Body fat vs. Goal weight

UsedToBeHusky

Female
34 yrs old
5' 11.75"
240 lbs
6.5" in the wrist making me above average in frame

My desired weight is 170 to 175 lbs and my desired body fat percentage is 25%. According to the Navy's equations, my lean mass (assuming this includes water) is my desired weight, 173 lbs roughly. I've been told before that doesn't sound right. That maybe I have miscalculated. I am also sure many will recommend a HEPA scan, but I can't afford that. I work out at home and I'm not going to get a gym membership just to have somebody screw up my body fat percentage with calipers. I've been reading NROLFW and a passage identifies that obese people generally have more lean mass because they have to carry around more weight. I have been obese for nearly a decade. Doesn't it stand to reason that I may be able to afford to lose some lean mass.

Should I really be focused on lifting at this point with my lean mass potentially being in the same ball park as my desired weight? I want to lift for the metabollic benefits, but at the same time, it seems like it is counterproductive. I know the scale isn't everything, but I don't want to continue to carry the stigma of obesity. I would at least like my BMI to be at overweight (which is around 215 lbs), but I just can't seem to get there.

Suggestions?

UsedToBeHusky

To obtain my goals, 175 lbs and 25% body fat, I need to have about 40 lbs less of lean mass and 30 lbs less of fat. But I'm supposed to be preserving lean mass so I'm really confused about the direction I am trying to take with my fitness. Can anybody help me out?

UsedToBeHusky

No one...

UsedToBeHusky

Are my goals just unrealistic? Should I just walk away from 170 to 175 lbs goal completely?

joeystilley

I think to start it would be a good idea to get your diet right.. you can use the toos on this site enter your height weight activity level and goal. Then it will tell you how many calories you should intake. As far as body fat % since you are tall that 170lbs is probably not far off.. good luck and feel free to add me

wild_wild_life

I'll bump it for you. Wish I could help -- I have never seen anyone recommend that an obese person not lift in order to lose mass faster, but I see your point. Of course if you are at a calorie deficit you will still be losing both lean mass and fat, lifting will just lead to proportionately more fat loss. Sorry, that's the entent of my knowledge! Maybe try posting in fitness/exercise.

UsedToBeHusky

I'll bump it for you. Wish I could help -- I have never seen anyone recommend that an obese person not lift in order to lose mass faster, but I see your point. Of course if you are at a calorie deficit you will still be losing both lean mass and fat, lifting will just lead to proportionately more fat loss. Sorry, that's the entent of my knowledge! Maybe try posting in fitness/exercise.

Thanks. I'm beginning to think that I am just going to have to abandon the scale goal completely. Metabolically, I am completely stalled without the lifting.

marpeters

bump I know nothing but am interested in an answer.

DrMAvDPhD

Chances are you WILL lose some muscle mass as you lose weight. I think it is almost impossible to lose 100% fat. Also, there is a decent chance that it has miscalculated. I tried the measurement route once and somehow came up with about 12%. Absolutely no way. I say just concentrate on eating right and exercising and stop when you are happy. Or buying a scale/handheld calculator and trying a different measurement of BF%. I did one of the handheld things at a gym, and than bought a Taylor scale that measures through contact with bare feet, and came up with very similar numbers (25% at the same weight I was when the measurements gave me 12, which is much much more reasonable).

jppd47

The ways your bones work is that they respond to the force placed on them and become more robust to protect against that force, as long as the force continues to be there. (Wolff's Law and the SAID principle)

So your bones have strengthen themselves to the compressive force of your weight as you got bigger. So now as you get smaller that same compressive force will not be there, so where the bone became more robust to counteract that force, the bone cells will become clastic and begin to break down the unneeded protection. Which is not a bad thing as your losing weight. So yes, you could lose, over time lean mass.

this happened all day every day of your life

The same is true for muscles.

