Mathematical minds!

spcopps
spcopps Posts: 283
edited September 26 in Fitness and Exercise
I have a question for all of you! I hear people say things like..O you are losing to much lean mass so increase protein and strenth training. So here is my question (sorry if I don't make myself clear on the following)..

I started out at 174lbs. This was 104.74 lean mass (60.195%) and 69.25 fat lbs (39.798%). Now I am at 155.2 with 98.4 lean (63.4%) and 56.5 fat lbs (36.59%). Initially looking it seems as though I have lost lean as well as fat unless you look at the percentages in respect to my weights...here is my question:

If you take the lean lbs and fat lbs from my original weight and compare them to my currents stats, according to my weight I have actually lost 3.2% fat and GAINED 3.21% lean so how is that a bad thing or am I figuring this wrong?? Sorry if this was confusing I just want to make sure I am doing this right :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • natskedat
    natskedat Posts: 570 Member
    YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT!!!!!

    Gaining lean body mass is EXACTLY what you want to do! Lean muscle helps metabolize fat, so the more you have, the faster it will happen! Provided that you eat enough to feed your increasing muscle mass, you may continue to lose both pounds and inches, but at some point, you might only be losing inches. This is still great! You are continuing to burn fat and build muscle!

    Great job and great work! You're doing exactly what your body needs you to do! Keep up the great work!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I have a question for all of you! I hear people say things like..O you are losing to much lean mass so increase protein and strenth training. So here is my question (sorry if I don't make myself clear on the following)..

    I started out at 174lbs. This was 104.74 lean mass (60.195%) and 69.25 fat lbs (39.798%). Now I am at 155.2 with 98.4 lean (63.4%) and 56.5 fat lbs (36.59%). Initially looking it seems as though I have lost lean as well as fat unless you look at the percentages in respect to my weights...here is my question:

    If you take the lean lbs and fat lbs from my original weight and compare them to my currents stats, according to my weight I have actually lost 3.2% fat and GAINED 3.21% lean so how is that a bad thing or am I figuring this wrong?? Sorry if this was confusing I just want to make sure I am doing this right :flowerforyou:

    You didn't gain 3.21%, the proportions of your weight changed so that 3.21% more of your current weight is muscle vs what was muscle at your previous weight. In actuality you lost muscle, which will also have slowed your metabolism down some.

    In total you lost 19 pounds 6.4 of which is muscle. so out of your weight loss 33.5% of it was muscle. I would be very worried here. You may need to add more strength training with heavy weights and increase your protein and total caloric intake.

    with the amount you have to lose I would not set my goal to lose more than 1lb/week and I would suggest with the amount of muscle you lost to change your goal to 0.5lbs/week. Slower weigh loss combined with higher protein and strength training will lead to less muscle loss. You may still lose some, but not near 30% of your total loss should come from muscle.
  • coahdan
    coahdan Posts: 19
    I'm never a big fan of losing lean body mass, but as long as you are tipping your %'s in the right direction, which you are, there is nothing wrong.

    Whenever a goal includes dramatic weight loss there will be muscle loss as well. My current goal includes a 5 pound loss in LBM with a 35 pound loss in fat mass. Those 5 pounds are a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

    Hope that helps,
    Dan
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT!!!!!

    Gaining lean body mass is EXACTLY what you want to do! Lean muscle helps metabolize fat, so the more you have, the faster it will happen! Provided that you eat enough to feed your increasing muscle mass, you may continue to lose both pounds and inches, but at some point, you might only be losing inches. This is still great! You are continuing to burn fat and build muscle!

    Great job and great work! You're doing exactly what your body needs you to do! Keep up the great work!

    They didn't gain lean mass they lost 6.34 lbs of it. The % of their makeup increased but they actually lost lean mass.
  • natskedat
    natskedat Posts: 570 Member
    YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT!!!!!

    Gaining lean body mass is EXACTLY what you want to do! Lean muscle helps metabolize fat, so the more you have, the faster it will happen! Provided that you eat enough to feed your increasing muscle mass, you may continue to lose both pounds and inches, but at some point, you might only be losing inches. This is still great! You are continuing to burn fat and build muscle!

    Great job and great work! You're doing exactly what your body needs you to do! Keep up the great work!

    They didn't gain lean mass they lost 6.34 lbs of it. The % of their makeup increased but they actually lost lean mass.

