What's a good lean body mass for a 5'6 woman?

amusedmonkey
amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
edited February 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I recently had my body fat analyzed, and I'm at 65 kg (about 143 pound) lean body mass. I'm still too overweight, that's why the number is high. (current weight 105 kg/231 pounds)

In several posts I read I should be eating a minimum of 1g protein per lb of lean body mass. 143 protein a day seems like an outlandish number to hit for me, since I'm quite fussy about meat. It needs to be prepared a certain way which involves a lot of fat and fillers to taste good to me. With beans, dairy and eggs I'm usually most comfortable hitting about 60-80 grams of protein a day. I may be able to bump it 20 more but anything beyond that would be too tricky.

I will no doubt be losing muscle as I lose weight, so can I just eat enough protein to maintain a good average TARGET lean body mass? And what would this average most likely be for a 169 cm (5'6) woman who weighs 65 kg (143 pounds) - my rough target weight.

Replies

  • verhunzt
    verhunzt Posts: 154 Member
    I know a lot of people will disagree with me on that, but honestly, I don't think you will lose much muscle while losing weight. (except you're some kind of super athlete whoses weight is mainly muscle).
    There's a reason we all want to lose weight - it's proooobably that we don't exercise enough and eat a little too much.
    I used to be very worried about losing muscles as well when I started losing weight. I used to be 165 lbs at 5'7'' but I hab soccer practise for 2 hours a day 6 times a week - so I was fairly fit I would say, and I was SO afraid to become weak when I lose weight.

    But honestly? Now that I'm 144 lbs I am SO much fitter than before even though I do not watch my protein and I do not play soccer anymore. I just do some bodyweight lifts every day and my muscles have become stronger WHILE BEING ON A DEFICIT.
    Maybe I'm just some sort of super human being, but honestly, I don't think you will lose much muscle weight.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    you should be fine eating 20% less than your TDEE

    when your body fat percentage gets below 28% (it's currently around 38%) then switch to eating 10% less than TDEE

    The more fat you have, the bigger deficit you can cope with without losing lean mass. That's why as you get into the healthy bf% range you need to have a smaller deficit.


    Also to maintain lean mass, do some kind of strength training and ensure you're eating enough protein.
  • MJ_Watson
    MJ_Watson Posts: 180 Member
    May I ask how you had your body fat % measured? For a 5'6" woman, that amount of LBM seems a bit high, even at 231lbs. Not calling you a liar, but (if my pitiful math skills are correct), that puts you at 38% BF? I'm the same height as you, weighing 193, and mine is 39% (LBM 118). So it's a bit surprising to hear - though I'm sure it's not impossible. I plugged your numbers into this calculator - http://www.healthstatus.com/perl/calculator.cgi - no idea if it's accurate (though it was very close for me). It says the average LBM for a woman of your height is 119.58.

    Anyway, to your original question: If you have 143lbs of lbm and your goal is 143, you would have to lose a LOT of LBM. The average LBM for a woman of that weight is ~104lbs! I know there is a % of LBM you're expected to lose, but I don't believe it's that high! I will also say that so far in my 60-ish pounds of loss, I've only dropped 4lbs of LBM. I am weightlifting and, as you mentioned, shooting for one gram of protein per lb of LBM. If 143 is your true number, I'd do my very best to get that much protein. I don't love meat on the daily either. I do my best and supplement with protein shakes to fill in the gaps (also eggs. So many, many eggs).

    I'd also reconsider your goal weight. Losing too much LBM could end up making you very ill. I think I'd recommend a goal body fat % instead of a goal based on BMI, since you're outside of the norm. You can google and find pics of people at various percentages and get an idea of how you want to look. There's a specific chart I'm thinking of, but I'm on mobile so I can't post it. Anyway, if you plug your numbers into this calculator - http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/ibw/ - it'll give you a reasonable goal weight, with the assumption you won't be losing any LBM, which is a good goal to have! And remember, if you get there, find you have lost LBM, and have to cut down more fat, that's easy! Building LBM up after you've lost it is much harder.

