Anyone else the same as me?

[alexbcoates]

Hey there, I'm new to this, only today in fact. So, i'm in a weird situation where i've got muscle and fat and the scales make me seem heavier than I look. It has really affected my self confidence in recent years and i'm beginning to run out of ideas. I go to the gym at least 3-4 times a week and I play badminton once a week as well as the occasional 5 a-side football game. Should I be sticking to just cardiovascular activity or carry on with the weight exercise/cardio and reduce my caloric intake? I'm hoping to drop around 5-6 stone. All advice is welcome and thank you in advance.

Alex

[tootsiepops]

Calories in need to be less than calories out. Its unlikely you will lose fat by exercising alone, unless you are an athlete or body builder. You need to create a deficit to burn fat and lose weight,

Its good you are excercising as this keeps you from losing too much muscle tissue and should help you to burn less lean muscle and more fat.

[Gramma]

You are obviously doing loads of exercise so therefore building muscle. Pound for pound, muscle is much denser than fat so this is why your weight seems more than you think it should be. The gym that I joined never weighed me but measured me instead for this very reason so don't be disheartened as you are doing great. As you say, you look leaner than the scales tell you so believe in yourself!! Of course, as tootsiepops says, you don't lose weight just by exercise alone, you need a healthy eating plan too to lose excess fat. Good luck and keep smiling, you are doing fine, well done. X.

[Jsports]

Throw ya scales out the window ^^ even your body fat analysis ones are not accurate. If you do badminton football and cardio your legs and calves must be increasing in muscle mass which is bumping up your weight. Time of day obv alters it too but I would say spend £3 and invest in a measuring tape for your main body parts and use this not crappy weight scales

This will give you true indication of what's happening also perhaps using body calippers for body fat % guides are online. I play badminton for my university and I am a sport and exercise science student 3rd year so give me a shout as I'm sure I'm in the same boat as you

Depends on your intensity ofc but I'm on an course run by couple of England coaches all month and they are kicking my ass!! My legs now feel like no fat on and are solid and my scales show the same weight as when I started...but it's probably fat loss with muscle mass increasing as my leg press had gone up 20kg too.

[returner]

Hi alexbcoates,

The real purpose of weight reduction is usually to reduce body fat. A person who does a lot of exercise, particularly muscle-building exercise, may well end up with a BMI of over 25 due to the fact that muscle is heavier than fat.

However, it is possible to be muscular and also have high levels of body fat.

So the real question is just what is your BMI?

Even international level body builders rarely have a BMI of more than about 26 or 27. So, if yours is significantly more than that then I would recommend looking seriously at your diet and the amounts of sugar and fat you take in.

One common reason for this sort of situation is people doing extensive exercise followed by serious "eating back" the calories they tell themselves they have just burnt off.

As a general rule of thumb, diet to manage your weight and exercise to improve your fitness - with the major caveat that improved exercise / activity levels significantly assist the diet process through the changes that are caused in your hormone secretions.

Hope that's helpful.

[Jsports in reply to returner]

Rugby players can report usually within obese-severely obese. Bmi is an indication not a set rule measure yourself especially as you do not know your bone density. Tape measures don't lie on your measurements especially your waist.