Unless you keep greater outside forces on the bone and muscles you body will not think you need them. The best way to keep it to a minimum while in a calorie deficit is to do resistance training, especially those that cause compression forces on the whole body, such as squats, deadlifts, overhead presses. That will keep your bones/muscles in a place where they want to keep the robustness.

If you main goal is to lose body fat then get your BMR and TDEE calculated and go from there. Ideally balance that will resistance and cardio training and you will very healthily start to drop body weigh while mantling bone and muscle strength.
check out these sights
http://www.stack.com/2011/01/12/how-to-calculate-your-daily-fueling-needs/
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

here is my generalized/simplified version of some of the bodes workings

ninerbuff

Well if you RETAINED the lean mass you have now, then 233lbs would put you at 25% body fat. However we do lose some lean mass along with fat when losing weight. So let's assume that lean mass goes down to 160lbs. Then to be at 25% body fat the goal weight would be 213lbs.

The formula is lean body mass divided by 1 minus what ever percentage of body fat you want to be. So in your case it's 1 minus .25 which give you .75.

Edit: I'm betting that you're lean body mass ISN'T 173lbs though.


A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

UsedToBeHusky

Well if you RETAINED the lean mass you have now, then 233lbs would put you at 25% body fat. However we do lose some lean mass along with fat when losing weight. So let's assume that lean mass goes down to 160lbs. Then to be at 25% body fat the goal weight would be 213lbs.

The formula is lean body mass divided by 1 minus what ever percentage of body fat you want to be. So in your case it's 1 minus .25 which give you .75.


A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Okay. That helps alot. So once I am down to 213 lbs. Would you recommend stopping there? Or should I continue to pursue the scale goal of 175, but at an even lower body fat percentage? I want some definition, but I'm not looking to be a fitness model.

tigersword

To obtain my goals, 175 lbs and 25% body fat, I need to have about 40 lbs less of lean mass and 30 lbs less of fat. But I'm supposed to be preserving lean mass so I'm really confused about the direction I am trying to take with my fitness. Can anybody help me out?

You're supposed to be trying to maintain as much muscle as possible, not necessarily lean mass. Lean mass contains a lot more than muscle, and for an example, as you lose weight, your body stores less water. Water weight is actually considered part of lean mass. So when you lose water weight, you lose lean mass. Same with storing less glycogen (again, less weight, less water, less glycogen stores, lower lean mass.)

The confusion comes in because most people don't actually differentiate between "lean mass" and "muscle," mainly because there really is no accurate way to measure muscle tissue individually.

cordianet

Try this and see if it helps: http://cordianet.com/calculator.htm

UsedToBeHusky

To obtain my goals, 175 lbs and 25% body fat, I need to have about 40 lbs less of lean mass and 30 lbs less of fat. But I'm supposed to be preserving lean mass so I'm really confused about the direction I am trying to take with my fitness. Can anybody help me out?

You're supposed to be trying to maintain as much muscle as possible, not necessarily lean mass. Lean mass contains a lot more than muscle, and for an example, as you lose weight, your body stores less water. Water weight is actually considered part of lean mass. So when you lose water weight, you lose lean mass. Same with storing less glycogen (again, less weight, less water, less glycogen stores, lower lean mass.)

The confusion comes in because most people don't actually differentiate between "lean mass" and "muscle," mainly because there really is no accurate way to measure muscle tissue individually.

Yes. I did get hung up on this, but I eventually realized that the lean mass HAD to include water. It also includes organs and other tissue too. Thanks so much. That insight definitely helps too.

Guitarjon

Stick to looking to be 25% body fat. I have started doing more resistance training and the scales are hardley moving but my inches and body fat are coming down.

SorchaEilis

You said "according to Navy calculations"; do you have access to a base gym or health and wellness center? Some bases these days have a Bod Pod, which provides a fairly accurate body composition measurement.

UsedToBeHusky

You said "according to Navy calculations"; do you have access to a base gym or health and wellness center? Some bases these days have a Bod Pod, which provides a fairly accurate body composition measurement.

No. I just looked the formula up on the internet and plugged it into a spreadsheet.