Need advice to lose body fat without losing more muscle...

luckydays27

I am looking for a bit of advice and I know you guys can lead me in the right direction.

I am 5'4" tall and weight 150 lbs as of today.
I had my BF tested today using the hydrostatic test. The results said 22.7% body fat.

I have calipers that come in around 23% and when doing the measuring tape method I get 23% as well so I know that I can track this at home to check progress before I go back for another test in June.

I had previously had my body fat test done last Sept and the results were 29.7% so I am glad for the loss but my issue is with my muscle mass loss.

In Sept, my lean mass was 122.27 lbs.
Today it was 115.93.
Thats a loss of 6.34 lbs of muscle.

I weight train 3 days a week with a PT. We talked today about more weights and less cardio during our sessions. I feel I am getting stronger as I can lift more than I could before.
I do TRX 2 days a week for a core workout.
I walk at a slow to moderate pace (2-3 miles) 3 days a week for about 60 mins.
I also try to walk as much as possible to stay active.

According to my Fitbit, my daily calorie burn (including fitness added from my HRM) is 2130 a day. According to the calculators, this is pretty close as well.

Until December 31, I was eating at a 500 cal a day deficit, From Jan 1 to today, I was eating at 250ish cal a day deficit.

I did not expect to lose 6 lbs of muscle mass in the past 5 months because off all my weight training I have been doing. I would like to improve my overall fitness and look (and body fat number) without losing more muscle mass. I would like to gain some muscle (or as much of the 6 lbs I lost) if at all possible.

Can you help me with the best method for helping me lose body fat without losing more muscle mass than necessary (if any). Any food intake, macros, workout advice will be greatly, greatly appreciated.

SideSteel

First of all most methods of body-fat assessment have a significant margin of error associated with them.

Secondly, measurements of body fat will categorize your body into two different things:

1) Fat mass
2) Fat free mass.

So when you report having X% body fat, it does NOT mean that you have 100-X% muscle.

What does this mean?

It means that you cannot say with certainty that you have lost skeletal muscle. Now, if the results were significant, like a 20lb loss in fat free mass then I'd certainly look further into it.

The best advice I can give would be to not put too much concern into what the body fat tool tells you and to just treat it as one of many metrics when gauging your progress.

As a general strategy for mitigating muscle loss:

1) Make sure you are resistance training on a program designed to get results (progressively demanding, appropriate volume/frequency).
2) Make sure your energy deficit is reasonable. .5 to 1% change in body weight per week would be a general guideline.
3) Consume adequate protein. 1g/lb lbm usually serves as a good general rule with many exceptions.

If you are lifting, getting stronger, consuming a reasonable amount of calories and protein, you are probably doing the best you can to mitigate muscle loss.

luckydays27

Thanks for you advice. It helped calm me a bit. I was a tad concerned about the "muscle loss".

My trainer has me on a progressive weight lifting plan and things are going well. As I said, I am stronger than I was before. We plan on focusing more on strength than cardio from this point, especially as I get cardio in other places of my life.

I have never been all that great at getting enough protein but since I love meat, I will make this a priority. I read so much and the amount of protein numbers vary so thanks for the 1g/lb LBM number. That is what I will strive for.

I am going to try eating at maintenance for a little while. Mainly because I want to confirm my maintenance numbers but also because I am now lighter than I have been in 20 years. I like the way I look in clothes and could not be happier. With the increased protein and even heavier lifting, I am hoping the looking good naked will follow.

Thanks again, You and Sara are true gems here.

SideSteel

Thanks for you advice. It helped calm me a bit. I was a tad concerned about the "muscle loss".

My trainer has me on a progressive weight lifting plan and things are going well. As I said, I am stronger than I was before. We plan on focusing more on strength than cardio from this point, especially as I get cardio in other places of my life.

I have never been all that great at getting enough protein but since I love meat, I will make this a priority. I read so much and the amount of protein numbers vary so thanks for the 1g/lb LBM number. That is what I will strive for.

I am going to try eating at maintenance for a little while. Mainly because I want to confirm my maintenance numbers but also because I am now lighter than I have been in 20 years. I like the way I look in clothes and could not be happier. With the increased protein and even heavier lifting, I am hoping the looking good naked will follow.

Thanks again, You and Sara are true gems here.

Might want to consider gradually bringing calories up to maintenance if you were previously in a deficit rather than moving straight to maintenance. Just a thought

luckydays27

Yes I plan to do that. I was eating at a slight 250 call deficit until now so going to maintenance will take no time at all.

Thanks again!

Sarauk2sf

Nothing to really add here except to re-iterate what SideSteel has noted. When we lose fat, we also 'lose' things that supply that fat, including water. LBM, or fat free mass, includes water.