Body fat comp test completed! Jubjub and Keith weigh in please...

I went to my local university today and completed a hydrostatic weighing session.  I wasn't crazy about the grad student seeing me in my borrowed swimsuit but at least I didn't have to traipse through the exercise physi lab in front of a bunch of people.  

I was worried that the results were going to bum me out; I fully expected the results to show me at a pretty high percentage of body fat.  But it was just the opposite!  So here's how it went:

1.  Even though my scale weighed me at 162 this morning I was at 164.2 by 3:00 p.m. this afternoon.   So that was the starting point. 

2.  They have you dunk under the water about 10 times and then use your best 3 efforts to get a good average.  

3.  Fat mass:  57.7 lbs    Fat free mass:  106.4     % Body Fat:  35.16

4.  The way I figure it, if I can get to 141 lbs. with NO loss of lean body mass, I should be at 25% body fat.  Optimum for women is 22-25% (some professionals even go up to 32%).  

5.  I still plan to shoot for 135 as my goal weight and allow myself a 3 lb. "cushion".  

My question for those super fitness/bodybuilder types out there:  how likely is it that I can lose another 27 lbs. without losing significant lean body mass?  Or am I fated to lose some? 
 

You most likely will lose a little no matter what. It is very rare to stay completely stable, but I do know a woman who seems to have been able to do so.

The question is more along the lines of what are you willing to do to NOT lose any more lean mass? To maintain your lean mass during weight loss you  must lift weights and force the muscles to work and rebuild as you are losing. You won't gain muscle per se during weight loss, but the lifting will enable you to keep as much muscle tissue as possible. Cardio is also a very good activity and will help your heart maintain its mass and helps burn calories, but the weight lifting is essential. I did both cardio and strength training during my weight loss phase. Since reaching goal I've put on a good 8 to 10 pounds of lean mass, too (roughly just under a pound per month).

I was musing today at the gym about how I used to worry about working out my legs because they were already so damn thick and seemingly muscular. I certainly didn't want them any larger, so I always avoided working them as I should have. Then post WLS I got a trainer.  Best thing my trainer did was insist that I work my lower body. My legs have gotten so much stronger with all the strength training and much smaller! I have never been able to wear slim cut or regular cut jeans before (even at my slimmest in my twenties), but I can now! I credit the strength training and the regular cardio for that.

You will also really have to monitor your protein intake. Keep it high, high, high. It really will help you hold on to as much lean muscle mass as possible.

I know I'm not Keith or Jubjub, but I couldn't resist putting in my two cents.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Great advice and I will put all of it into practice.

What he said!

My friend is a trainer and she told me work on speed first/leaning out then try to build back lean muscle mass. I'd love to lose the last 20 and it all be fat but I think it depends on what he said...weights and protein/diet.

Tracy, I have no advice, but I am curious what the test was like because I really want to have this done. Did the student at least try to make you feel comfortable? I have no problem walking around the pool at the gym in my suit, but as an obese person I am really intimidated by the idea of having this test done.

I'm glad your percentage was lower than you were expecting!

Lindsay - the student was great and it was all very private. They don't use a pool; they have a special tank. The whole thing took 30 minutes and cost $40. Highly recommend - just call UNO's HPER building and ask for exercise physiology.

I will - thank you!

If you have a weight lifting routine that you perform 2 to 4 times per week, get your protein for muscle building and fats for fuel and keep your cardio lower intensity it is very possible for you to not only maintain your lean muscle mass and still lose fat but to actually gain lean muscle mass. If you do not lift weights you will almost certainly lose lean mass in the next 30 lbs.

Your weight routine should work your whole body too over those 2 to 4 days. You want to work each group and then give it proper nutrition to recover. I can give you a basic routine to help with this if you like.

Keith - I would really appreciate seeing the routine.  I'm not a member of a gym right now so 3 times a week I do a 20-min kettlebell routine that kicks my ass (lots of squatting) and then I work on a Pilates machine 3 times a week for 20 minutes (lots of core and arms).  Plus I do 5 30-min cardio sessions per week.   I don't know if that's enough though for keeping the muscle mass while I lose another 26 lbs.  I'd appreciate hearing your opinion on what I'm doing right now.  

Whatever routine you give me, I'll do my best to do it!  Thanks again :-) 

I think you can do it!  Great that you're checking along the way... You now have a baseline.  You should probably continue doing what you're doing if the weight is coming off... 

Bodybuilders eat high protein and may cycle carbs in various ways (up carbs during a building phase and cut carbs during a cutting phase) and do resistance exercises to maintain muscle mass while cutting fat. There are lots of articles around the internet, but basically its not different from the normal diet many of us follow here - high protein, low carb and watch overall calories.  Just make sure you add the resistance exercises to help maintain bone and muscle mass.  You may see a lot of variation in the scale from day to day as muscles recover and retain water... track weight trends over time, don't worry as much about daily variations. 

In my opinion, you're not attempting a super low BF% - 22-25% is very reasonable for women, body builders are shooting for 4-8% (that's why you can see their six-packs, and you can't on "normal" people)....Getting super-low BF% get's tough without losing mass - very tough.  But you shouldn't run into those problems.

I wouldn't try to ADD muscle mass WHILE cutting fat. Just maintain.  But it gets confusing.

 

Example: I've put on 5 pounds over the summer - i was bummed, but it turned out that through my training and diet I was actually able to add a couple pounds of fat and added even more lean mass.  My last DEXA scan showed under 11% BF... and an INCREASE in lean mass... So it can be done, but it's a delicate balancing act that requires some discipline.

Good luck! You CAN do it.

-Tom