What Happened When I Did A Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) Scan Before And After Training

Recently I did a fun little experiment on myself.  I did a BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) scan BEFORE a 1-hour gym session and again immediately AFTER. I was inundated with requests to share what happened and why I don’t recommend these scans. So here are the results:   BEFORE TRAINING Weight: 61kg. The report suggested I needed to gain 1kg to get to 62kg Height: 169.8cm Skeletal Muscle Mass: 25.9kg Body Fat %: 23.1% Visceral Fat Level: 5 BMR: 1383kcal Bone Mineral Content: 2.95kg   AFTER TRAINING Weight: 61.1kg. The report suggested I needed to lose 0.3kg to get to 60.8kg by increasing 0.7kg of muscle and decreasing 1kg of fat Height: 168.2cm - I shrunk Skeletal Muscle Mass: 25.4kg - I lost 0.5kg of muscle Body Fat %: 24.6%. Increased by 1.5%!! Gained 900g fat Visceral Fat Level: 6 - increased BMR: 1365kcal - decreased Bone Mineral Content: 2.84kg - decreased   Hopefully, this highlights that these scans are not the best tool for monitoring changes in body composition. They are very easy to manipulate and results can vary significantly - up to 8% variance has been seen in the literature!  If I can gain 900g of body fat, lose 500g of muscle and gain almost a centimetre in my arm circumference in an hour - what hope do you have of assessing accurate change over 4 weeks?! There is absolutely no point in measuring something if it cannot accurately track progress. Save your $. You’re welcome :)   LINKS: Go back and listen to episode 32 on how BIA scans work and why I think they’re a waste of money HERE To book in to our monthly skin fold clinic in Brisbane - Book Online HERE Just three spots left for October. Join the waitlist for our next Triathlon Nutrition Academy opening: www.dietitianapproved.com/academy Website: www.dietitianapproved.com Instagram: @Dietitian.Approved @triathlonnutritionacademy Facebook: facebook.com/DietitianApproved The Triathlon Nutrition Academy is a podcast by Dietitian Approved Support the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.