So I bought a Xiaomi Mi Scale.

Whilst I know not super accurate, it has made me curious on 2 of my readings:

1) Protein is low (not muscle, just protein)
2) Low basal metabolism (about 1300 when it should be about 1500)

Some notes:
1) I exercise every day early morning, mix of weights, HIIT and running.

2) I have a few kilos to lose also.

3) Rest of the measurement are fine.

4) I practice 16/8 intermittent fasting (eating window 12-20) since a few years and I like it.

I started researching this but am a bit at a loss on how to increase both figures?

I tried protein shakes but there is so much advice out there I got a bit lost.

Anyone has any word of wisdom on this topic?

A scale can't measure anything other than weight.

I assume you have it paired with some sort of fitness and eating tracking apps?

If you feel healthy and happy with your body, forget it.

If you don't, you probably already know roughly what you want to change, so why care what the scale says?

The sceptic in me says that:

a. a scale trying to claim anything about the content of the weight it measures is just making things up

b. they have a sponsorship deal with a protein shake company

It's a body composition scale. It measure body fat, muscle etc. I understand the limitations of this and yet it has made me curious.

It also gave similar info than a trainer years ago had given me with traditional body measurements, i.e. eat more protein, so I am just investigating a bit.

Shifting weight lately has been hard, probably due to age, but wanted to get a bit more granular about it.

I have a different brand of scale that does those measurements and i just don't believe it.. Especially those that only measure via the feet.. Obviously electricity takes the shortest path, thus goes up one leg and down the other.. How does it see and measure my beer belly or my big muscular shoulders?

My problem is i eat too much, mostly decent food but in too large quantities .. And I drink too much wine. I do crossfit up to 5 times per week, lift pretty heavy etc.. I burn up to 700 cals per session according to apple watch .. But that makes me hungry and so I eat more.

I took three months off the gym in the first lock-down and quickly lost 5kg.. I restarted in Aug and I've put that straight back on already.. Conversely my scale said it was FAT that I lost and put back on again..

Looks like some folks's bodies put themselves in an emergency mode when in a lot of oxydative stress (intense workouts, high intensity stress, intense fasting cycles), etc. High cortisol will make one retain podge and increase appetite, mess with insuline, metabolic imbalance, etc. Feed inflamation which will mess with what body does with proteins and block sending proteins where needed. Cortisol can increase even when we are actually trying to fix stuff with intense healthy routine and drill, because it still presents stress just in a different form. I can say that for me now (after a few years of pretty much the same routine as OP described, it was also great up to a point) mainly quality sleep, lowering the physical intensity but going for endurance with workouts and running, no extreme fasting but lower and balanced intake of particular nutrients decreases the emergency mode and puts the metabolism back into the well functioning mode. Better food (carbs are a waste of stomach space for me, really), less of it, better care of my microbiome (different food, actively blocking stress and enhancing the protein processing) instead of intense physical drill or fasts seem better now. But that's me. And a couple of close friends. And family.

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"L'homme ne peut pas remplacer son coeur avec sa tete, ni sa tete avec ses mains." J.H. Pestalozzi

“The only difference between a rut and a grave is a matter of depth.” S.P. Cadman

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." A. Einstein

Thanks Musicchick.

I do intermittent fasting as it works well for me to keep in touch with my hunger and only eat when hungry (Vs social norms etc).

I started wondering if training at 6 am during the fast time without food until 12/13 is what is causing the potential issue? Thoughts?

Thank you

This exactly. I finally got fed up with not making "progress" and consulted a nutritionist. She said the scales are inaccurate as are the fitness watch measurements of calories burned. True ratios of fat to muscle require sophisticated evaluation (she consults for high-level athletes... of which I am not).

Ditto the eating too much of the good things, working out at that level makes you more hungry. I might add the wine back in to round things out.

Off to stir the bolognese and check the bread rise

Meanie

I ran an hour ago, it was fab. An hour later I can have but don't really need it a 150ml bowl of lait fermenté with a spoon of tangerine youghurt and mix a teaspoon of linen, sunflower and pumkin seeds. And a lot of cinnamon. It's heaven, I feel that I am giving me a good lil support, a bit of carb to not crave and will up it with some meat and salad in the afternoon. I gotta watch out to not go low in calories, workout shifts my attention from eating, I am busy processing endorfines, tbh. If I fasted now, eat in the evening, I know that one gets high on adrenaline when in physical distress and you don't even notice the signals the body gives you.

But I can't remember the last time I looked at a scale, I think the batteries died. Try to lay off the discipline and measurements - protect your body from stress instead, I think. You are worth it, it will make you happy -> will shift the focus from size/shape challenges.

I also know from me and people around me that sole breadwinners and single parents or people with not much family support need to count a massive amount of stress in, even if they program themselves to not feel it and ignore the signs. They don't need more work outs, more starving oneselves, etc. than the innitial period when it still energizes. They need to carefully watch out for quiet signs of high cortisol, hormonal, enzymatic and metabolic changes. And self direct tlc, at least a bit, for a change. The body doesn't really care if we put it through good or bad stress, after a long enough period it shows.

__________________
"L'homme ne peut pas remplacer son coeur avec sa tete, ni sa tete avec ses mains." J.H. Pestalozzi

“The only difference between a rut and a grave is a matter of depth.” S.P. Cadman

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." A. Einstein

A year here in the IF... from my experience the Basal Metabolism can be altered in a more or less significant way but not in IF because is an Hypocalloric diet and your MEtabolic rate is going down while you are in one... if you want to increse your protein intake maybe try different sources till you find one that your body assimilates more than others... the flora in your gut play a major role in this so maybe you need to check that... I take an Inulin suplemment and a prebiotic that really helps... also Omega 3 oil is a helper here...