Fat loss, not muscle loss

Best of luck with your goals! From what you describe with your food intake choices and exercise routine, I really would not worry about losing muscle. Muscle goes away from atrophy or lack of movement/exercise. You seem to be doing great so if anything you will be building lean muscle. And don't worry so much about that either. Trust me, some of us women try really hard to build muscle and while I have it, it doesn't look like I am a body builder or anything.

So I would say keep on doing what you are doing, Make smart choices with food, track everything, keep exercises and loving yourself.
I wouldn't obsess over anything right now. Just focus on staying on track and being proud that you are doing so great.

I wish you all the best!

You need strength/resistance training (weight lifting). And you can have a little coffee or a piece of fruit before exercise. It will give you energy for your workout. All you're doing is cardio. The only way to combat muscle loss is strength training.

I've heard the same thing about cottage cheese. Something to do with the kind of protein it is. 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass (the percentage left over after you figure out body fat percentage) or 1g or protein per pound of goal body weight.

Dieting and exercise both cause lean muscle mass loss. Weight lifting and resistance training will save your muscle mass.

I have two items: in my signature there is a link called "An email response that might help some..."

and this: http://www.hussmanfitness.org/html/TPAdaptation.html (click on Home near the top, too. There quite a bit of information some of it scientific)

and make sure you are eating back your calories burned from exercise. With all that exercise your body needs the fuel.

If you have a lot of body fat your body is more likely to burn it off (you will burn muscle, too). If you don't have a lot of body fat your body will burn more muscle mass.

Hope this helps. I don't know a lot but have learned quite a bit since joining this site. (Most of what I thought I knew turned out to be myths).

Wow! GREAT effort!! I'm so excited for you!
Honestly, if you are working out the way you do, I would not worry about losing muscle at all. You are going to burn lots of fat, not muscle with all that working out and healthy eating.
P.S...I agree with the user who mentioned overworking. Don't forget to rest too! Cardio + Light lifting is the key. Alternate your arms and legs by day. Ex: Monday: Cardio & Arms, Tuesday: Cardio & Legs.
One more thing, after a while (maybe after 50lbs or 8 months or so) you MUST switch your workout in order to avoid plateau. Any questions?...Just ask.
Again, great work! Stick with it, you won't regret it!

If you don't want to lose muscle go with a smaller calorie deficit. Start of your day with a good breakfast and spread your calorie intake out over the day with 4 or 5 meals.

You need strength/resistance training (weight lifting).

This.

Cardio can accelerate muscle loss if you are not supplementing with strength training.

This doesn't mean that you need to train like a bodybuilder, but I would add in about 3 sessions per week around 30 minutes or so of resistance training. This is prevent muscle loss by adding strength which activates dormant muscle fibers and causing slight muscular growth. I say slight because you will NOT bulk up eating at a deficit like you are. Women only "bulk up" when they are eating a surplus of calories and/or taking testosterone supplements and are lifting about 2 hours per day every other day of the week.

Last year I personally did a ton of cardio...I didn't do any weight training along with it...and while I lost size because I was losing body fat, I wasn't as strong as I was before I had started. I lost the ability to do pull-ups. This year I have already completed one round of P90X and am currently doing ChaLEAN Extreme and am still losing size, but I can now do pull-ups again and I have muscular strength everywhere. And I am definitely not bulky.

Wow - thanks everyone for all the great info. I do plan on joining the gym in May. I have 80 lbs to lose, so I wanted to build up my strength and stamina on my own before hitting the gym and possibly passing out my first time. I'm excited to have this forum to get good, solid information from people who have "been there, done that". I appreciate it!

If you don't have weights at your house, what you can do before you join the gym is simple bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, and push-ups. This will help build up your muscular strength before you hit the weight machines. You can google search different varieties of those exercises as well, and you don't need any equipment to do them.