The Truth about weight loss without exercise.

rimcdave

Two years ago I started my weight loss journey. I have always heard diet without exercise caused muscle loss so I incorporated daily gym visits into my diet. Male, height 5'6", and starting weight 210.

After six months I went to the George Mason University Aquatic Center and was tested in their "BodPod", a device that measures body composition accurately for Olympic and professional level athletes. My readings then were;
%Body Fat - 31
%fat free mass- 69
Fat mass-52 Lbs
Fat free mass - 116 Lbs
Body mass - 168 Lbs

At that point I was close to my goals and went to my doctor for a check-up only to be diagnosed with an unrelated serious illness. The treatment made it extremely difficult to eat and all exercise was prohibited. A year later I was cured and had gone below my target weight but I was still impressed with my form and bought all new clothes two sizes smaller. I went back for another BodPod measurment and was shocked by the results;
%Body fat - 27
%Fat free mass - 73
Fat mass - 36 Lbs
Fat free mass - 96 Lbs
Body mass - 135 Lbs

The numbers show that the weight loss for the time I was unable to exercise was more lean muscle mass than fat. I lost considerable strength because of this and have spent overtime at the gym these last six months trying to get my strength back. I implore everyone not to crash diet and not to include exercise in your daily routine.

kshama2001

Thanks for sharing. Glad you've recovered. How much do you weigh now?

Chugoi

Right there with you. I am quite a bit heavier than you. Despite that, I lost almost equal fat and muscle (I used Dexa body scans for my measuring device). I am transitioning to more protein and exercise now myself to hopefully course correct before I hit my goal weight and still look like a beach ball.

rimcdave

I'm back up to 150Lbs, my original target weight. I still need to loose fat and gain more muscle mass but it takes a longer time at my age (60). Two years ago my barbell deadlift and back squat were both over 225lbs. Now they are both less than my 150.

Retroguy2000

That (OP) is exactly why I recommend people taking these Ozempic and similar drugs to increase their protein and do some resistance training, to help protect their muscle mass while they're probably losing body weight quite quickly. (I realize that's not your story.)

Such advice typically falls on deaf ears though.

And as the stats show, their rapid weight loss shows a higher % of muscle mass lost than regular dieting and exercise would produce.