Why do people think you will lose muscle if you lose more than 2lbs a week?
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So are you saying that it's NOT a huge and invalid generalization to claim that people only say it's better not to lose at too aggressive a rate because they need an excuse for losing more slowly?
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A lot depends on how much weight there is to lose. 3 pounds a week is much different thing for a male at 40% body fat than for a male at 15% body fat.
I absolutely agree. when I was 90 kg I could easily loose 1 or 1.5 kg every week without any side effects but after losing 20-25 kg I cant do that any more.0 -
therooster5 wrote: »I think people say that as an excuse as to why they're not trying to lose more. This is nothing against someone who only wants to lose 1-2 pounds a week. But if you want to lose more weight and fat than that, you can. I am currently losing 3-3.5 pounds of fat a week on an accelerated diet because I hate losing weight so much I just want to get it over with. I exercise my muscles and eat my protein goal and I feel stronger than I did before even though supposedly I'm losing a ton of muscle along with my fat. If anyone has any concrete evidence that I'm wrong I'll be glad to hear it.
You don't know what you're losing. It's probably water and all sorts.
If you're obese you may be able to do this safely.
The closer you get to goal the more danger there is of losing valuable tissue, muscle, nails, calcium, organs, skin.
Careful. Don't encourage unhealthy weight loss.
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20 pounds to lose and losing 3 a week? How aggressive is your deficit?
Large losses can be sustained by the morbidly obese. Not by people with only 20 pounds to lose.
I again have to question how little you're eating to lose weight so quickly.0 -
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Ive been losing an average 2lbs a week for the past 6.5months. I haven't lost any muscle.. in fact I may have actually gained some (not sure, if I didn't wasnt much). But I also started off at about 345. Maybe losing 2lbs/week starting at 220 might not work the same.
Ill probably scale down my weiight loss to 1lb per week as I approach 240ish
The important thing to do IMO is make sure to eat enough protein and to do heavy weightlifting 3x a week to maintain your LBM as you lose weight, at least that is what has worked so far for me.0 -
Because that's not unhealthy for your body and doesn't very potentially lead to risking a lack of nutrient intake.
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therooster5 wrote: »isulo_kura wrote: »You will always lose some muscle when losing weight that's just what happens . It's minimising that loss that you want to do. Those in the morbidly and super morbidly obese losing some muscle is not a big issue initially. You only have 20 pounds in weight to lose so for a start what's the rush?
What makes you think you will lose muscle automatically no matter what? If you get enough protein and exercise your muscles regularly you won't.
because physics and that's just how it happens. oy.0 -
Where was I? Oh, and I hear that you can both feel stronger and perform better with less muscle mass! WTF? Well training the muscles you have and being able to get all your muscle fibers to do something at the same time also counts for something! (Alert: this is pure hearsay: my own muscles are snoozing at this time)
why is that so hard to believe?.... Same thing with muscles. You can train your muscles to become stronger without adding new mass. I believe the term is neuromuscular adaptation …
Err.... isn't that what I said?!
Just trying to gently explain to the OP how he can be both stronger and losing muscle mass at the same time!
However, many people, experience cognitive dissonance when told that, and since I don't have first hand concrete proof as the OP demanded... I felt compelled to point out that it is just hearsay on my part : - )
Glad to find out I was right!
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Then how come I havent according to both my scale which tells me my body fat percentage, as well as skin fold test? (I know neither are 100% accurate, but they both have been giving me fairly consistent readings with each other)therooster5 wrote: »isulo_kura wrote: »You will always lose some muscle when losing weight that's just what happens . It's minimising that loss that you want to do. Those in the morbidly and super morbidly obese losing some muscle is not a big issue initially. You only have 20 pounds in weight to lose so for a start what's the rush?
What makes you think you will lose muscle automatically no matter what? If you get enough protein and exercise your muscles regularly you won't.
because physics and that's just how it happens. oy.
330 lbs both tests indicated 45% BF
300lb scale indicated 40% calipers 39%
and did a test today at 282lb scale said 35% and callipers said 33%.
So it appears I been maintaining LBM or possibly even slightly increasing it all while losing an average 2lbs/week for the past 6.5 months
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Then how come I havent according to both my scale which tells me my body fat percentage, as well as skin fold test? (I know neither are 100% accurate, but they both have been giving me fairly consistent readings with each other)therooster5 wrote: »isulo_kura wrote: »You will always lose some muscle when losing weight that's just what happens . It's minimising that loss that you want to do. Those in the morbidly and super morbidly obese losing some muscle is not a big issue initially. You only have 20 pounds in weight to lose so for a start what's the rush?
What makes you think you will lose muscle automatically no matter what? If you get enough protein and exercise your muscles regularly you won't.
because physics and that's just how it happens. oy.
