[LaurieDawn]

I have a scale that measures fat percentage. I know it is probably not accurate, but it is an indicator.

Since July 15, I am down 20.4 pounds to 229.0, and down 3.8 percentage points on my fat percentage, to 47.8 percent.

My general exercise routine is lifting (have one more session on the first phase of NROL FW) three times a week (and lifting heavy - I squat 145 pounds and deadlift 135 pounds, for example) and HIIT 4 times a week. I do both cardio and lifting on Saturday, nothing on Sunday. I also sometimes blow off a cardio day if work is crazy. I eat less than 1400 calories per day, and don't track particularly carefully. (I need to be careful of OCD tendencies inspiring disordered eating. Right now, I can still eat oatmeal. I can't when I am tracking every mouthful.)

For my lifestyle and my own particular brand of crazy, this is working for me.

Here is my question, then. I know someone my weight will lose lean muscle mass on the journey. I simply won't need as much muscle when I am not dragging 271 pounds around. But is my fat percentage going down a reasonable amount? It seems very slow. But does it seem reasonable?

[LaurieDawn]

Oops. I meant to post this in the general weight loss support forum. Sorry for accidentally starting a thread that is not on point for your subgroup.

[calotrenpamela]

A glass of carrot juice a day will help you lose 2kg over 12 weeks. It’s high in nutrients that help burn fat.

[kellijonez]

This is new for me. Thanks for sharing it.

[mclark12]

The only really way to messure your fat percentage is to go to a specialized nutritionist. Some times they do not even have the proper machine to measure it as well.

To proply measure it they have to basically put you into a speical pool and see how much the water is displaced. and then they also take measurement etc. it is very scientific. Ive been wanting to get it done. but it very expensive.

But it is great to hear about your weight loss. Good Luck with your goals!!

[geoblewis]

You can also measure fat percentage with a DEXA scan, by the way. More accurate and less inconvenient than the dunk tank.

If you want to find out if your progress is good enough, then I suggest reading how we humans lose weight. There are good studies out, but there are a lot of conflicting positions extrapolated, depending on what the author is trying to sell. I'm currently reading Diet 101 and The Ketogenic Diet. I'm getting lost in the math a little bit. Basically I've learned that I should eat less to lose weight and exercise more (weight training) to build muscle. Keep doing that and stop fussing over the details so much.

I have to curtail my reading because I was spending so much time trying to figure out the "perfect" system and didn't pay any attention at all to my actual progress. I get easily disheartened when my progress doesn't match what I think I've learned from the books/websites. Made myself crazy with analysis paralysis.

[teekim22]

Things like when you last worked out, how much water is in your body etc can skew things like those little fat percentage checkers. I think the most accurate way is to get your fat measured which is pretty nerve wracking

But generally speaking fat loss is a long and slow process. And women can only get so low as compared to men anyway. But I am of the belief that abs are made in the kitchen, more so than the gym

[Becky Quilts]

Home body fat scales are good for exactly what you're doing - measuring CHANGE. I use mine for the exact same thing. I don't need it down to the gnat's eye every week, I just need to know if I'm moving the right part of my body mass! One of these days I'll get a real number from my gym.

By lifting heavy you're very much doing the right thing! Muscle burns more than fat, and women can't get bulky like Ahhhrnold. You're going in a great direction!

As to keeping the muscle… A great way to give your muscles the best shot at not melting with your fat, is to feed them by eating enough protein. You can think of this in two ways: making sure you hit enough grams of Protein a day (maybe by breaking it up into goals per meal) or by shooting for a particular Carb-Protein-Fat macronutrient ratio (which for muscle keeping/building reasons would be based on grams/protein anyway... but some find it easier to track).

Grams of protein to aim for /day is pretty straightforward. Sedentary adults should have 0.8g/kg/day. Weightlifting you should be closer to 1.4g/kg/day. I'd link sources but googling bodybuilding and protein intake should get you headed in the right direction. Bodybuilders have been figuring out the fat loss without muscle loss process for decades - after all, many people have great tone, but it's eliminating the fat that allows the muscles to show. SORRY… I digress (probably again… and probably too much )

As to macro breakdown of what you're eating... Think percentage of calories broken into Carb-Protein-Fat. It sounds like a pain but if you can use MyFitnessPal (which has a web interface as well as an app), SparkPeople (ditto) and I'm sure there's a few others... they will break down the macros for you. Added bonus for tracking what you eat.

What macro % breakdown should you go for? Here's where it gets a little fuzzy... some will say various percentages. Normally, if left to my own I will eat 70-15-10 (C-P-F) which is bad by any book... but not atypical for an American. Typical reccs for "active people" will hinge around 60% carb but IMO (I am NOT a nutritionist, I just read a ton) - even distance runners don't need 60%. Which, running is my hobby… and glycogen is another discussion. ANYWAY... Body builders will recc 30-30-30 (with the extra 10 for slack) or 34-33-33 OR 40-30-30 if you want to split hairs… OR they will take the protein calc from above, look at the number of calories they're eating, and break the %ages down from there . IT's a bunch of basic math but some people can find it a bit much to scratch out…

If you're looking for a relatively easy place to start, a great target would be to shoot for grams/day. Take the 1.4 x (weight in kilograms) and you'll have it. For me it would be _165 pounds is 75kg x1.4 … which gives me 104g of protein a day. If you google "pounds to kilograms" a converter will pop up on google.

When I was first trying to increase my protein intake I was a bit panicked as to how hungry I would be. Protein is satisfying. Fat is also satisfying - just be sure to pick good sources. Lots of fruits and veggies - of course. You will find that the natural sugars in fruits will get you nicely forward that 40/30% carb area.

Good luck! Feel free to PM me for links or questions.

Best wishes.

~Becky