    Anyway, I'm no expert, but I hope that was at least a little helpful!
  • MJ_Watson
    MJ_Watson Posts: 180 Member
    Wow, I wrote a LOT! I'm sorry!!
  • emilyisbonkers
    emilyisbonkers Posts: 373 Member
    I'm 5 ft 6, lbm about 107lbs, weigh 131lbs
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    That's a good point MJ

    you can calculate your fat free mass index - like BMI but with only lean body mass. above a certain number

    http://www.naturalphysiques.com/28/fat-free-mass-index-ffmi

    I have a high lean body mass for a female, and my FFMI is 20.5 (the adjusted is 19)... the adjusted one has something to do with height as short people are not scaled down versions of tall people. I'm short, but have really big shoulders and a mahoosive rib cage, plus I've added to my LBM through strength training (though most of it is genetic)

    I think average for males is 19 and for females is 17 - although I may have misremembered it.

    Anyway the OP can check it on that calculator... the reasearch shows that FFMI above 25 is not possible except for men on steroids.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    LBM for you goal weight can be calculated...based on bf%...perhaps aim for a specific BF%.

    I started at 205...probably 35% BF (if not higher(...I am currently at 157 and anywhere between 23-25% BF (waiting to get it done)

    That leaves me with about 120 LBM at my goal weight of 155.

    Protien is good to get in ...as much as you can to help maintain LBM but also to help keep you fuller longer...
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Wow, I wrote a LOT! I'm sorry!!

    No problem!
    I know it does sound high (and it is.. I'm genetically more muscular than most women my age). At this weight I'm currently a size 16 US when my friend who is a size 16 is about 50 pounds lighter than me. My goal weight is a rough estimate for when I expect my body fat to get to a good percentage.. it may be higher of course. I just had my goal set my to my mother's weight. She barely has any extra fat at this weight so I thought since I'm genetically close, I may be somewhere around that figure.

    I got measured at my doctor's office with a caliper, so he may be off on the number too. I don't like fussing too much about numbers I just wanted to know if I could get away with a slightly lower protein intake without it being detrimental
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I guess it may be time for me to invest in protein powder.. You guys are lucky you could find it readily available when the only kind I have access to is that highly specialized totally overpriced kind of product with all the bodybuilding supplements.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    According to the measurements I took, I was about 120 lbs of lean mass when I was at 240 lbs (5'6" at the time). After losing 100 lbs, I was down to less than 90 lbs of lean mass because I didn't know about eating enough protein. And I could barely stand or keep balance. It's taken me three years to gain about 20 lbs of muscle back. Don't be me. Don't lose the muscle you have. Be smart. Eat protein while losing. Lift weights.

    Oh, and I lost bone too, so now I'm 5'5.5". Don't be me. Be smarter than I was.

    You're gonna lose SOME lean mass. About 30% of the weight I lost was lean mass. I don't know if this is typical. But it seems to me it'd be smarter to lose a smaller percentage (since I had no muscle left)
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    For your weight your lean mass is pretty good, with a 38% body fat. A 'normal' healthy range is 25-30%.

    With 143lb of lean body mass it would be a very good idea to try and preserve as much of this as possible while you lose weight (it's much harder to gain it back afterwards).

    Therefore hitting your protein goal and strength training while you lose fat would be very wise.

    Once you get used to planning meals around protein content, hitting 143g isn't too difficult. I don't eat meat (I'm a pescetarian) but I usually hit around 160g per day, eating the following foods:

    eggs / egg whites
    Greek yoghurt
    hard cheese / cottage cheese / fromage frais
    tuna
    salmon
    white fish
    shell fish
    milk
    whey powder
    green vegetables
    nuts / seeds / nut butters
    tofu
    seitan
    Quorn
  • MJ_Watson
    MJ_Watson Posts: 180 Member
    I guess it may be time for me to invest in protein powder.. You guys are lucky you could find it readily available when the only kind I have access to is that highly specialized totally overpriced kind of product with all the bodybuilding supplements.

    You could always try ordering online. I live in South Korea, and it's pretty hard to get my hands on decent protein powder without terrible price inflation. I use iherb.com to buy mine. They ship surprisingly fast overseas, and it's not too pricey. Not sure if it's an option for you, but thought I'd throw it out there!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I guess it may be time for me to invest in protein powder.. You guys are lucky you could find it readily available when the only kind I have access to is that highly specialized totally overpriced kind of product with all the bodybuilding supplements.

    You could always try ordering online. I live in South Korea, and it's pretty hard to get my hands on decent protein powder without terrible price inflation. I use iherb.com to buy for mine. They ship surprisingly fast overseas, and it's not too pricey. Not sure if it's an option for you, but thought I'd throw it out there!

    That's a find! 26 dollars for 900 grams? The one I could find here was 200+ dollars for a 5 pounder! Thank you
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