Body Fat Loss and Scale Weight

[myidealfitness]

How does bodyfat loss measure to scale weight? If you lose 1-lb on the scale is that equivalent to 1/2% of bodyfat?

[Scott_W]

How does bodyfat loss measure to scale weight? If you lose 1-lb on the scale is that equivalent to 1/2% of bodyfat?

Depends on your eating and training, this is a really general question if that's how you're asking it, I can help more if you give me more information.

[Emma-Leigh]

This depends mostly on your BODY-WEIGHT.

BF% is the % of your TOTAL WEIGHT that is Fat Mass. Thus, 1% BODY FAT will have different masses depending on your overall body-weight. For example:
If you WEIGHT 115# and you are 15% bodyfat. That means you have 17.25# fat mass.
That means a 1# WEIGHT loss (provided it is 100% FAT that is lost) would give you 16.25# fat mass and a weight of 114# = 14.25# body fat.

If you WEIGHT 230# and you have 15% bodyfat. That means you have 34.5# fat mass.
That means a 1# WEIGHT loss (provided, once again, it is 100% FAT that is lost) would give you a 33.5# fat mass and a weight of 229# = 14.63% body fat.

So, essentially, the SMALLER you are - the more impact 1# of FAT LOSS will have on your overall bodyfat %.

BUT - what you LOSE in that 1# weight loss is HIGHLY unlikely to be 100% fat... It will be a mix of many things including fat, water, glycogen, lean tissue (muscle, bone, etc). What determines the mix, and how much of each you lose, will depend on:
- genetics
- sex
- hormonal environment
- trained status
- training type
- calorie intake
- protein intake
and many other things....

[navycma]

Maybe there is a different way of looking at your concept.

If you see a loss of weight on the scale and yet you know that you have done lots of the right things and none of the bad things, then you can be fairly confident that the weight loss is a good thing. Conversely, if you see a weight gain and you haven't been building muscle through weights, then you also know that this is a fat or water gain.

I don't gauge myself by my scale, I gauge it by my clothes.