Question about body fat/lean body mass measurement.
I am 147kg/323lbs @37.3% bodyfat so I am carrying 54.8kg/120lbs of bodyfat with a lean body mass of 92.17kg/202.77lbs of lean body mass (according to my Fattrack Gold digital body calipers). Given my puffy appearance, lack of muscle and strength I would have to say that it seems a lot of the lean body mass would actually be water retention or I am carrying more bodyfat than my Fattrack is telling me and lean body mass is a lot lower than measured.
My question is this: as long as I am getting stronger according to my lifts in the gym it is acceptable for my lean body mass to reduce for a month or two?
Sorry if this seems basic to people but with my weight and body fat percentage I am slightly anxious about losing any muscle.
If your planning on losing weight then you are going to loose muscle along with it. Its gona happen especially with the amount of fat that you are carrying. Track your progress by going out and buying a cheap measuring tape so you can take measurements. Measure your waist, chest, back, thighs, calves, arms…so on and so on. Also keep a daily log of your weight. Dont be too worried about losing muscle your focus should be losing all of the fat covering up the muscle you have.
[quote]ingy271 wrote:
Question about body fat/lean body mass measurement.
I am 147kg/323lbs @37.3% bodyfat so I am carrying 54.8kg/120lbs of bodyfat with a lean body mass of 92.17kg/202.77lbs of lean body mass (according to my Fattrack Gold digital body calipers). Given my puffy appearance, lack of muscle and strength I would have to say that it seems a lot of the lean body mass would actually be water retention or I am carrying more bodyfat than my Fattrack is telling me and lean body mass is a lot lower than measured.
My question is this: as long as I am getting stronger according to my lifts in the gym it is acceptable for my lean body mass to reduce for a month or two?
Sorry if this seems basic to people but with my weight and body fat percentage I am slightly anxious about losing any muscle.[/quote]
Your going to have some muscle loss with weight loss. Your best bet is to look at your diet and make sure you are taking in enough protein, and good fats to reduce any muscle loss. Do a search under “fat loss diets” and you’ll find some great articles on diets, fat loss, suppliments, and muscle retention during fat loss periods.
To help you retain muscle while losing fat read Christian Theabadeau’s article “Destroying Fat”. In the article he explains how to keep muscle mass while training for fat loss. Essentially part of your training will be with heavy weights using low reps.
I too am over 300 lbs weighing in at 332 lbs. About a year ago I was at 375 lbs. Losing fat is hard work but it gets easier the harder you work. Set a short term goal for yourself, in body weight or BF%, and then do whatever needs to be done to reach that goal. Set your time horizon relatively short, 2-4 weeks or 1-3 months, and then as the famous tag line says - Just Do It!