Lchf Resulted In Increased Body Fat % :(

[nsh2111]

Hope someone can help and point out the mistake.

I started LCHF 5-6 week ago and since then except 10 days of holidays, I have stuck to low carbs and the keto stips shows me in ketosis, ( Not since I come back from holiday as I am trying to go back in Ketosis in again)

I weighted myself today and it is almost same as it was 4 weeks back but my body fat % has gone from 24% to 26%. Weight is same around 64 - 65kg.

I need to reduce body fat as I have nothing else to loose outside and I think only reduction in body fat can help lower my BS.

What could I be doing wrong? I am only eating carbs from veg/salad/yogurt etc. Agreed I did have wine every day on holiday and I do still drink ( Whiseky/rum etc) once twice a week)

Nav

 

[Indy51]

I, for one, am very sceptical about the accuracy of body fat % on scales. All sort of things can affect the readings including hydration, "chest" size in women, etc. Given the possibility of error +/-, a difference of 2% probably means very little.

Which scales are you using?

 

[nsh2111]

It's one of those free standing machines operated by putting a pound coin. They ask you to hold the sensors and then it spits out the results.

 

[Bluetit1802]

It's one of those free standing machines operated by putting a pound coin. They ask you to hold the sensors and then it spits out the results.

I would ignore it in that case. It has probably never been calibrated. And as @Indy51 said, even the better ones have a margin of error, and if you are fully hydrated it will be different from if you are not hydrated.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I need to reduce body fat as I have nothing else to loose outside and I think only reduction in body fat can help lower my BS.

I would also query this statement. Are you mixing up body fat with visceral (organ) fat? Body fat is what is left after deducting muscle, bones, water. It is your total fat, not your visceral fat.

 

[Mbaker]

I put on fat at Christmas after half a bottle of red wine - 2kg. My non - diabetic wife put on 1.5 kg from the same. Alcohol is metabolised directly by the liver so this makes sense. Both my wife and I lost the weight quickly. I would consider laying off of booze until you are well on your way.

 

[nsh2111]

I would also query this statement. Are you mixing up body fat with visceral (organ) fat? Body fat is what is left after deducting muscle, bones, water. It is your total fat, not your visceral fat.

Yes that is my total fat. what would be the most accurate way to find how much visceral fat I have.?

 

[nsh2111]

I put on fat at Christmas after half a bottle of red wine - 2kg. My non - diabetic wife put on 1.5 kg from the same. Alcohol is metabolised directly by the liver so this makes sense. Both my wife and I lost the weight quickly. I would consider laying off of booze until you are well on your way.

It may be correct as I did drink a lot. I have hard time avoiding alcohol due to social and work commitments

 

[Bluetit1802]

Yes that is my total fat. what would be the most accurate way to find how much visceral fat I hace.?

You would have to buy some body composition scales. You can google them. Some are very expensive, but other more simple ones are reasonable. Other than asking your doctor to refer you for a special scan, there is no other way - and the special scans are extremely expensive so that is highly unlikely.

 

[Oldvatr]

Weighing scales that purport to tell you your body fat % do not actually do that. It is an electrical impedance measurement of the body and this is affected by many things, mainly your blood serum electrolyte levels. So it is affected greatly by hydration as stated above, but also by recent salt intake. If you are following LCHF then you may have been advised to increase salt intake in the early days to avoid carb flu, and also be eating different meals with a higher salt intake anyway.

Also LCHF in the early days before you get to keto stage will show higher serum cholesterol mainly LDL and VLDL (i.e. fat in transit in the blood) due to the increase in fat intake that is not yet being burnt off by ketosis. This is to be expeccted during LCHF startup until your bgl drops low enough for ketosis, and while the liver is dumping glucose to compensate for the drop in bgl until you get to the sweetspot known as being fat adapted, i.e. actually using fat instead of glucose. This takes a while before LCHF starts to work its real magic by getting to the adipose fat, which what we really need to shift.

So scales are not accurate or reliable means of measuring body fat. They are an aproximation at best, and are also fooled by changes in muscle density that may also be occurring at the same time.

 

[nsh2111]

thanks all, will look to get hold of some proper scale or get gp to offer me one.