330 lbs both tests indicated 45% BF
300lb both tests indicated 39%
and did a test today at 282lb scale said 35% and callipers said 33%.
So it appears I been maintaining LBM or possibly even slightly increasing it all while losing an average 2lbs/week for the past 6.5 months
Scale is totally inaccurate, calipers are inaccurate as well, and you can lower your body fat % while also lowering your lean body mass at the same time. Do you only gain muscle when eating at a caloric surplus and lifting weights? No? Then why woudl you only lose fat while eating at a deficit. Same logic.0 -
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Then how come I havent according to both my scale which tells me my body fat percentage, as well as skin fold test? (I know neither are 100% accurate, but they both have been giving me fairly consistent readings with each other)therooster5 wrote: »isulo_kura wrote: »You will always lose some muscle when losing weight that's just what happens . It's minimising that loss that you want to do. Those in the morbidly and super morbidly obese losing some muscle is not a big issue initially. You only have 20 pounds in weight to lose so for a start what's the rush?
What makes you think you will lose muscle automatically no matter what? If you get enough protein and exercise your muscles regularly you won't.
because physics and that's just how it happens. oy.
330 lbs both tests indicated 45% BF
300lb both tests indicated 39%
and did a test today at 282lb scale said 35% and callipers said 33%.
So it appears I been maintaining LBM or possibly even slightly increasing it all while losing an average 2lbs/week for the past 6.5 months
Scale is totally inaccurate, calipers are inaccurate as well, and you can lower your body fat % while also lowering your lean body mass at the same time. Do you only gain muscle when eating at a caloric surplus and lifting weights? No? Then why woudl you only lose fat while eating at a deficit. Same logic.
Well do the math. 45% BF at 330 lbs = 181.5lb LBM
35%BF at 282 = 183lb LBM
Sure they might be inaccurate, but they both are giving me similar results. I also tried those online calculators that take measurements from hips, waist, arm, wrists, thighs, neck and give you estimated body % and fairly close to what the scale and callipers stated.
Sure I know it isnt very accurate, but I find it interesting how all 3 of those things are all within a couple percentage points of eachother.
Ill just have to see once I get closer to my goal, maybe ill spring for a DEXA scan0 -
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I'm not sure I understand all of what you're saying but thank you. I probably have about 40 stored up as I am 190 and am about 20-22% fat at the moment. And I don't think muscle loss doesn't happen, I just think its preventable. But good job on only losing 1.2 of muscle or whatever!
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I am not sure I understand your original post and question then.
If you do believe that muscle loss happens during weight loss, then you would probably realize that it is something that you can MITIGATE against.
And there are currently several common methods that people use to mitigate against muscle loss during weight reduction: high protein, heavy lifting, and smaller deficits.
You've chosen to implement 2 out of 3. Great. Maybe it will work out for you as well as you hope, and maybe it won't!
Since you are monitoring things I am sure you'll be able to adjust without a problem based on your body's reaction!
By the way, are you using a reliable method to measure you body composition?
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Then how come I havent according to both my scale which tells me my body fat percentage, as well as skin fold test? (I know neither are 100% accurate, but they both have been giving me fairly consistent readings with each other)therooster5 wrote: »isulo_kura wrote: »You will always lose some muscle when losing weight that's just what happens . It's minimising that loss that you want to do. Those in the morbidly and super morbidly obese losing some muscle is not a big issue initially. You only have 20 pounds in weight to lose so for a start what's the rush?
What makes you think you will lose muscle automatically no matter what? If you get enough protein and exercise your muscles regularly you won't.
because physics and that's just how it happens. oy.
330 lbs both tests indicated 45% BF
300lb both tests indicated 39%
and did a test today at 282lb scale said 35% and callipers said 33%.
So it appears I been maintaining LBM or possibly even slightly increasing it all while losing an average 2lbs/week for the past 6.5 months
Scale is totally inaccurate, calipers are inaccurate as well, and you can lower your body fat % while also lowering your lean body mass at the same time. Do you only gain muscle when eating at a caloric surplus and lifting weights? No? Then why woudl you only lose fat while eating at a deficit. Same logic.
Well do the math. 45% BF at 330 lbs = 181.5lb LBM
35%BF at 282 = 183lb LBM
Sure they might be inaccurate, but they both are giving me similar results. I also tried those online calculators that take measurements from hips, waist, arm, wrists, thighs, neck and give you estimated body % and fairly close to what the scale and callipers stated.
Sure I know it isnt very accurate, but I find it interesting how all 3 of those things are all within a couple percentage points of eachother.
