How fast can I lose muscle?

leilaphoenix

Hi everyone.
I've been on MFP for a couple of years where I've gone from 196lbs, totally unable to do any exercise and a smoker to 158lbs, novice triathlete and daily cycle commuter and non-smoker.

I have a chronic illness which means that I go through phases of not being well enough to exercise as much as I'd like. During these phases I usually do what I can and keep a closer eye on what I'm eating.

My question is, how fast can I lose muscle if I'm not exercising? Previously I was doing ~50miles a week cycling, 10 miles running, maybe some swimming, DVDs, Zumba etc. My legs are pretty fit! If I go from this to doing nothing (i.e just some gentle walking to get around ~50mins at 2mph), how fast and how much muscle can I expect to lose? Can I expect to see this reflected on the scale?

I'm slightly concerned some of my recent 'weight loss' may well be muscle loss. But also I find it hard to believe that I have that much 'spare' muscle to drop.

scottb81

Stopping the exercises you were doing will not cause muscle loss so much as loss of cardiovascular fitness. Very little is lost in the first week. Some is lost in the second week, after that the losses begin to accumulate faster. After a few months they will be gone and you have to start over.

This fitness loss is accompanied by an initial weight loss as your blood volume decreases and your muscles begin to release and not re-store the glycogen and water they had previously kept for the energy needed by the exercise you were doing. In my personal experience this loss will be around 4 to 6 pounds over a period of 2 to 4 weeks.

leilaphoenix

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