Yikes! Starting to notice muscle loss

minties82

For background, I work in metric and kilojoules but I will try and imperialise this post as best I can, but may make the odd mistake,

I am 4'11", 32 years old and female. I was 253lbs as on 4th Jan this year. My last weigh in today has me at 203lbs. I'm sedentary as I do not work as such, just stay at home with a 2 and 4 year old.

I lost most of the weight so far in Jan and Feb. I was eating at a stupid deficit as reccomended by my doctor, hardly any fat etc. I have been low carb apart from the odd day for some weeks now. I was consuming 1200 calories but have upped to 1300 for the rest of the week and may up again next week. I've noticed a big change to my bum and quads especially. Under the fat they feel totally wasted away!

Reason being, is that I am noticing quite bad muscle loss recently. I had surgery to remove a very large and deep abscess in my natal cleft so that put a big stop to weight lifting as the area was extremely painful and was not able to be flexed. So lots of lying around.

I'm getting back into the weights this week. I have my own 20kg olympic bar and bumper plates, and a basic squat rack.

I would love to get an idea of what my macros should be to assist retaining some muscle? I have it set like this right now:

Net calories consumed 1300
Carbohydrates 33.0g
Protein 81.0g
Fat 94.0g

I only have the carbs at 33g as I don't like it whining at me that I'm having too many carbs when I have some metamucil. Previously I had protein at 90g but wasn't sure if that was too high for a very short female? I find the higher the protein, the more constipated I get which has been troubling me for a few weeks.

I am still obese class III so it is urgent that I keep losing weight. Even at a much slower pace is cool with me.

Thanks so much.

kirkor

> I've noticed a big change to my bum and quads especially. Under the fat they feel totally wasted away!

That's pretty subjective, it would be hard to say for sure. Are your weights on the bar still going up?

FIT_Goat

It is practically impossible to be catabolic (losing mass) and anabolic (gaining mass) at the same time. Lifting weights and upping the protein will allow you to keep as much muscle as possible while losing fat. Gaining muscle will be limited (although not impossible).

minties82

I'm not looking to gain any muscle, I understand that part. I just wanted to know if anyone could help me with an idea of a appropriate amount on protein that fits low carb, how much I eat etc. Too many different sources out there with differing amounts. Some go by a gram per pound of lean mass, others a gram by kg of lean mass etc. More interested on minimizing any muscle loss.

I've had broken limbs as a kid and remember the funny way my legs felt and looked after 6 weeks of being in a cast. I'm not saying that it's anywhere near that bad, but there is no bulk in my bum when I flex, my quads also measure a little smaller though my weight has not changed this week (gone up 800g, down 600g, stayed the same, etc etc). They just feel flabbier and softer.


The weights are not going up on the bar, if anything staying the same or going down. 3.5 weeks off alone made me weaker.

My 5x5 squat is only 42.5kg now and it used to be 50kg a few months back. I can deadlift about 80kg on a one rep max.

My bum is horrendously flat. Really bad. Feels like there is nothing but a layer of fat and I can feel the bones pretty easily.

kuranda10

I have absolutely NO scientific knowledge to back this up with but my experience has been that my body has a natural muscle mass (if I'm not working out). Whenever I restart LC the first thing that goes is my LBM until it is back to where it wants to be. Then I start losing fat.

Now, it may just be that my muscles hold lots of water, and that is what I'm losing? Could it be that you aren't really losing, but just going back to where you would naturally be if you didn't lift?

If any of that makes any sense ...

minties82

Sounds interesting :-). I haven't lost any weight for about a week, but my body feels different. Sort of softer? I don't know - hard to explain really. The bones in my bum are certainly making an appearance when I sit down, which is funny considering I am 203lbs.

I stupidly ate some fruit early last week and my carbs went above the roof I have set. I gained 800 grams over night from that. Now I have water retention from my menstrual cycle and haven't taken a dump for days on end!

I know I have my grandma's body shape though, where I have never carried much of anything in my bottom itself but have a shelf of fat above it. I suppose my bum could always have had no muscle and maybe I am just feeling that. Stupid flat bum.

I think I will eat a bit more, hit the weights harder, and lessen cardio. My partner is an amateur weight lifter so you'd think he would be some help! Sadly not.

wabmester

I have a theory! I call it the theory of squishy fat.

Your tush feels a little soft and mushy, right? Where do women carry a lot of their fat? In the tush. When the adipocytes of your tush are full of fat, your tush is firm. When you lose fat, the adipocytes deflate. The result? A soft and squishy tush!

I've been noticing a similar effect in my love handles. Eventually this squishy fat becomes loose skin, so I guess we can be thankful it's not loose and floppy yet.

kuranda10

^^^^^ blahblah I can't hear you blahblah

GaleHawkins

All kinds of changes seem possible on low carb high fat eating life style. I am going to give it 12 months to see what happens and how the body changes settle down. I have times when I may be up 5 pounds for weeks on end then go on to make a new Low weight. It is the many other health gains at is more important to me. I can tell my health and strength are much improved already.