    Hi! Sory! Didn't read the actual weights. So, yes, disregard my previous enthusiastic reply. The goal should have been to keep all 104 lbs of LBM while burning fat. Eric is correct!
  • coahdan
    coahdan Posts: 19
    In actuality you lost muscle, which will also have slowed your metabolism down some.

    While losing muscle from a sedentary lifestyle will result in a slower metabolism I don't think we need to worry about that here.

    Metabolism is more a factor of muscle activity then it is muscle mass. As long as they are staying physically active some muscle loss will not have a negative impact on metabolic levels.

    Dan
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    if you lose the same % as you have been, at your goal weight you will have 91.7lbs lean mass (94.8-6.7, which is 33.5% of 20lbs) and 43.3 lbs of fat at 135 lbs. So you would be 32.1% Body Fat and 67.9% lean mass. So your lean mass % would increase by 4.5%, but you would have lost another 6.7 lbs of muscle.

    If you did the same equation but only lost 15% lean mass then your % BF would be lower than predicted. This would put you at 95.5lbs lean mass and 39.5lbs fat which would be 29.3% BF vs 32.1%, if your current ratio continues.

    If all along you lost 15% of weight from lean mass, at your goal you would be 98 lbs lean mass which would have put your BF% at 27.4%, almost 5 % lower than your projected amount, based on info you provided..
  • spcopps
    spcopps Posts: 283
    Thanks eric...I shouldn't have stated in the original post that I GAINED lean mass but instead my % went up. I am trying like the devil to maintain lean...eating protein and doing weights 3X per week and doing cardio the other 3 with a rest day. I am not TOO worried about lean mass loss because I know I will still have to continue to lower my BF% even after I get to my maintainable weight BUT saying this I don't want to take lean any lower than I can avoid. You helped me with this issue about a month ago (and I wasn't refering to you in my original post either :wink: ). My lean loss has dropped since I started doing weights like you suggested. However, I can't go to a gym (closest one is 30 miles away and no child care available since I have twin 3 year olds that's out) so my weights are done at home. I don't think I am ready to increase my weight yet so I will try to increase my sets of each...
  • bluk30
    bluk30 Posts: 37
    Ok, ok, slow down. You are really over-analyzing this.

    I'm going to kick the hornet's nest here and tell you an ugly secret. Calculating bodyfat and lean mass on your own is a "best guess" scenario. It's not accurate (and never has been) unless you have access to a lab with hydrostatic test equipment or a BodPod. Skinfold calipers, bodyfat scales and all the rest are basically a waste of time.

    You lost weight, and that is the only relevant number you need to be concerned with. When you lose weight, you WILL lose muscle tissue, it's just how it goes. Honestly, most people have such a small amount of muscle tissue in the first place that this loss is meaningless. Look at Brad Pitt or Angelina Joelie. Most people WISH they had their bodies even though they have the same amount of muscle mass as most teenagers - they just have low bodyfat. Seriously, most people have enough muscle as they are to look GREAT naked, they just need to lose all the fat.

    Since you asked me nicely, here's the whole thing in a nutshell:

    - This s**t is simple. Eat as many calories as it takes to lose 1-2lbs per week. If your pants fit better and you look leaner in a mirror at the end of the month, it worked.

    - Go for a morning walk (before breakfast) for 30+ minutes as often as possible. This is how you lose fat.

    - You don't need to increase protein over 75-100 grams per day. EVER. I only eat 125g and I am 6'1" 230. My weekly workload would kill most people here yet I get stronger every day and haven't been sick in over 7 years.

    - Lifting weights is a good thing for overall health, but unless you do it correctly you are just needlessly stressing your body and wasting your time. 99% of people have no idea what the hell they are doing, this includes most celebrity trainers and medical professionals. If you really want to lift, keep off the internet and buy "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe. It's a cheap book and the program works for everyone.

    If not, take up dancing or yoga or something fun that you will have an emotional connection to. There's no shame in not liking weightlifting. Personally, I ENJOY it though most people don't.

    - Don't get confused by listening to 20 different perspectives. All you need is ONE plan and a year of your time to make the changes you want. Pick a plan you LIKE and follow it. If it works, keep following it. Only change if there's a problem and don't flake out.

    Simple, no?
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