Body fat %

I have been monitoring my calorie intake on Fatsecret for a month and have lost 6kg (from 84 to 78kg). My body fat % has hardly changed though. Can anyone assist me with the correct ratio intake of protein/carbs/fat? My height is 176cm if that helps, and I excercise daily - gym or cardio. My average over the last 3 weeks has been protein 162g/carbs 186g/fats 55g

General guidelines go like this:
Fat: Up to 20% of your daily energy intake could come from fat
Protein: A minimum of 20% of your daily energy intake should come from proteins

Personally I'm more like 15% from fat, 45% from protein and 40% from carbohydrates.

When trying to lower your bodyfat percentage, generally this is easier if you eat less fat, as fat, gram for gram, contains more than twice the energy of proteins.
If you are trying to put on muscle mass at the same time your protein intake should be in the range of 1.5-2 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight.
How are you measuring your bodyfat percentage? I'm hearing very bad things about bodyfat measuring bathroom weights and very good things about bodyfat calipers.

I think MrMonster probably hit the nail on the head, most body-fat measurements are pretty flawed. ESPECIALLY the ones on an electric scale that measure through your feet. They tend to measure more of your lower body, and less of your upper body. Therefore, if you lost most of your weight around your mid-section, it might not show up.

Calipers can be more accurate in the sense that you can check your entire body, but, the results vary WIDELY based on who is taking the measurement.

Regarding food intake, I agree with monster on the 20% fat idea, but I disagree with his statement "When trying to lower your bodyfat percentage, generally this is easier if you eat less fat". Most science suggests that excess Carb consumption (especially simple carbs like sugar) are MUCH more likely to contribute to fat gain than eating fat itself. When you consume carbs, in triggers an insulin reaction in your body that instructs your cells to store more fat. Now I'm not suggesting a carb-free diet, but balance is important and you appear to have good balance. Just make sure you are eating more complex carbs (those from whole grains and come veggies, etc) and less simple carbs like sugar. If you want to cut out a bit of fat, try to replace it with protein and not more carbs.

Most importantly, as long as you are losing weight, it's working. You're body won't burn muscle before it burns fat, so if you're losing weight, it's coming from fat stores. If you notice that your clothes are fitting looser, or you need to tighten your belt a bit, than that should be all the proof you need that it's working. Forget the inaccurate body fat scale!

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This is a truth with modifications, it actually depends on how you are losing weight, if you are exercising you break down muscles, if you don't get the macro-nutrients needed to replace that muscle breakdown (and energy to rebuild) you will actually loose muscle mass.
A good way to counteract this muscle breakdown is to use creatine and broken chain amino acids, the amino acids are actually what your body is breaking your muscles down into, so the presence of these in your bloodstream will, to some extend, dissuade your body from further breaking down muscle to provide energy while you are exercising.

As for the creatine I haven't understood the exact process but it allows you to store more energy in your muscles, in this way you can last longer before your body begins breaking down your muscles.

Common consensus (I've seen some pretty general experiments, something you'll probably be able to find links to if you dig around bodybuilder forums) is that this is most prevalent with heavy training, but it will also actually manifest without training if your energy deficiency is large enough (a rule of thumb is never go below 500 Kcal below your Daily Energy Intake, although in my mind this limit should be some percentage of your Daily Energy Intake), so if your exercise is moderate and your energy deficiency isn't too severe, most of the weight you drop should be fat.

Although I think I may be nitpicking here, the lesson to take home is: use moderation and consistent measurement methods and see what works for you, just remember: What comes in must either come out again or be stored

Weightlifting/resistance training will increase your muscle over time and boost your metabolism and provide numerous other health benefits - - and help decrease your body fat %.

the bio impendance scales are not super accurate, but the good ones have an error of +/-3-4% on average which I think is good enough for most people and probably way more accurate than calipers since these really depend on who is taking the measures and can have a big variance.
Anyhow the important thing is the trend and for that the scale is usually ok

Your weight will change much quicker than your body fat %. If you want a really accurate reading google hydrostatic body fat testing in your area. I had it done at the local college in Feb and the calipers at my gym were 7% higher. Hydrostatic testing is a bit pricy though. It was $40 but a well spent $40 in my opinion. It's extremely accurate.

I have been monitoring my intake for the last 8 days, and have acurately recorded exercise as well as calories. My average daily calorie deficiency is 600. I have increased slightly in weight from 78.5 to 79.2 kg. My Tanita scale shows a reduction in body fat though from 20.7% to 19.8%. My average daily calorie breakdown is protein 168g/carbs 195g/fats 65g which is protein 39%/carbs 46%/fats 65%. Am I on the right track here to reduce my body fat %? I am not too concerned about my weight, just want to lose fat. My waist remained the same at 87cm - I am 44yrs old and 1.76m tall. Cheers

Keep plugging along. Bathroom scales really do a poor job estimating your bf%. Have it done at a gym with the caliper. At least that's closer than the scale. I would hit the cardio hard to melt away fat and use weights to build lean muscle. When it comes to losing weight it's about eating less calories than you burn through the day. Even though you are satisfied with your weight I would still work on having a slight deficit each day. Keep at it and make sure you keep up the protein and water intake. And just a little tid bit on how off bathroom scales are for bf measurements... Mine says my bf% is 30%, in Feb I had the hydrostatic done and it was 21.7% Huge difference. Hydrostatic is the most accurate you can get. Hope this helps.

All body fat scales are terrible. Mine has ranged from 32-35% over a 30lb weight loss with strength training improvements over the same time.

Ignore them. Do body measurements instead. They will give you a far better picture when it comes to body changes.