GrannyMayOz

wabmester wrote: »

I have a theory! I call it the theory of squishy fat.

Your tush feels a little soft and mushy, right? Where do women carry a lot of their fat? In the tush. When the adipocytes of your tush are full of fat, your tush is firm. When you lose fat, the adipocytes deflate. The result? A soft and squishy tush!

I've been noticing a similar effect in my love handles. Eventually this squishy fat becomes loose skin, so I guess we can be thankful it's not loose and floppy yet.

That's pretty much what I was about to say. A couple of weeks ago I was moaning to my better half that my stomach is still fat, but as I grabbed it to show him Exhibit A, I realised that although it looks much the same, there was most definitely less 'body' to it than there has been before. The fat cells are obviously emptying out, but it surely has made them... well, light and fluffy is the best description I can come up with! I've always had quite a tight, muscular rear end so I can't equate with that, but my stomach is surely telling the same story as your rear.

One thing to remember is that 'muscle memory' will kick in for you very quickly as you do weights again. I stopped weight training for about 20 years but the muscles have leapt into responding incredibly quickly now I've started it up again.

All the best as you rebuild your muscle and lose fat - this truly is the way to do it. I'm sure I've been gaining muscle as I lose fat, but my loses are very slow due to my post menopausal age. I'm 5" 5" and 83.5 kgs on my way to 82 (or 78) kgs. My macro goals each day are 0-20g carb, 110-130g fat and 60-80g protein with around 1450 calories if that's any help to you.

Teneko

Wow. This is good reading. I was ALSO noticing that my fat was, uh...softer?? It was a very strange sensation. Soft, light, fluffy fat. HAH!
Um, I started lifting and I've never lifted before. My fiance lifts, though, and gave me a very nice light routine that I do here at work. It is worth noting that he lifts and has BUILT amazing muscle while on keto and dropping fat. The key for him is to go on a carnivorous keto diet. He eats lots of eggs and beef, bacon, cheese, fats...not much else. He seriously eats a LOT of eggs. Ron Swanson would be proud.
Anyway. His results: Amazing. But then, he's lifted for years.
My results: Uhhh...fluffy fat. I can, however, squat and get up without my cane! That's a pretty good result, I'd say.

-T.

wheatlessgirl66

As I read this I keep hearing Sandra Bullock saying, "Helllooo, Fluufffy.." -as in "While You Were Sleeping."

sljohnson1207

Yes, probably the fluffy fat thing. Throughout my journey, I've noticed softening and tightening at different times. Sometimes, I feel really firm and taut, and other times, squishy and soft. I know my bodyfat has decreased significantly, and that I have not had significant muscle loss because I've had hydrostatic weighing done. Between November and March, I lost over 8% bodyfat, and only 4 lbs of lean body mass (which is not ALL muscle, and includes bone, soft tissues, etc.).

I can't correlate it to my Excel spreadsheet because I haven't been tracking it, but if I remember right, my squishy times have mostly been when my weight stayed the same for 1-2 weeks (stalls or catch-ups, whatever you want to call them, but too short to be a plateau).

wabmester

There's probably also some change in firmness with water retention. Not so much in the adipose tissue (which is hydrophobic), but in the gut and exercised muscles.

KarlaYP

The padding, from fat, is something we get used to. Being able to feel the muscles and bones is a new experience. I say, "No more padding!"

minties82

Thanks so much for all the kind replies, I felt kind if stupid after making this thread :-).

My tummy and hip fat does feel squishy also, so I like the fluffy fat theory.

I'm not good at getting low during squats, not sure if it is a flexibility issue or what. I find it hard to get my glutes to activate and tend to only feel it in my quads. Any tips for that would be cool. My husband can squat till his bum almost touches the ground and his heels remain firmly down, he is so flexible. He just says to stretch like a crazy person.

wabmester

I used to be very tight. Couldn't even sit on my knees. The trick for me was to RELAX as you go deeper into the squat.

Teneko

Hey hey @minties82 , don't feel silly for posting!
Okay, so here is the one tip my fiance taught me about squatting that I never read anywhere:
LOOK UP while you are squatting!
Apart from that, here is how I learned to squat:
1) Remember never to let your knees go over your toes. Pretend there is a board sticking up on your toes that you cannot pass. If you let your knees go over your toes, they can be injured.
2) Stretch your legs first (both front and back of your thighs).
3) I could NOT squat at all previously. I'd try to "sit" back and would fall over backwards. I started practicing by standing on the treadmill and holding onto the side rails, and practiced my squat form with the comforting stability of the rails.
4) Try adjusting the width of your feet (your stance) until you are comfortable. Most deep squatters put their feet far apart.
5) Breathe out on the down and breathe in on the up.

-T.

KnitOrMiss

Remember, too, that squats aren't good for everyone. If you have any "loose" pelvic floor problems (peeing when you cough is the most common one I know about), squats actually help relax those muscles and such... Make sure you are normal down in that area before doing too many squats, as you can worsen conditions you don't know you have!

minties82

Cheers guys! Much appreciated :-)