Body Fat and Water Question

[johnwhdavies]

Hello All,

My name is John and reside in the UK, I have been on the Atkins diet for 6 days now and have lost a total of 7 pounds, Great

Anyway my questions,

Although I have lost 7 pounds I have some top notch scales that measure body fat and it seems my body fat have started going through the roof. I train 5 days a week also. The foods I am eating are as follows

Breakfast

Egg x 2
Sausages x 4
Bacon Rashers x 2

Lunch

Tuna and Baby Spinach

Dinner

Steak or Omlette filled with Ham and Mushrooms

Secondly I know there is a lot of salt in the diet so far and this is also measured on the scales. Currently I am drinking about 4 ltrs a day and I am currently dehydrated.

Is it correct for body fat to go up?
What can I do about the water other than drinking more

Anyway have read a load of successes in here and would like to congratulate each and everyone of you - WELL DONE!!!

[Bluebelt2007]

Re: Body Fat and Water Question

Hi,

Atkins is one of the very few diets that helps to minimize muscle loss while dieting unlike the low carb high fat ones.

NO your body fat shouldn't be going up, however, even with the better body fat scales, you should only being weighing under the same circumstances (example-every Sunday morning, before eating, after using the bathroom, naked). I have a nice body fat scale and if I am consistent, so are the readings.

In regards to this being a high sodium diet, I don't know why you think that. Atkins should be the opposite. If it is high sodium, you need to change what your doing. Doctor Atkins recommends avoiding processed foods. Things like Bacon/Sausages, Deli meats, canned tuna are okay once in awhile, but shouldn't be a major stable of your diet. They are loaded full of nitrates and often hidden sugar and fillers. While I do eat bacon/sausage, I buy from a butcher to avoid sugar/fillers and to get the sodium down.

Hope this helps-Good luck and congratulations on your weight loss.

[Zarabelle]

Re: Body Fat and Water Question

Hi John, I can't understand why it is showing your fat % as up if you have lost half a stone (Congrats on that).

Why do you think you are dehydrated?

Zx

[johnwhdavies]

Re: Body Fat and Water Question

Hi Bluebelt, thanks for your reply!!!

Have just been looking at the food and I am eating and the sodium contents are low, my mistake, must have to drink more.

Just looking at this site http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/ seems like there are loads of ideas here for menus as well as on this site, seems I have to become a little more adventurous with the cooking and stop living on the George Foreman.

You have done really well with your diet, something I am aiming at.

Thanks again for your reply and good luck...

[johnwhdavies]

Re: Body Fat and Water Question

Zarabelle, my scales weigh individual body parts, torso, left/right arms and the same with the legs, before I started I was 28% body fat, now it is showing as 32% probably me just getting on one.

Yes I have lost the weight and I am still in training, maybe I have lost loads of retained water, reason for 47.1% water instead of the usual 52%.

Thanks again guys!!

[ValidRouge]

Re: Body Fat and Water Question

John, what time of the day are you weighing?

I have a BF scale too and found the same thing. Did a lot of research on the web and found out a couple things:
1) the scales measure hydration and use a formula from that to come up with BF % (along with your height, weight)
2) we are all dehydrated the most in the morning, so my scale always measures about 5% more BF in the morning than it does in the evening. (However, I'll be 5 lbs HEAVIER in the evening sometimes because of food and water I've had thru the day).
3) Ketogenic diets are diuretic. Therefore we need to make sure to replenish our bodies with lots and lots of water.
4) Caffeine is a diuretic, so if you're drinking that you need additional plain water.

What you might want to do, and was recommended in the search I did, is to use your scale in the morning to measure WEIGHT and then use it in the evening (when you are fully hydrated) to measure Body Fat.

[johnwhdavies]

Re: Body Fat and Water Question

Hi Joy,

I have a tendency to measure myself on the Sunday morning and agree there is a big difference to a morning weigh in in comparison to a late afternoon.

Since I started last week I have been drinking on average 3-4 ltrs a day, this coming week I am going to try and up it a little to see what happens. As for tea and coffee they are a big no no, have not drank them for quite a while, strictly stick to Green Tea / Water..

Other thing that didnt help the weight Joy is like you I quit smoking although I quit at the beginning of the year... How are you finding it after all this time?

John

[ValidRouge]

Re: Body Fat and Water Question

I drink 4-5 liters of water a day. I think that little bit extra will help you.

I found myself snacking a lot more after I quit smoking. I'm SO GLAD I quit smoking, but my weight loss since then hasn't been that drastic. Then again, I was very close to my goal weight when I quit, and to be fair I've gone down 2 clothing sizes since I quit. Good for you for your quit. Never take another puff!

[quotidianlight]

Re: Body Fat and Water Question

I quit three days before the New Year and restarted Atkins February. Compared to my November attempt at induction I found not smoking make it easier to stick to. I think smoking does something to my insulin levels. Anyway, I did need to eat 5 or 6 small meals. The constant snacking only lasted a month or two but when I started atkins I didn't gain. I snacked on cheese sticks and jacima for the most part.

For a good two months I could not drink enough water and I feel the same way about exercise. I think it is the bodies way of telling me what it needs to heal (or replacing one addiction for another). My taste buds are must sharper so I appreciate the whole foods I eat much more compared to how I enjoyed Atkins or even in the past when I was eating a "healthy diet". Cheese tastes deeper, cream tastes amazing, I can taste the difference between grain finished beef and grass feed, berries are sweeter etc. That makes this WOE much easier for me.

Look into supplements as well since your body is going through a lot of cleaning house over the next few years. B vitamins, a really good multi, MSM and coenzyme 10 are all great when you quit smoking. ALA and other antioxidants will be your lungs, heart and skins best friend.