Hello folks,

I recently started going to a gym and one of the things done during my introduction was measuring how much body fat I have. This was done using an electronic device held between my hands, with my arms outstretched. According to the trainer the device sends an impulse through the body and measures how long it takes to get back. It said my % body fat was 34.8. I am a male, 28 years old, 5' 10" and weighed 284 pounds that day - almost 99 pounds fat, then. That would mean that 185 pounds of me is bones, muscles, skin and other things that aren't fat.

He told me that the ideal body fat for men in my age group and height was a range ending at 17% on the upper end. A reasonable goal for me might be to reach that number, which would put my "ideal" weight somewhere in the 215-220 range. That seemed too high, and checking through various net sites on what an "ideal body weight" might be for me confirmed that. Most suggested something under 190. But since I already have 185# that can't/shouldn't be lost, that suggests something is wrong.

Am I missing something? I'm guessing that the device he used must not be too accurate. Has anyone heard of these things before?

Thanks!

Your body has that much lean because it needs it to support the weight you have on your body now. But at a lower weight, it wouldn't need as much muscle.

At this point, it's way too early to know what your ideal is. You might find you gain muscle, or lose muscle. I'll venture to guess you will lose muscle.

Just because it's ideal that our bodies don't lose muscle, doesn't mean they won't. And obviously someone closer to their ideal weight in the first place has less to worry about.

I think aiming for the goal your trainer set up for you is a wonderful plan. Have your BF analyzed every 20 lbs or so and recalculate and see where you stand at that time.

And remember they are not even close to 100% accurate. Your BF and lean fluctuates so much depending on how much is in your gut and how hydrated you are at the time.

I'm guessing you are starting a weight training workout. Good luck getting fit. Being male you have a great advantage and should look real buff in a year.

Also, there are sites online where you can estimate your BF. Here's one I use http://www.biofitness.com/abodyfat.html
And you can find others by searching. It might reassure you to see if they are similar or totally way off. I did mine a 2nd time at the above mentioned site, and it shows that I've lost 2 lbs of muscle (not good) but I'm not exercising either. But inches are lost and it shows my target weight closer to what I expect.

Annette is right, Yogie. It's likely that as you lose weight some of it will be lean mass; you simply wont need as much of it when you lose the fat. You can limit how much you lose by beginning a resistance program (weight lifting) which will enable you to at least preserve the lean mass you already have.

Something else to consider; LCing is very muscle sparing. By eating adequate protein you nourish your muscles ensuring that they do not need to become 'food' for your body. It's also important that you consume enough calories in general to keep your body from burning muscle for fuel.

Many of us who LC and who lift heavy weights, myself included, find that our goal weights are on the high end of the 'desired' range for our height and frame, if not a few lbs higher than that.

Nat

Thanks for the replies!

After reading so many warnings about losing muscle and how exercise would prevent that, it didn't occur to me that I might lose muscle anyways due to being so overweight. I hadn't thought about it before but keeping track of BF as well as weight sounds like the thing to do. I intend to follow the program from Body for Life once the holidays are over.

These forums and those of you who post here have been a great source of information; without you I probably wouldn't have thought of low carb as a viable alternative.

Another suggestion would be to search for a body mass index calculator on the net (plenty there to calculate), give you a pretty good range to shoot for, weight-wise. Good luck!