Hi everyone,
I’ve been trying to stick to a strict diet and also going to the gym whenever I can the last three months. I am a 5 foot 9, male and I am starting from the weight of 235 lbs with a BMI around 35, so i was very much obese.
I am now at 198 lbs (no longer obese, yay!) My waist has gone from a 42″ to a 34″ and I look and feel a lot healthier and happier.
My concern is, at gym when i went to measure the body fat percentage, there wasn’t a substantial drop. I was 26-27% before, and now i’m 23%. When i try to do the math, it looks like i am losing an equal amount of fat AND lean muscle mass! I wanted to know if having lean muscle loss like this (at the same rate as fat loss) is expected or if i’m doing something seriously wrong? Should I try to increase my protein intake ?
Please let me know your thoughts.
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December 22nd, 2009 | 
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That’s a really tough question to answer without knowing more about your diet and your workout. It could be that you are doing a bit too much cardio. Excessive cardio while great for dropping the pounds will also convert lean muscle into energy. On any type of cut (meaning trying to reduce bodyfat) you will lose some muscle mass. Also if you are using calipers to measure your body fat be aware that they are notoriously inaccurate.
To be honest I worry very little about my body fat numbers, in fact I’ve never tried to cacluate them. I just look in the mirror, or take before and after pics. One now, one a few weeks from now. Its much easier to tell the difference that way.
If you want more information about good weightlifting and cardio routines I suggest checking out the forums at http://www.bodybuilding.com. They have lots of good info for both beginners and pros.