Body Fat % for Women; Preserving Lean Mass

ThriftyChica12

Right now, I am at about 192 lbs, and 31% body fat.
I have a hand-held at-home BF tester, and so I can keep track each week after weighing myself on the scale. Then using my weight and my BF, I can use this great online calculator to determine my lean mass, and make sure that number is NOT going down:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/lbm_calculator.htm

So, my lean mass is around 130 pounds...as much as some people's goal weight, but I am tall, long, and relatively strong under my excess fat. So 130 as lean mass sounds great to me.

Unlike last time I lost weight (7 years ago I lost 70 pounds) this time I am more specific about what I want to lose...I don't just want to lose WEIGHT, I want to lose FAT and preserve my lean mass!

So this morning, out of curiousity, I started futzing around with the calculator, and asking myself: "If I get to a goal weight of 155, what would by body fat have to be to make sure I preserve my lean mass?"
At 155, in order to STILL have 130 lbs lean mass, I would have to maintain a BF% of 15 percent! Wow, that seems really low and impossible for me to imagine!

I've read that 20% is a healthy, sustainable BF% for most women: so with a lean mass of 130 lbs, I could weigh 163, and be right on target.

************************************
This brings up questions of how and why to choose a goal weight. As far as "155", that's the goal weight I have always chosen over the years, since most weight charts list that as the HIGHEST acceptable weight for someone my height (around 5'9 or 5'10).
155 is also the low weight that I hit several years ago after less than a year of following a food plan and losing 70 lbs. But back then, I cared nothing about lean mass or preserving it, and probably lost a good bit of lean mass during that time.

When I hit 155 a few years back, that was the LOWEST I had been since 10 YEARS OLD. That's right, the last time I was 155, I was ten. I was already adult-height and build at that age tho, so i makes sense.

Does all this mean that 163 is a "healthier" goal for me?
Maybe, I will reach 20% BF and learn that I CAN make it to 15%?

All I know is, I am keeping an eye on my lean mass: I keep my protein intake adequate, incorporate strength training (using body weight) a couple times a week, and keep my calories adequate.

Any thoughts on this? Anyone else working with similar goals?

DrMAvDPhD

1. Those handheld things are ridiculously inaccurate. You are better off just going by looking in the mirror.
2. It is impossible to maintain 100% of your lean mass as you lose weight, because you don't need as much of the connective tissues to carry around the lighter you.
3. You never said your height, just that you are tall. 163 is a perfectly fine weight for someone around 5'8" or taller.
4.. Lift weights, eat at a moderate calorie deficit, and stop losing weight when you like what you see in the mirror not on the scale.

Lupercalia

It's pretty hard, perhaps impossible to hold on to all your lean mass when you're losing weight....remember, LBM isn't just muscle tissue, it's everything else besides the fat as well. But you can definitely significantly reduce the amount of LBM you lose by making sure you're getting enough protein, losing at a reasonable rate (not too fast), and are incorporating strength training into your exercise program. The strength training should focus on progressively overloading your muscles, as you want to continue to challenge your muscles, either with more weight or reps.

I have similar goals, and I use my diet for fat loss--exercise is for fitness, gaining strength, and preserving the LBM.

TavistockToad

i dont understand why you HAVE to have a goal weight?

you say yourself you want to lose fat, not weight... so take pictures in your underwear and when you have the look you want, stop losing fat and maintain...

a number whether its a weight or fat% means nothing (unless you're competing and need to be a certain weight or bodyfat % of course!!)

harlanJEN

^^^^ THIS

Numbers are numbers. You are on right track. Aim for fat loss and LBM maintenance. Once you get a bit leaner, may want to do a controlled bulk to add some muscle, then a controlled cut to trim fat that s inevitably gained during a bulk. Older you get, muscle/LBM even more important. No matter your age, never too late to focus on preserving and gaining LBM. eating well and resistance training is essential.

20-25% BF Is doable and sustainable for most women. Lower than that. Not so much.

Gauge where u want to be by how you look, how you feel, how your overall health is. Gauging with a number ... Can be pretty meaningless. Example: can take 5 women, all same 160 lbs, same height range, and will have 5 diff body comps and sizes.

Body comp and how u look and feel ...for YOU ...is how to roll.

deksgrl

Throw out your scale, you don't need it.

MzManiak

You're going to lose some LBM. It's just what it is. I'd suggest having a goal body fat % and focusing on that, instead.

ThriftyChica12

thanks for the suggestions and responses.

to clarify: i am right between 5'9 and 5'10, as stated in the original post.

as to the "why have a goal weight at all?" question, I am not the type of person who can work to change behaviors without having some kind of goal to move toward....

if i were to just "look in the mirror and keep working until i like what i see" (as suggested), i would not work on eating or exercise at all: i ALWAYS find myself attractive, whether at 155 or 225....I am doing this for health. yes, vanity is a factor somewhat, but as a person who modeled nude, fire-danced, and taught hoop fitness classes at 225 happily, the mirror would be no motivation at all.

interested to hear that it is impossible to preserve ALL lean mass completely while losing...i never knew that!

rainbow198

I can relate to your post. I personally kept an eye on my measurements, how my clothes fit and looked at pictures to monitor to weight/fat loss than relied on the scale.

My goal was also more to be a certain size range or body fat percent range then a goal weight. I felt like I don't know what I'm going to look like at set number so I'm going to work hard, watch the portions and see how I feel when I get there.

I think what set me off to this way of thinking was joining one of those lose a certain amount of weight by this date challenges early on. It made me crazy because I wanted to lose fat, but I wasn't willing to sacrifice losing muscle either. I lost weight that way before and I did not like the way my body looked.

Even when the scale stayed the same I knew good things were happening. So that led me to do more researching for the science behind fat loss and putting the scale away for a while and it worked well for me.

I lifted weights throughout my journey and I was able to preserve lean muscle mass, lost a lot of body fat and even though I lost a lot of my boobage, the girls has thankfully stayed up.

Now I'm maintaining, but my goal is to maintain a healthy balance of body fat and muscle (I love my curves!) and I'm happy having around 23/24% bf (using the online calculators).

Looking forward to reading other responses

TavistockToad

average bodyfat for a woman is 25-31%, so you're there...

it really depends what you define as 'healthy' as you can be very fit and overweight, you can be very lean but unhealthy....?

ladytinkerbell99

bump to read later.

pavrg

You don't mention a key detail which is how long have you been lifting weights?

If you are new to weights, you can not only preserve but gain a bit of lean body mass while losing weight. But if you're an experienced lifter then that is going to be difficult to impossibe. As far as losing LBM with fat, even as an experienced lifter you probably won't experience that until you approach 'athletic' bodyfat % so long as you watch your diet and eat enough protein. I don't have the link but I have seen results of a study where people who lifted weights only lost like 0.3% of their LBM vs. 10-20% for people who didn't.

There is a calculator here that can help you with your goal weight:

http://www.weightrainer.net/weight_loss.html