Losing body fat but lean mass as well, please help!

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  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    You will lose some lean mass as you lose weight. It's just part of the deal. Your current program seems to be working in minimizing lbm loss, so stick with it. No amount of protein of lifting is going to keep you at net zero muscle loss while you're at a deficit and losing weight. You're doing fine
  • _Tuyana_
    _Tuyana_ Posts: 83 Member
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    You will lose some lean mass as you lose weight. It's just part of the deal. Your current program seems to be working in minimizing lbm loss, so stick with it. No amount of protein of lifting is going to keep you at net zero muscle loss while you're at a deficit and losing weight. You're doing fine

    Thanks for the reassurance! It's spring time here in NZ, so calorie dense foods are becoming a turn off. I'll try to get as much protein as I can in my diet. Will have to accept that concentrating on fat loss will be a priority, then gaining lean mass.
  • _Tuyana_
    _Tuyana_ Posts: 83 Member
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    Honestly just before and after pics should be enough. weigh yourself sure, but measure your arms belly nd such and you will have just as good an idea on your progress.
    As everyone is saying eat healthy / lift heavy (you wont bulk up its not possible for a female) it will shape your *kitten*/shrink your belly and take any jiggle out of your legs :laugh:

    I know that I can't bulk up without extra effort (training and nutrition-wise), but I would like to increase lean muscle and reduce body fat. Progress pics just aren't doing it for me. I can't see any changes (I've got a small frame and already in the healthy BMI range anyway). The centimetres are shrinking, of course, but I keep agonising whether it's the right loss, i.e. fat, or the wrong one, i.e. muscle.

    Well keep in mind that you can't cut fat and add new lean body mass. They are two different phase. One requires a deficit and one requires a surplus. What you can do is bulk in the fall/winter months and then cut once summer comes around. Also, if you are doing NROLFW why don't you follow their nutrition guide and deviate from MFP?

    I was thinking the same. The nutrition guidelines in NROL are pretty good. He actually recommends eating at maintenance on stage 1, rather than a deficit. Just from a quick look at your diary I think your protein is too low as are your calories. I'm on stage 2 and I eat 20% below my TDEE as I have body fat I want to reduce. So basically I'm eating 1930 on a workout day.

    The reason I'm not following their nutrition plan is because of my living situation. I don't cook in this household. When my situation changes in 5 months (hopefully, by then I reduce my BF% some more) I'll start following this nutrition plan as well to increase muscle.
  • _Tuyana_
    _Tuyana_ Posts: 83 Member
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    To increase protein, try larger cuts of lean meats and fish. For example, one chicken breast is about 8 ounces and has something like 40 grams of protein. I think it's better to increase protein with meat rather than protein supplements as the supplements are well noted for causing gas.

    I'll do my best, I usually have about 30g of whey protein in a chocolate milk drink on exercise days (which is almost every day) and 28g of casein protein mixed with raw milk.. Haven't found flatulence a problem so far :bigsmile:

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