Burning Fat =/= Burning Muscle/Losing Water - Help?

IrZeo

Hey all,

I was wondering.. is there a way to tell if you're burning more muscle than fat? or/and losing water weight rather than fat?

I'm quite concerned I'm losing more muscle/water than fat and have been researching ways to determine the difference.

Thanks in advance for any info!

Zeo

jemhh

A bod pod or DEXA scan would be most accurate. In general, eating .8-1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass* will help you retain muscle. Plus, lift weights or do another type of strength training. To calculate your lean body mass, use this formula:

(1- body fat[as a decimal]) x weight

TimothyFish

"Water weight" is just a term used to refer to unaccounted for rapid fluctuations and usually doesn't amount to more than a few pounds. You will lose some muscle when you lose weight, but generally, when the body goes looking for energy, it looks for it in fat.

peachyfuzzle

You can't lose fat without losing muscle. That is just reality.

If you haven't, you should start at least some sort of weightlifting program while you're losing weight so that you minimize the muscle loss.

melduf

You can measure body fat with calipers or an electronic device. A nutritionist or a personal trainer should have one or the other. I do it once a month in addition to weighing and measuring with a tape.

vixen0babs

Buy a scale that measures your body fat, muscle, water, and bone mass. I got one from Walmart for about $40 (5 years ago). They aren't super accurate, but fairly close. You could also buy a body fat caliper and measure key points on your body (belly, inner thigh, back of arm, etc etc).

And to be on the safe side, incorporating more protein into your diet and adding a weight training routine if you haven't already, will help to reduce the amount of lean muscle you lose.

IrZeo

Oh wow, thanks for the replies guys.. I never knew any of this and oddly didn't find much on Google.

What kind of weight training should I add to my workouts? like.. is there a specific weight I should be lifting, and what muscles should I focus on? so far I've only been doing cardio and lost almost 40lbs.

ana3067

Calipers as mentioned, or simply feeling/looking at your body. Does your body feel as squishy as it did 10, 20, 30, etc lbs ago, or does it feel firmer? Do you see more muscular definition, or are you basically a smaller version of your old self? These are good visual methods to utilize.

Protein and weight training as already mentioned. I found I have to eat close to my current weight in protein, which is 1.2x my estimated lean body mass. or around 0.9x my total weight.Just doing straight LBM didn't work for me - lost some muscle and energy. Once I am at goal, I will probably be eating around my body weight in protein, although when maintaining and bulking I may drop it down to just lean body mass. Since I'm cutting I may just be needing more protein.

IrZeo

ana3067 wrote: »

Calipers as mentioned, or simply feeling/looking at your body. Does your body feel as squishy as it did 10, 20, 30, etc lbs ago, or does it feel firmer? Do you see more muscular definition, or are you basically a smaller version of your old self? These are good visual methods to utilize.

My stomach area feels squishy compared to before, my legs seem more toned but.. smaller? whether that's due to losing fat from them or not I can't seem to figure out..

yopeeps025

IrZeo wrote: »

Oh wow, thanks for the replies guys.. I never knew any of this and oddly didn't find much on Google.

What kind of weight training should I add to my workouts? like.. is there a specific weight I should be lifting, and what muscles should I focus on? so far I've only been doing cardio and lost almost 40lbs.

Strong lifts is a MFP favorite for beginner programs.