Ill just have to see once I get closer to my goal, maybe ill spring for a DEXA scan
Inaccuracies means you could have actually been 43% BF when you started, meaning 188lb LBM. Then if you actually were 35% BF at 282, that's a 5lb difference in LBM.0 -
Then how come I havent according to both my scale which tells me my body fat percentage, as well as skin fold test? (I know neither are 100% accurate, but they both have been giving me fairly consistent readings with each other)therooster5 wrote: »isulo_kura wrote: »You will always lose some muscle when losing weight that's just what happens . It's minimising that loss that you want to do. Those in the morbidly and super morbidly obese losing some muscle is not a big issue initially. You only have 20 pounds in weight to lose so for a start what's the rush?
What makes you think you will lose muscle automatically no matter what? If you get enough protein and exercise your muscles regularly you won't.
because physics and that's just how it happens. oy.
330 lbs both tests indicated 45% BF
300lb both tests indicated 39%
and did a test today at 282lb scale said 35% and callipers said 33%.
So it appears I been maintaining LBM or possibly even slightly increasing it all while losing an average 2lbs/week for the past 6.5 months
Scale is totally inaccurate, calipers are inaccurate as well, and you can lower your body fat % while also lowering your lean body mass at the same time. Do you only gain muscle when eating at a caloric surplus and lifting weights? No? Then why woudl you only lose fat while eating at a deficit. Same logic.
Well do the math. 45% BF at 330 lbs = 181.5lb LBM
35%BF at 282 = 183lb LBM
Sure they might be inaccurate, but they both are giving me similar results. I also tried those online calculators that take measurements from hips, waist, arm, wrists, thighs, neck and give you estimated body % and fairly close to what the scale and callipers stated.
Sure I know it isnt very accurate, but I find it interesting how all 3 of those things are all within a couple percentage points of eachother.
Ill just have to see once I get closer to my goal, maybe ill spring for a DEXA scan
that will give you an accurate picture of current body fat, but it will do nothing to *kitten* starting point vs current point, as you did not do a DEXA scan when you started.
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Got to love when 18 year olds think they know everything!! LOL0
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I'm not sure I understand all of what you're saying but thank you. I probably have about 40 stored up as I am 190 and am about 20-22% fat at the moment. And I don't think muscle loss doesn't happen, I just think its preventable. But good job on only losing 1.2 of muscle or whatever!
[/quote]
I am not sure I understand your original post and question then.
If you do believe that muscle loss happens during weight loss, then you would probably realize that it is something that you can MITIGATE against.
And there are currently several common methods that people use to mitigate against muscle loss during weight reduction: high protein, heavy lifting, and smaller deficits.
You've chosen to implement 2 out of 3. Great. Maybe it will work out for you as well as you hope, and maybe it won't!
Since you are monitoring things I am sure you'll be able to adjust without a problem based on your body's reaction!
By the way, are you using a reliable method to measure you body composition?
[/quote]
All I have is a scale that tells me my percentage0 -
therooster5 wrote: »I think people say that as an excuse as to why they're not trying to lose more. This is nothing against someone who only wants to lose 1-2 pounds a week. But if you want to lose more weight and fat than that, you can. I am currently losing 3-3.5 pounds of fat a week on an accelerated diet because I hate losing weight so much I just want to get it over with. I exercise my muscles and eat my protein goal and I feel stronger than I did before even though supposedly I'm losing a ton of muscle along with my fat. If anyone has any concrete evidence that I'm wrong I'll be glad to hear it.
Because numerous scientific studies show it to be a fact.therooster5 wrote: »
All I have is a scale that tells me my percentage
Those scales are wildly in accurate.0 -
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lemurcat12 wrote: »
So are you saying that it's NOT a huge and invalid generalization to claim that people only say it's better not to lose at too aggressive a rate because they need an excuse for losing more slowly?
Nah it's a pretty huge generalization. I'm just saying that calling him out because he "hasn't been on the board long enough to know better" Is also .. a huge generalization. And therefore a rather silly rebuttal. That's all.
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All I have is a scale that tells me my percentage[/quote]
And the fat % measurement the scale gives you is ?
My Fitbit Aria says I've moved from 26.4% body fat to 25.5%.
According to the Fitbit web-site, based on the Aria's info, I've moved from 53.7lbs of fat to 50.8lbs.
So, I can either go into abject panic mode and believe the scale's assertion that I am losing fat and muscle on a 1:1 ratio.
[yes, my body fat % dropped while, according to the scale, I lost more muscle than fat. do the math. it works]
Or I can recall that my DXA scan two weeks and less than 2lbs before the 26.4% body fat measurement was... 32.8%.
And that during the previous 3 months I've been losing at an approximately 9:1 ratio eating and exercising in a relatively similar manner.
So, you know what? I am actually NOT going to go into abject panic mode!
<whew. panic averted. must keep remembering that not accurate sometimes means utterly useless>0 -
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