Body fat %...not money related

[COlady]

The BMI thread got me thinking about this and I wanted your thoughts since I know some of you guys are pretty hardcore into clean eating and working out. I reviewed my body fat history on the machine at the gym the other day and was a little bit surprised by what I saw.  The bioelectrical impedance machine has my last 4 years of data which is interesting to go back and look at.  I only printed four points in time which are detailed below:

I am about 5'8.5'' and currently 33 years old.

5/30/14 - wt 141.1 - lean mass 104.7 - 25.7% body fat
5/26/15 - wt 141.5 - lean mass 104.1 - 26.5% body fat
5/29/16 - wt 136.9 - lean mass 105.4 - 23.1% body fat
6/19/17 - wt 135.4 - lean mass 105.8 - 21.9% body fat


Notes about points in time:

5/30/14 was doing boot camp 3 times per week. Was in the best cardio shape of my life as I ran on the days I didn't do boot camp. Drank probably 4-5 beers per week.  Pretty healthy diet overall (I think? that was a long time ago).  Enjoyed cooking intricate meals. Desk job averaging 50 hours per week with some overtime weeks up to 60 hours.

5/26/15 Got pregnant with twin boys around 7/4/14.  Gave birth to them beginning of March 2015 at 36 weeks. Was on bed rest from late January through delivery due to early onset labor which they were able to stop with Magnesium. I went on long walks with the babies once I was able to and it was warm enough outside. I found it pretty surprising that my body fat % was only slightly higher than from a year prior when I was working out hardcore. Maybe my diet was worse than I thought in 2015?

5/29/16 - the boys would've been just over a year old. I was working 3 days per week, max 25 hours. They started walking around this time and I was chasing them around. As you can imagine, not cooking lots of fancy foods, not drinking nearly as much beer as before babies. Maybe 1 beer per week, maybe.  I fit working out into my schedule a bit - 2-3 days per week.

6/19/17 - the boys are about 2 now. I work more now - 3 to 4 days per week depending on how busy I am. I make it to the gym 1-2 times per week to lift and we go on a lot of stroller walks to the park (33 pounds each + stroller = 90ish pounds). I am in constant chase mode to keep these little guys safe. I feel like my arms have never looked better and I don't lift very often - maybe due to lifting kids?

Is a 1 pound lean mass gain anything to get excited about? I just find it kind of surprising that my lean mass has gone up and fat has gone down when I'm working out a whole lot less. Maybe this is a case of diet is 80% of results? Maybe the dang machine is flawed? Maybe it's hormonal? Was on hormonal BC before boys, now have Mirena. I think I sit a whole lot less and eat less which makes sense on the body fat standpoint but I'm surprised that I've gained muscle. Any thoughts?

[human]

I think weight loss and muscle mass gain of any level is great. A lot of guys tend to think putting on ten pounds of muscle is no big thing. The internet is full of men saying I only have a lil belly from meh liftin if you can't put on ten lbs of muscle in a month you a wuss. Such bs sure they could be getting stronger but gaining lean muscle mass is really hard.

Keep it up!!! Just keep eating right and working out. Or is your goal to become a fitness model? If so you may be looking for advice on the wrong forum.

[nara]

I became involved in the fitness industry over a year ago when I decided to being competing in NPC bikini competitions. Working with a trainer has entirely changed my perspective on fitness. Diet is really 80% of it (for everyone). But the dieting required to look like a fitness model/competitor is not sustainable for very long. Unfortunately, this is the look that the media portrays. It is lifting that builds mass. Muscle requires more energy (calories) People who assume that you burn fat by cardio only are wrong! So if you are lifting more and doing less cardio it makes sense that you are gaining muscle. More muscle will also make your bodyfat go down. There are many bodybuilders who do hardly any cardio because they have reached a point where their metabolism is doing all the work and cardio is not needed.