It seems like an oxymoron. How could I lose that much body fat and the scale weight stay the same?

I built muscle alongside.

I could end it there but there’s more. In terms of shifting body composition that’s pretty much the gold star. If I’d have just measured my results using scale weight though, nothing would’ve changed.

I actually would have been pretty happy with not much change. I was traveling across 4 different countries and time zones, handled jet lag and had a wedding. I was not expecting to see that much positive change in my body composition.

How did I know?

Good question brains. I’ll tell you what I didn’t do first, I didn’t use one of those electrical impedance scales that claims to measure body composition, I didn’t use Inline or any number of those machines in the gym that you stand on and get a print out. None of those methods are accurate. I didn’t use calipers either.

Bodpod

I used Bodpod, which is a compression chamber. The BOD POD works by measuring changes in pressure when you are inside the chamber compared to an empty chamber. From these pressure changes, it’s possible to determine the volume of air you are displacing and your total body volume. It’s not absolutely perfect as a tool but when I got a Dexa scan in September they were pretty much on a par and Dexa is considered the gold standard of body composition testing.

I go into the local bio mechanics lab in the local (Humboldt Cal Poly) university to get bodpod. The lab is run by Lukas Coppen, our man in the white coat who performs the test and then gives us a print out and interprets our results.

Background

After a pretty long dieting period my muscle was lower than I would’ve liked in August. After getting the results back Lukas advised me to lift heavy, up my protein and up my cardio. I followed that guidance and within 3 weeks of that August test I had put on 3lbs of muscle. My body was primed for it.

In my dieting phase my main objective was to keep inflammation levels in the body low and stay in remission from ulcerative colitis. I followed the guidance of functional nutrition, ate moderate protein, followed a Mediterranean diet, lifted high rep and low weight with no cardio and whenever I felt like my body wasn’t coping I stopped training and just focused on steps which were around 12000 to 15000 daily.
Not optimal for body composition but certainly optimal for health. I got to my wedding having lost about 10lbs, in remission and went a whole month of traveling without any sign of a flare up. Sometimes it can feel like stepping backwards to come forwards.

After a long time out of lifting heavy, doing low protein and no cardio my body was ready to accelerate like a fucking Tesla.

Essentially I got newbie gains even as an oldie. I kept up my lifting regime whilst away though I wasn’t perfect, and my nutrition reflected an 80/20 approach up until the wedding and then after, for 10 days, 70/30. It was hard to get my portion of protein (140g) but I aimed to get it in whenever I could. I’m writing a ‘Stay Fit on the Road’ travel guide right now so I’ll leave all the goodies for that. Essentially though I maintained some good habits without being perfect.

I got home, got straight back to a 4 day heavy lifting routine, high protein, an 80/20 approach and good sleep. The BODPOD test was 11 days after we landed back home.

Now you have some context here’s the main take away.

If I had put all of my results in the scale I would never have known I was actually succeeding beyond expectations. It is why I ask for a range of feedback from my own clients so we can determine results, but so many women are still so head stuck in the scale relying on it as their only form of data. The scale does not measure body composition, and it cannot measure it. It is an important tool when we don’t have body composition tests but it is a crude tool and it is the reason many women give up.

A lot of my clients start a resistance training program with me and especially if they are new they’re going to put muscle on fast in the beginning. maybe like 5lbs in a month! The scale could go up and they would see that as a failure when it is anything but, it’s an out and out success.

Many more women are lifting heavier weights now but the bulky myth persists. Muscle takes up less space than fat so you become leaner when you build it, stronger, healthier and if consistent you live longer. It’s a no brainer! You would have to work out like a beast to get big as a female who isn’t using, you would need to have genetics on your side too.

If you have a body composition test like Bodpod or Dexa near you I’d encourage you to go. Bodpod is cheaper (around 20/40 pounds) and many universities have them. If not, photographs are a great tool to help you see changes in body composition along with the tape measure. Outside of these tools also look at clothes and then take other forms of feedback such as lifting heavier, feeling better and fitter as your feedback loop for success.

Don’t just rely on the scale, please, and stop letting the scale derail you.

When you are ready to let go of the yoyo diet, quick fixes and getting clapped by a big group of women for your scale weight loss you can message me and we’ll get to work on a proper body, mind, spirit transformation.

Scroll down to book a free discovery session & live longer, fitter and stronger!

Alex x