Do You Lose Muscle Every Time You Lose a Fraction of a Pound?

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fatasfack
fatasfack Posts: 77 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I have recently lost 60 lbs and I have been attempting to maintain for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, I somehow lost about 30 lbs of muscle in the process. In my attempt to maintain I have noticed that some weeks I will gain .25 lbs to .5 lbs and the next week I will lose .25 to .5 lbs. Am I losing muscle every time I lose those fractions of a lb as I did when I lost 60 lbs?

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  • fearlessleader104
    fearlessleader104 Posts: 723 Member
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    Most likely no. Water weight
  • daybehavior
    daybehavior Posts: 1,319 Member
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    How did you determine you lost 30 pounds of muscle? That seems extremely exorbitant.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,550 Member
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    People do lose muscle along with fat when they are in calorie deficit. The extent is usually dependent on exercise, exercise duration and protein intake.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
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    Unless you were on an extended edition of Naked and Afraid and starved yourself for months on end, there is no way you lost 30 lbs of muscle.
  • fatasfack
    fatasfack Posts: 77 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    People do lose muscle along with fat when they are in calorie deficit. The extent is usually dependent on exercise, exercise duration and protein intake.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Thanks, since our weight naturally fluctuates by fractions of a pounds since we can never measure the exact amount of calories we are consuming, does this mean that we are actually getting fatter as we age even though our weight remains the same?
  • fatasfack
    fatasfack Posts: 77 Member
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    The_Enginerd wrote: »
    Unless you were on an extended edition of Naked and Afraid and starved yourself for months on end, there is no way you lost 30 lbs of muscle.

    lol, the first month of weight loss I didn't eat more than 20 grams of protein a day. I was a 214 lb 6 foot tall male and I went on a 1,000 calorie a day diet and was burning 800 calories a day on a treadmill. The first month I lost 20 lbs and I'm pretty sure all of it was muscle. After that, I began eating 1,200 calories a day for another couple months and I was burning 200 to 300 calories a day. I was still going below the 1,200 net calorie minimum. I now weigh 155, but I look like I did at 185 before I got fat.
  • paulandrachelk
    paulandrachelk Posts: 280 Member
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    Do you have a fat% for when you started so you could compare it to fat% now? Doesn't sound like it so hard to tell how much you actually lost in fat vs muscle. I lost 15 lbs a year ago with little exercise due to an inner ear infection-thing is my fat% dropped so I lost more fat than muscle.
  • fatasfack
    fatasfack Posts: 77 Member
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    paulandrachelk wrote: »
    Do you have a fat% for when you started so you could compare it to fat% now? Doesn't sound like it so hard to tell how much you actually lost in fat vs muscle. I lost 15 lbs a year ago with little exercise due to an inner ear infection-thing is my fat% dropped so I lost more fat than muscle.

    Hi, my body fat percentage went from 27% to 10%, but my face and stomach look significantly bigger than they did last time I weighed 155 lbs. I'm basing that on pictures not what I see in the mirror by the way. The reason I know this isn't the size of my stomach at 155 lbs is because in the past when my weight got above 182 lbs my stomach would develop an indentation in it that I now have at 155 lbs.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    Unless you had your bodyfat measured through professional means, then you have no idea what your lean body mass was then or now.

    Please don't go about losing weight that way. It's extremely unhealthy, and as you can see, it can do some damage to your body.

    One possible side effect that you may experience later on is gall stones. Rapid weight loss as well as low fat diets seem to be triggers for them. It will feel like an excruciating stabbing pain just under your ribcage, just under the sternum or a little to the right. If you feel that, get to the ER immediately.

    Meanwhile, do you even lift? If not, that is the best way to 1. protect muscle while eating at a deficit and 2. build muscle while eating at a surplus.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Thanks, since our weight naturally fluctuates by fractions of a pounds since we can never measure the exact amount of calories we are consuming, does this mean that we are actually getting fatter as we age even though our weight remains the same?

    Weight fluctuates for many reasons and not such calorie intake variations - drink a pint of water and you gain a pound for example.

    You are way over-thinking this by the way. A bit of harsh feedback for you - the way you are talking makes you sound like a depressed old man not a 32 year old.
    Getting fatter as you age isn't compulsory, I turned myself round in my fifties, at 32 your future is completely in your hands.

    Really hope you have learned your lesson from crash dieting BTW.

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