Question on Body Fat and my workout

[Sgt Beavis]

Hey fellas,

Is there a way for me to tell if I'm losing body fat and building muscle?

So some background. Last year I bought one of those Peloton Treadmills. I have run on a slatted treadmill before and it was easy on my knees. The Peloton is the cheapest slatted tread on the market so I gave it a shot. Over the year I have run as my time and knee have allowed. I also adjusted my diet by finally killing off all sugary drinks, very little beer, and far far less fast food. I dropped from 220lbs to 185 and I feel it's pretty sustainable..

So with this COVID thing, I decided to start pushing myself a bit harder. I started taking the Peloton Bootcamp classes which balance the treadmill with strength training. I did that for three weeks and I can 'feel' the results. However my body weight has, on average, jumped 3lbs.

That's why I want to know if there is a way for me to tell if this is fat or am I building on muscle. I think most of this build would be in my glutes, thighs, and quads with some in the abs and upper body. I'm just not sure about it. My diet hasn't changed much. I don't think I'm over eating. Maybe I'm just in new territory and not sure how to judge it..

Any thoughts?

[Ruffdaddy]

First, congrats on your already very successful health journey.

Second...the ways to accurately do this require very specialized equipment and would still require trends over weeks to understand your true direction. 3lbs could easily be gained from a lot of sodium or weighing at a different time of the day. Im almost always 4-5lbs heavier in the evening than I am in the morning.

Finally, you can get scales that measure body fat, kuscle and moisture percentage with a lower degree of accuracy. They aren't that accurate but when I use mine it ls good to see the trends and make sure the mirror test agrees with the metrics.

[Gasser64]

How's your diet? Could be both.

The real test is the body fat caliper test, they're not very expensive. If I just had to know, that's what I'd do.

[Sgt Beavis]

How's your diet? Could be both.

The real test is the body fat caliper test, they're not very expensive. If I just had to know, that's what I'd do.

nothing crazy bad or awesome. I eat a bowl of oatmeal (200calories), a slice of bacon (50 calories), and a small bowl of fruit (200calories) for breakfast. I have a sandwich (350calories) for lunch. I might have a small amount of chips (100calories). If I snack, I eat unshelled and unsalted pistachios (200-400 calories). and I have a normal dinner. (500-700 calories)

One complication is my wife keeps baking things. I figure a slice of her peach pie is 300calories. Also, I only drink water or black coffee. I've had THREE beers this year alone. I had 12 beers last year.

So about 2300 calories a day. I will admit, I'm not that serious about dieting. I'm only hard core on what I drink. In the past, I figure sodas and bad snacking made up a lot of my calories.

So I'm going to work on a bit of a nutrition plan but I'm not exactly an expert on that.

Also, starting tomorrow, I'm going to start on this Strength program:

https://blog.onepeloton.com/andy-speer-total-strength/

I like that it has lighter runs between the strength workouts. My knees can't handle the hard core runs I've been doing with the bootcamps.

BTW, my body is FUCKING SORE from those bootcamps.. hahahahahahaha Today I just did some recovery rolling, stretching, and some light exercises on my hips and glutes. Those were recommended by my physical therapist to help with knee pain. They've been effective enough that I no longer need to wear a knee compression sleeve when walking. I just use it for running.


EDIT: One really cool think I'm proud of. I tried on my old flight suit from the Army. I EASILY fit into it. I haven't fit into that thing in 20 years.

[Ruffdaddy]

2300 calories is a little high if you're trying to lose weight...and if you're like me that's probably an underestimate. The baking is hard to deal with for sure.

How tall are you?

[Sgt Beavis]

2300 calories is a little high if you're trying to lose weight...and if you're like me that's probably an underestimate. The baking is hard to deal with for sure.

How tall are you?

6’2”

I’m going to take a harder look at my intake. I think I should adjust to add more protein since I’m going to be doing more strength training.

[Ruffdaddy]

6’2”

I’m going to take a harder look at my intake. I think I should adjust to add more protein since I’m going to be doing more strength training.

Damn...how lean are you trying to get?! Protein is certainly a must.

