kaylinrenee's Journal, 10 July 2023

Well numbers people shouldn’t weigh themselves often. In order to stay the same weight, you need to eat the same amount of carbs n sodium. And poop n pee out the same amount everytime. That’s assuming you’re on maintenance calories 

maybe ill move to bi-weekly?  

I have a smart scale I bout on Amazon that reads body fat and muscle mass. It is fairly accurate but not 100%. I think it was lol $60 or $80. Even it varies some day to day. Weight fluctuates like Super said. You have to look at a trend line through the historical reading to really get an idea of your progress with any measurement device. 

Yes bi-weekly sounds good and have a 4lb window where you allow it to get back is a good idea too.  

gettingcut, how does it know?  

i know weight fluctuates but at this point i dont think its just bloat/food "retention" and i know i need to maintain a higher weight. its just... hard to mentally adjust and i feel like i need a number to stick to (within reason) 

The scale sends a small electrical signal through the body to measure fat and muscle. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09HCJD6H1?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title This is the one I bought. There are several like it. I googled reviews and comments on several before I decided on this one. Etekcity smart Wi-Fi scale 

i just read a bit and it says you have to be well hydrated. 🤣 so for me, that's almost never lol 

Lol I don’t drink nearly as much water as I should considering I live in a desert and burst into a sweat just walking out onto the shaded patio. Probably why I get some big fluctuations. But, it is great for getting the trend for all the measurements. I am surprised actually that it is as accurate as it is. 

Oh, yea, and it measures body water % as well. 

don't trust those scales they work better as a boat anchor ... 

A dietitian can help you with this.  

Lol I have one too. And it tells me I was leaner at 155 vs my 162 so I know that’s bullshit. It must use a BMI to factor into the equation. But maybe that’s just the one I got. 

After reviewing a bunch of them with varying accuracy. But, I think for you they will probably all be off as you have so much muscle mass, the algorithms for the scale’s calculations are probably the pretty off. The one I have actually has a setting for “athlete”. It says if you exercise more than 8 hours per week to use that setting. It is all about how the software crunches the data after it takes the measurements. When I don’t have the athlete mode on it says I am 17.5% body fat. With the athlete mode on it says 13.3% which lines up with the caliper test. 

One method you can use is to estimate your BF% using a photo chart of example BF%s, then use that to estimate your lean body mass. Then set a goal based on how much LBM you want to add (e.g. 5 pounds) and what BF% you’d like to end with. 

But muscle gain takes longer than fat loss (like, 5-10 lb in a year is great) so IMO it’s better to focus on how much you can lift, because that you can impact week to week. You’ll see the changes in the mirror though. And you can also take body measurements with tape and track that way. 

… I should put an example though. I estimate my lean mass to be 125, based on what I think my current BF% is, and subtracting it from my weight. So at 15% BF I’d be (125 / 0.85) or 147. If my lean mass were 130 that becomes (130 / 0.85) or 152.