etc)? Just curious.
It remarkably all works out in the end.
65 lbs is an awesome loss and 2 mile runs are a great achievement as well.
Agree there can certainly be inaccuracies in the device.
Is it the IP handheld one that your coach uses? Yes although she also uses another handheld which often gives me much more favorable results. However she seems to believe the ideal system more.
Do you test under the same conditions each time? (same amount of food/water prior, standing in same position) Same position yes. My usual appoinment is around noon. I usually have my morning shake around 10 and water up until the appointment water amounts vary. I also am consistently 3% dehydrated
For example, if you had some water prior to weigh in last week and you went first thing before eating anything this week that can be dramatic on the device. It is probably a fluke thing or body adjustment thing (losing the non-fat stuff that is not muscle). Consider using one of the other proteins than the cran-granata one after a work out. That one is collagen and not a complete protein. You can also tolerate one that has a tiny bit more carbs and calories if you want--like chocolate drink mix or the mango pre-made--especially immediately following a workout.
If you are OK with revealing it, are you at some previous sticking point in previous attempts at weight loss (assuming this is your last diet and not your first ; )? Are you at some milestone weight (halfway to goal, 20 lbs from goal, etc)? Just curious.
No. Not my first diet and i am not at a milestone. My goal weight of 175 is about 35 pounds away and i should be there in about a month and half.
It remarkably all works out in the end.
65 lbs is an awesome loss and 2 mile runs are a great achievement as well.
Thanks i really only ask because due too the muscle loss my coach is now pushing that i increase my protein intake above normal limits which obviously is more expensive. I believe the muscle loss lies with the machine and not with my results. It just dosent make sense that i would gain 3 extra pounds of muscle one week and then lose 4 the next with all the variables staying the same. Seems like a measuring error
IP makes all those claims that this is a "medically approved device" and "accurate within 2%" of DEXA scans. There even is weird differences with calipers for me. The IP device always measured off from my recognized inaccurate Tanita scale at home, but I still thought I could use it(the Tanita) for trends (like trends around 23% compared to trends around 28%).
Your coach followed her protocol (suggest the client add a packet). It wouldn't hurt to add a packet or change from the cran-granata or add a couple egg whites or a whole egg, but you are losing well, you like what you are seeing so calling it a device fluke makes the most sense.
I looked back at when I was doing it and I had one device "jump" in muscle mass, which then hung on and I then loss LM and FM from that higher point. Looks like it occurred a couple weeks after a huge stressor so part of it must have been hormone driven and water rebalancing.
It's interesting. Did she do it a second time as a recheck? Was the weather "different", especially dry or were your hands especially dry?
Several weeks ago I had a similar issue where the scale was telling me one thing, the IP machine was telling me another and my overall inches were telling me yet another. Since working out I have fluctuated in my weight and body fat measures (IP machine) but for the most part my inches have remained consistently declining in some areas and gaining in some others.
The overall data I've collected is that I'm getting stronger, body fat measured via the machine fluctuates (but I believe that due to my inch loss and gain I'm losing body fat and gaining muscle), and my overall fitness is much improved.
I've also been reading The 4 Hour Body and it has some interesting insight to body measures that are worth looking into and his Slow Carb Diet looks much like keto-diets, like IP, with some variations.
I have always suspected that the Tanita machine that my coach uses was reading my body fat percentage inaccurately and now, I have confirmed it. Today, I had my body composition measured using the hydrostatic method (underwater immersion) and my body fat percentage came back 6% less than my coach's Tanita! Even my cheap, 7-year-old digital scale was much closer to the hydrostatic result: It was only only 1% less. I'm so happy about that because it means that I don't have nearly as far to go as I thought, since my coach and I decided to focus on body fat percentage rather than weight this time around.
I plan to share this result with my coach and suggest that she get her machine checked and calibrated. Maybe that will help...
Body Fat % and lean muscle errors??
