are my maths correct?

I am currently trying to put on lean weight. i have tanata  bathroom scales, i know they are not accurate but are supposed to be a good tool for monitering  gains and losses in body fat.

so my weight 8 weeks ago :178 at 12% body fat

and my weight now            :182 at 15% body fat

my math                              :was 178/100 * 12% =21.36 pounds of fat

                                            :now 182/100 * 15% =27.3  pounds of body fat

WTF? please help the thick guy over here its destroying my motivation

Counts are correct. you gained more fat then lean muscle mass.

26 minutes ago, Alessandro Mainente said:

Counts are correct. you gained more fat then lean muscle mass.

thanks for your input i thought so i have only ate 3000kcal per day 200g - 300g lean protein 150g - 200g mostly complex carbs and around 30g-50g of good fats. i do resistance training every 2 days mostly compound lifts heavy weights 4 sets 8-10 reps i am getting stronger i also throw in low impact cardio 2 times a week 30 mins - 45 mins.  The only thing i can think of is going for less carbs mostly in the day and maybe hi impact cardio. i can do 10k run in 65 mins but my joints are not what they used to be. any further input would be greatly appreciated

Hi Gary,

In my opinion, regularly looking at numbers like this can only make things more complicated. How was your body fat measured? Body composition tests are notoriously inaccurate and can actually create unnecessary concern. It is unlikely the scale you mentioned is accurately measuring your body fat. My suggestion is don't get hung up on these little details and focus instead on keeping up with healthy habits. For nutrition, Thrive can help you to simplify things and will no doubt help you lose body fat. 

28 minutes ago, Everett Carroll said:

Hi Gary,

In my opinion, regularly looking at numbers like this can only make things more complicated. How was your body fat measured? Body composition tests are notoriously inaccurate and can actually create unnecessary concern. It is unlikely the scale you mentioned is accurately measuring your body fat. My suggestion is don't get hung up on these little details and focus instead on keeping up with healthy habits. For nutrition, Thrive can help you to simplify things and will no doubt help you lose body fat. 

thanks that makes sense my scales are rubbish I think. I am going to go for a hydro-static dip in four weeks time and then possibly every 12 weeks I think that's a more relaxed way of doing things and also more accurate reading of lean muscle mass growth it costs 40 GBP

Hi Gary, 

I agree with Everett in regards to keeping things simple. Your focus should be on solid consistent training backed up by eating mostly whole unprocessed foods and getting adequate sleep and recovery. Too much focus on the numbers ie how many grams of carbs you are eating, what is your bodyfat percentage take your focus off the things that will actually produce the changes that you after. 

The body and its many intricate systems evolved long before we had the ability to measure how many calories or grams of fat were in our food. Sometimes in this age of information, we can suffer from a paralysis of analysis. 

@Gary Maher, like coaches say, sometimes making it simple and then consistently work on it may work really great…. however, I also feel with you. Personally, I LOVE numbers and I love analyze stuff so I can learn what and how works over time for me… (I used to do bodybuilding back in time, so the leanness was really important to me and I did measure my BF% regularly). If you still want to do your measurements (even though coaches suggest to keep it simple), I would recommend to get yourself a high quality body fat caliper (I've had mine for 20 years and it's still working great, it's the Lange brand) and just learn how to measure your different areas. This will be the most precise for YOU. Whatever the total number of BF% says is irrelevant, because each method will show you a different number. But when you measure your skin fold in millimeters, you really see what is happening. Also, we all have troublesome areas, so you can measure and log those too. 

Regarding your food, I have also logged my foods for the last 20+ years just to see what different macros do to me. I don't see anything wrong with it, if your mind is analytical. You just have to be aware of it and not to stress out too much about it. If something doesn't work (like your numbers above), then change it… do another "experiment", etc. But I wouldn't trust your scale (the different level of hydration change the numbers so much), get those calipers instead. 

Yes, Counts are correct. 

thanks very much i will look into the callipers I have cheap one's at the moment 3 pounds off eBay very week I will invest in some better ones