10 pound lean muscle loss in 16 days?

jhodak

I am 51 years old. I did a DEXA scan before starting Carnivore diet and then 16 days into the diet. The scan told me I went from 148 lean muscle to 138. 2.5 pounds of fat loss. The scanner said muscle and water is same density so the scan may have been fooled a little bit if I were dehydrated either time but not by much he said. Is it possible I lost 10 pounds lean in only 16 day?

Lietchi

That sounds very extreme. Carnivore = low carb. So it's very likely you lost a lot of water weight from fewer carbs (1gr carbohydrate requires 4gr of water, if my memory serves me right).

jhodak

Thank you. At my age the thought of losing 10 pounds lean muscle is heartbreaking. It would be very difficult to get that back.

neanderthin

Depends somewhat on your original body weight and body composition but yeah removing almost all carbs can result in that much water weight loss. Depending on what your exercise regime consists of but a little loss of lean mass is almost a given, but in 2 weeks eating more protein than you normally do, I suspect it isn't that much. Check again in 2 weeks and see where the dial points.

AnnPT77

That much lean muscle loss in such a short time would be highly improbable unless you had some dire health condition (you'd know) or major incident affecting your physical body (you'd know that, too).

How much scale weight have you lost in that time (all tissue + water)?

I'm with Neanderthin that waiting and watching is fine, as long as you feel normal, as energetic and as usual, etc., especially if you haven't seen a massive drop in total weight.

jhodak

I lost 12 pounds or so in first 2 weeks on Carnivore. According to dexa scan, 10 was lean muscle and 2 was fat. I’m lifting just as heavy at gym and feel great so I’m not inclined to believe 10 lean was lost but at 51 getting 10 pounds of lean back would be difficult so I thought I’d reach out. Ty