I need to lose muscle weight...how can I achieve this?

3laine75

Thanks! I am beginning to see I may have misunderstood. Hopefully tomorrow things will be clearer. Here is what my stats are:
Its shows my body composition is 80.5lbs water, 30lbs dry lean mass, 87.5lbs fat.
Body compostion analysis shows weight 198lbs, skeletal muscle mass 61.1lbs, body fat mass 87.5lbs.
Obesity analysis shows my bmi is 32, body fat percentage is 44.3
BMR is 1451

From those stats, I'd say you definitely don't want to lose any muscle mass ( unfortunately that's near impossible). If it's something yo thing you'd enjoy I'd recommend some kind of strength training to preserve what you already have.

And I'd be very sceptical of any group that thinks you have too much lean mass with those figures. Have a nosy round the forum and some of the results woman have from heavy lifting and working actively to maintain and build muscle - your end results will be much better and you'll be able to eat more instead of less.

wheird

OP, you will naturally lose some muscle mass while dieting unless you are strength training and consuming enough protein to preserve it. You do not need to intentionally try to lose it.

And even then, you will lose a marginal percentage of muscle.

A few pounds, but that's what she was looking for. *shrug*

WalkingAlong

Yes, all values go down, but your wording specifically cites muscle as being the "good" thing to lost. Weight, in general is good to lose, but fat is the specific element to lose. Muscle, even high muscle mass, is very, very good. As long as OP doesn't get down to a BF% where she loses necessary fat to live*, she should focus on shedding fat first and foremost.

It's good to lose some muscle if you're very obese and losing a lot of weight. Not all of that calf and thigh girth is fat. I didn't look at the OP's stats. Of course she should focus on fat loss. I was just addressing the facts-- as she loses her LBM WILL go down, and that's ok.

People here act like it's NEVER ok to lose muscle. It is. Though I agree, you don't want to make attempts to lose it, you want to attempt to keep what you can.

mumblemagic

Yeah, I think the OP gets it now.

Out of curiosity I had to google the plan to see what it was.

Because of Lousiana's extreme obesity rate, the area hospitals have started this program to help people lose weight.
This is a good step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, because the prizes are awarded to the team and individual male and female that have lost the highest percentage of body WEIGHT, then they are paying more attention to the scale weight and ignoring the body composition, health, etc.

This is the problem with contests that look only at the scale weight for success.

BTW OP- it looks like the current leaders in the female category have already lost over 18% of their body weight. Since you are entering this in the middle of the 6 months, I doubt that you would be able to catch up with them without cutting off a limb or two.

Don't let that stop you from losing weight, but don't be so desperate to lose as fast as you can, that you end up sabotaging your efforts.

Weight loss competitions are silly! Think I get it now....

HeidiMightyRawr

If you have more muscle than "normal", trust me, this is not a bad thing. When you're overweight, in general you will have more muscle mass. It's needed to carry round the extra weight.

When you go into a calorie deficit and start losing weight/fat, even if you're trying your best to maintain it with lifting etc, I guarantee you'll still lose some muscle. This isn't a good thing, but it happens. You don't need to try and lose it, you'll end up losing more than necessary and it's harder to gain it afterwards than lose it in the first place. Even if you did keep all your muscle, this would never be a bad thing IMO, aside from personal aesthetic preferences.

My advice: Aim to lose the weight you need to in a sensible way, and exercise to reduce the amount of muscle you lose. Most will be fat, a little (hopefully not a lot) will be muscle. Results, a fit and healthy body that in the easiest way to describe, is more toned/firm and less jiggly (which happens a lot when you go on drastic diets / lose significant muscle mass / don't have enough to begin with)

LiftAllThePizzas

But it's a contest. Who cares about your health if you can win a contest?

UsedToBeHusky

OP, you will naturally lose some muscle mass while dieting unless you are strength training and consuming enough protein to preserve it. You do not need to intentionally try to lose it.

And even then, you will lose a marginal percentage of muscle.

A few pounds, but that's what she was looking for. *shrug*

I know, I just didn't want anyone to misinterpret your statement and then get upset that they actually lost some lean muscle.

cecebrite

Guys, I am not looking to win the contest. I joined for the free periodical body analysis, the support meetings, and to learn. They come to my workplace to do it which is very convenient for me, I couldn't pass this up. I needed to start somewhere. Thanks again for all your input. I'm getting a better understanding of it all.

Samstan101

Yes, all values go down, but your wording specifically cites muscle as being the "good" thing to lost. Weight, in general is good to lose, but fat is the specific element to lose. Muscle, even high muscle mass, is very, very good. As long as OP doesn't get down to a BF% where she loses necessary fat to live*, she should focus on shedding fat first and foremost.

It's good to lose some muscle if you're very obese and losing a lot of weight. Not all of that calf and thigh girth is fat. I didn't look at the OP's stats. Of course she should focus on fat loss. I was just addressing the facts-- as she loses her LBM WILL go down, and that's ok.

People here act like it's NEVER ok to lose muscle. It is. Though I agree, you don't want to make attempts to lose it, you want to attempt to keep what you can.

In your opinion its good. In my opinion (coming from morbidly obese), I'd love to keep every bit of muscle I had when at my heaviest. I'll quite happily take an extra inch on my thighs or calves if its all muscle. So LBM going down isn't ok in my book, it lowers my metabolism and I want a toned look. That's why I lift heavy as well as do cardio.