Advice/HELP

findingmyw1ngs
findingmyw1ngs Posts: 107 Member
in Getting Started
I'm really torn on what to do right now. I lost half a lb today, but then I measured my bf% (currently low) and it had gone up. Due to this, I realized I probably lost muscle instead of fat. I ride horses, so I don't wanna be losing muscle past a certain point. I'm 5'4 and small framed. What's a good weight for me? And how can I continue to lose weight, but have it be fat instead of muscle?

Replies

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    1) Many bodyfat measurement devices have a high degree of inaccuracy. Chances are good that you did not lose muscle and the issue is the method of measurement.

    http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=146

    2) Don't worry about nailing down a "good weight" for you. Let the mirror and how you feel about yourself be factors, let your health markers be factors, etc.

    3) If you wish to lose primarily fat (and not muscle) you should be doing some form of resistance training, you should make sure your rate of weight loss isn't excessive (.5 to 1% change in BW/week is a good range for most people), and you should consume adequate protein.
  • Maryam2014mfp
    Maryam2014mfp Posts: 174
    At the US CDC website, your weight range would be 108-144 lbs. From posts I read by others, it seems BF calculators are not very accurate. I think if you had access to a gym or had someone advise what exercises to do, for certain areas, you could tone up the areas you wish (ie, waist, etc). Maybe someone else can give you some suggestions. Take care.

    Here's the link:
    http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html?mobile=nocontent
  • findingmyw1ngs
    findingmyw1ngs Posts: 107 Member

    Don't worry about nailing down a "good weight" for you. Let the mirror and how you feel about yourself be factors, let your health markers be factors, etc.

    I sorta do need a number though, I can't see the difference between when I was 10 lbs heavier and now anywhere, but on the scale
  • wulfax
    wulfax Posts: 93 Member
    I read something recently that stated when you are overweight, the weight you lose is mostly fat vs lean body mass. But when you get trimmer, you start to lose a larger portion of lean body mass vs fat. I am not trim (YET :) ) so the majority of what I have lost is body fat. My suggestion is to do a search on the internet, something along the lines of ‘lose weight but keep lean body mass.’ I did a quick search with that key phrase and a lot of interesting articles came up.

    Good luck to you!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    1) Many bodyfat measurement devices have a high degree of inaccuracy. Chances are good that you did not lose muscle and the issue is the method of measurement.

    http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=146

    2) Don't worry about nailing down a "good weight" for you. Let the mirror and how you feel about yourself be factors, let your health markers be factors, etc.

    3) If you wish to lose primarily fat (and not muscle) you should be doing some form of resistance training, you should make sure your rate of weight loss isn't excessive (.5 to 1% change in BW/week is a good range for most people), and you should consume adequate protein.

    All of this, especially the first and third points. There is a fairly high degree of inaccuracy in the scales and hand held devices that many folks have (I think it s 3-5%, maybe more depending on the device). Fasting for at least 4 hours before measuring can help but even then if you happen to be retaining excess water that can skew the results. Also, as with weighing a one time measurement may not tell the whole story. Use the device consistently (same time of day, etc) and track the trends.
  • monicastricker9
    monicastricker9 Posts: 56
    I would not take a body fat measurement. Instead try to just do a standard tape measurement. As far as muscle mass the only way you would really drop that much that fast is if you were on a very restrictive low calorie diet. Depending on your level of activity your strength gains can take several weeks before you notice a significant reduction from non exercise. It is highly unlikely that you have lost any muscle. What is likely to have occured could be simply what retention.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    I'm really torn on what to do right now. I lost half a lb today, but then I measured my bf% (currently low) and it had gone up. Due to this, I realized I probably lost muscle instead of fat. I ride horses, so I don't wanna be losing muscle past a certain point. I'm 5'4 and small framed. What's a good weight for me? And how can I continue to lose weight, but have it be fat instead of muscle?

    This morning, I weighed 1.3 pounds less than yesterday morning. If I lost any fat, it was probably about 1.5 ounces. The rest was water weight, difference in solid wastes, etc. My weight fluctuates 3-4 pounds within a given day; more if I have done a long bike ride.

    Every day you eat, drink, and inhale about 10-14 pounds of food, water, and oxygen, and expel approximately the same amount of solid wastes, urine, and carbon dioxide. But those are averages. Since the total is 2 orders of magnitude more than any daily fat loss, and an order of magnitude more than weekly fat loss, the only way to tell if you're actually losing is your long-term trend. See John Walker, "The Hacker's Diet" (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/), chapter on "Signal & Noise."

    As for body fat percentage, my Withings scale told me 15.9% last night and 18.5% this morning. Hydration, posture, electrolyte balance, etc. have a pretty big effect on electrical impedance. With those numbers, it's even more important to track the overall trend if you want to identify real changes.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    I think the simple answer is to lift weights while on a deficit so that you can build some strength and hopefully retain most of your muscle mass.

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