Excuse?

I have been going to the gym for about 8 months now, lifting heavy for about 5 of those 8. I lift 3 days a week but only get about 1 day of cardio (In the gym 4 days a week). I have lost 33 lbs so far and keep a calorie limit of 1400-1600. I am 5'2" and am 31 years old and weigh 134.

The training manager came up to me the other day and indicated that he had seen me in the gym and wanted to know if I would be interested in an orientation (which included a cardio test and a body fat percentage). So I agreed just because I wanted those tests and I had told him up front I wasn't interested in any training.

I went in today and I find out from the calipers that I have a 34 percent body fat!! WHAT!!! When I first started I think I was lower than that.

My question is.. Did I really lose muscle and gain fat for those 33 lbs I have lost, or is the trainer making the numbers higher so I will want training sessions? Do trainers really do that or am I just making excuses because I don't want to believe I'm flabby? Man I feel horrible right now.. I was feeling so good about my weigh loss until this.

TIA

Original Post by lossfast:

I have been going to the gym for about 8 months now, lifting heavy for about 5 of those 8. I lift 3 days a week but only get about 1 day of cardio (In the gym 4 days a week). I have lost 33 lbs so far and keep a calorie limit of 1400-1600. I am 5'2" and am 31 years old and weigh 134.

The training manager came up to me the other day and indicated that he had seen me in the gym and wanted to know if I would be interested in an orientation (which included a cardio test and a body fat percentage). So I agreed just because I wanted those tests and I had told him up front I wasn't interested in any training.

I went in today and I find out from the calipers that I have a 34 percent body fat!! WHAT!!! When I first started I think I was lower than that.

My question is.. Did I really lose muscle and gain fat for those 33 lbs I have lost, or is the trainer making the numbers higher so I will want training sessions? Do trainers really do that or am I just making excuses because I don't want to believe I'm flabby? Man I feel horrible right now.. I was feeling so good about my weigh loss until this.

TIA

I heard that getting your BF% and weight taken with trainers at a gym is a big no no. They tend to fudge the numbers to make you want to attend some lessons with them. They get $$$ from using this tactic.

There's no way you gained fat and lost muscle.  I wouldn't trust his results.  I think you are on the right track with your diet and exercise.  Congratulations on losing the 33lbs so far!

Original Post by lossfast:

I have been going to the gym for about 8 months now, lifting heavy for about 5 of those 8. I lift 3 days a week but only get about 1 day of cardio (In the gym 4 days a week). I have lost 33 lbs so far and keep a calorie limit of 1400-1600. I am 5'2" and am 31 years old and weigh 134.

The training manager came up to me the other day and indicated that he had seen me in the gym and wanted to know if I would be interested in an orientation (which included a cardio test and a body fat percentage). So I agreed just because I wanted those tests and I had told him up front I wasn't interested in any training.

I went in today and I find out from the calipers that I have a 34 percent body fat!! WHAT!!! When I first started I think I was lower than that.

My question is.. Did I really lose muscle and gain fat for those 33 lbs I have lost, or is the trainer making the numbers higher so I will want training sessions? Do trainers really do that or am I just making excuses because I don't want to believe I'm flabby? Man I feel horrible right now.. I was feeling so good about my weigh loss until this.

TIA

It is highly unlikely that you are 34% body fat. That would translate into a lean body weight of 88.4 lbs, which is unusual for someone your height, esp if you have been "lifting heavy" for 5 months. Not impossible, but unlikely, based on my experience of doing several thousand skinfold body fat measurements. It could be that you have skin that doesn't come away as easily from the underlying muscle layer and so the measurements were too high.

I can't comment on whether or not the trainer was being truthful or not. One of my biggest criticisms of other fitness people when it comes to doing body fat measurements is that they often do not compare the number they calculate with the body that they just measured. I mean, the first thing you have to ask yourself is: does this number make sense? does it match the body that I am looking at?

If you do a lot of skinfold measurements and have any integrity or awareness at all, you soon recognize different body types and different conditions (i.e. the one I mentioned above) that can be problematic for the procedure. Unfortunately, that awareness is often lacking in trainers.

Thanks for all your replies so far!! I began to question him when he started saying that he wouldn't suggest for me to lift heavy. He never did give a good explaination as to why. Though he did want me to add more cardio. So I'm going to do lifting for a half hour then cardio for the other half for two weeks and he wants to redo the body fat percentage. Thoughts?

Original Post by lossfast:

Thanks for all your replies so far!! I began to question him when he started saying that he wouldn't suggest for me to lift heavy. He never did give a good explaination as to why. Though he did want me to add more cardio. So I'm going to do lifting for a half hour then cardio for the other half for two weeks and he wants to redo the body fat percentage. Thoughts?

Don't bother, unless you're practicing for some specific cardiovascular-based event. From a fitness perspective exercise specificity rules; you get better at activities you do a lot of and if you want to improve a specific fitness aspect you'll need to do a lot of it.

 From a fat loss perspective however, cardio is only relevant for people who otherwise won't have a useful calorie deficit - count calories for fat loss, lift heavy to preserve muscle tissue, add cardio if you've got the time and your deficit without it isn't enough to see fat loss at a reasonable rate.

 Now, if you can get through your lifting program in half an hour there's certainly nothing wrong with doing cardio for the rest of your time at the gym, but if adding more cardio means cutting short your lifting then you're doing it wrong. Cardio is extra credit to be done when your lifting's been taken care of, not before.

there are other body fat testing devices out there that are much more acurate. Sucks if you gym doesnt have them, but look around. If you have a university with a gym near you, they sometimes have the high tech stuff. Or look in your phone book for a dietitan and see if they could test you for a small fee. If it would help your state of mind to know the truth, try it.

They did the same thing to me at 24 hour fitness. I was 5'1" 125 at the time and they starting telling me I was at high risk for heart disease, diabetes, etc. They just want to get you to do their training sessions.

That is really sad that someone would do that to someone just to make a buck! I would have been more than happy to get training to get more ideas of different lifting techniques.. I just want to be realistic about my progress and weight.

Is it really possible to lose muscle and gain fat and lose inches while in a calorie deficit and while lifting heavy (relative to me)? He mentioned that the macro nutrients were what was important to lose the last 15 lbs.

Man I should have just not done it and starting questioning myself!

TIA everyone!! I really appreciate all the knowledge you have.