Lose body fat, keep lean body mass

ThatFattyChan
ThatFattyChan Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi :)
So I've decided now would be a good time to set myself a weight-loss goal. I've used all the calculators on http://www.bmi-calculator.net, which are BMI, BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), Waist to Hip Ratio and Body Fat % and taking everything into account I need to lose 9lbs of fat to have a better BF% and hopefully my BMI will be better too.


Any tips on losing body fat while keeping my lean body mass about the same?

Cheers all!

Replies

  • bigbrownbear123
    bigbrownbear123 Posts: 32
    The slower you lose weight, the more easy it will be to retain your lean body mass. Given that you only want to lose 9lbs, somewhere between 0.5 and 1 lb loss per week would be fine.

    Also, make sure to get enough protein! Protein is essential in sustaining your muscle mass and what's more, high-protein foods are often filling and so should help you to keep your overall calorie intake down. MFPs standard protein goals are a little low, so don't worry if you shoot over a little bit on your protein whilst still staying within your calorie limit.
  • ThatFattyChan
    ThatFattyChan Posts: 5
    Brilliant! Many thanks :) I was starting to worry it'd be difficult with that tiny protein number :)
  • nsblue
    nsblue Posts: 331 Member
    My doc told me that to preserve lean muscle mass during weightloss..or even in maintenance is to make sure you get in 60-80 grams of protein a day with your caloric intake.
  • girlie100
    girlie100 Posts: 646 Member
    add resistance/weight training into your schedule will help to maintain your LBM whilst eat a calorie deficit.
  • acr0bat
    acr0bat Posts: 8 Member
    I did a full body weightlifting circuit three times a week and shifted 18lbs in a few months. I went from 22% to 16% body fat but in this I lost 1-1.5lbs of muscle mass in the process - not a huge loss.

    I was aiming for around 130g+ of protein per day.

    I stopped circuits when I reached my weight goal. Unfortunately since going back to "normal" lifting my body fat settled at 16% and even creeped up a bit in the past couple of weeks. :S
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    1 - sensible calorie deficit
    2 - Good protein intake (1 gram per lb lean BM)
    3 - Lift weights
  • freerange
    freerange Posts: 1,722 Member
    add resistance/weight training into your schedule will help to maintain your LBM whilst eat a calorie deficit.

    ^^^^^^ what she said^^^^
  • ThatFattyChan
    ThatFattyChan Posts: 5
    ok, thanks all. just need to get some small weights to start off with :)
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    1 - sensible calorie deficit
    2 - Good protein intake (1 gram per lb lean BM)
    3 - Lift weights

    What Hendrix said. This the way to get there.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    ok, thanks all. just need to get some small weights to start off with :)

    Get some big ones! More benefit, less time! :happy:
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    So OP.
    How many cals will you eat?
    Whats your Maintenance or TDEE?
    BMR?
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    ok, thanks all. just need to get some small weights to start off with :)

    Get some big ones! More benefit, less time! :happy:

    Yup! The little ones are pretty useless.
  • ladytinkerbell99
    ladytinkerbell99 Posts: 970 Member
    The slower you lose weight, the more easy it will be to retain your lean body mass. Given that you only want to lose 9lbs, somewhere between 0.5 and 1 lb loss per week would be fine.

    Also, make sure to get enough protein! Protein is essential in sustaining your muscle mass and what's more, high-protein foods are often filling and so should help you to keep your overall calorie intake down. MFPs standard protein goals are a little low, so don't worry if you shoot over a little bit on your protein whilst still staying within your calorie limit.

    ^ Thanks. This helps me as well. :flowerforyou:
  • ingies2011
    ingies2011 Posts: 127 Member
    Do some body weight exercises, google them and there is bound to be a lot around, with a little investment you can buy a pull-up bar and really get a great workout.

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