[SS Junk]

IMO, too many carbs. Not enough good fats and protein.

[Sgt Beavis]

Damn...how lean are you trying to get?! Protein is certainly a must.

I was targeting my Army weight of 175lbs. But hey I'm happy with 185. I've gone from a 36" waist to 32".

[Ruffdaddy]

IMO, too many carbs. Not enough good fats and protein.

I'll second this. If you want muscle...enjoy the meats!

[Big A]

Pay closer attention to the mirror and how your pants fit than the scale, and over time you'll begin to notice the change. If you don't see a change, M
cut more calories.

For a more empirical view, see if there's a Dexascan within driving distance.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Gasser64]

The mirror is your best measurer imo. If you can see them abs you're doing pretty good. If not, you've got plenty more ahead of you. If you're right there at the borderline, I'd throw in a few 48 hour hard dry fasts if you're tough. That's no food, no drink no shower for for 2 full days. (your skin will suck up water like a mofo, even out of the air if it's humid outside)

Your fat cells contain a small amount of what they call "metabolic water". When you dry fast, fat usage is accelrated by 3x because your body ramps it up in order to get at that water. So that will cut that last little bit of fat off you pretty quickly if you stick to it. I love doing 48's like that (when I put on say an extra 5lbs) cause it'll keep your abs showing in the mirror. Some people can't take it but once you've done it a few times, it gets a lot easier.

It's hard to begin with cause you'll detox like a motherfucker. But your body will also gobble up unnecessary tissue (like senescent cells) and use them for food. It starts this whole process of cleaning you the fuck out. People even shit out worms they didn't know they had. They die during a dry fast.

[Ruffdaddy]

The mirror is your best measurer imo. If you can see them abs you're doing pretty good. If not, you've got plenty more ahead of you. If you're right there at the borderline, I'd throw in a few 48 hour hard dry fasts if you're tough. That's no food, no drink no shower for for 2 full days. (your skin will suck up water like a mofo, even out of the air if it's humid outside)

Your fat cells contain a small amount of what they call "metabolic water". When you dry fast, fat usage is accelrated by 3x because your body ramps it up in order to get at that water. So that will cut that last little bit of fat off you pretty quickly if you stick to it. I love doing 48's like that (when I put on say an extra 5lbs) cause it'll keep your abs showing in the mirror. Some people can't take it but once you've done it a few times, it gets a lot easier.

It's hard to begin with cause you'll detox like a motherfucker. But your body will also gobble up unnecessary tissue (like senescent cells) and use them for food. It starts this whole process of cleaning you the fuck out. People even shit out worms they didn't know they had. They die during a dry fast.

Post up those results boy! Let's see how well you control that metabolic water!

[Sgt Beavis]

IMO, too many carbs. Not enough good fats and protein.

I'll second this. If you want muscle...enjoy the meats!

Yea, this may be the case. I started locking that down yesterday. Only two slices of multigrain bread, some rice, and oatmeal. Positive results this morning but its obviously too early to tell. Hitting the grocery today for fish, steak, ham, lots of veggies.

I want to take a sec to brag on my wife. I hated veggies forever and a day until she started working on ways to get me to eat more. She started by putting broccoli in her potato salad. Then she started pan frying it in bacon fat (OMG IT'S AWESOME) Now I'll eat it steamed with nothing on it. The same goes for several other veggies.

Pay closer attention to the mirror and how your pants fit than the scale, and over time you'll begin to notice the change. If you don't see a change, M
cut more calories.

For a more empirical view, see if there's a Dexascan within driving distance.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

That's a good point. my 32" pants don't feel any tighter. Wife says she likes what she sees.. hahaha..


I'm laying off the running this week. My knees ache from pushing myself too hard on Tuesday. I'll just be pumpin' iron for now. I also need to work more on my hip, quad, and glute exercises. Those pull my knees into a better alignment so they don't ache after running.

[Ruffdaddy]

I try to rotate my cardio between running, biking and boxing so I can get 5-6 days of cardio in a week. It gets tough when you get older because of the exact pains you're talking about...its your typical overuse injury. If you're at a size 32 then you're pretty trim so I don't know if you really need that much cardio.