Lean Mass vs Fat Mass

[LizzieBorden]

Hi Everyone,

I have a question and hope I can find answers.  In February i seriously started exercising (treadmill) and eating healthy foods.  My beginning weight was 220.5 lbs, I am currently 204.5 lbs.  My question is this, looking at the Fitbit chart, it says i have lost only 4 lbs of fat and 13 lbs of lean mass and the percentage of body fat has stayed the same.  Is this normal or should I incorporate weight training into my routine?

Thanks.

[WavyDavey]

Hi @LizzieBorden,

Can you show us which chart you're looking at that says that? Measuring body fat and lean body mass is kind of an inexact science and is mostly estimates, without specialized testing. So it's hard to say if those numbers you got apply in your situation. Just in general, 13 pound of lean muscle seems unlikely. The fat measurement may not be totally correct. Depending on our water weight, those numbers can get skewed.

That said, I am a big advocate for strength and resistance training. It helps raise the metabolism (since muscle takes a lot of calories to maintain). It has helps with bone and joint health, and as one of my coaches used to say, "strong people are generally more useful". I find weight training to be a great compliment to cardio training like treadmill.

[LizzieBorden]

Thanks for your comments Ron. I have been doing some weight training (not
much) but will be increasing to 2-3 times a week. I've attached a picture
of the information I was talking about. Any further insight would be
helpful.

Cheers.

[MrTimothyIrvine]

Hey LizzieBorden, 

First, congrats and please keep working out. 

That is a lot of good progress so far.  Even if your percent / ratios are not what you want, just having less weight on you helps your joints, circulation, etc. 

Second, to question one: "Is this normal...?" 

I'd answer: Yes?  I think so. I am in a similar situation, and as your overall weight drops, your ratios of lean v. fat mass can stay the same, and it is still a good change.

I have dropped from ~210 to ~195, and my body fat has dropped from ~25% to about 21%.  

However, for the last two weeks I have stayed at ~21% body fat while losing around 5 pounds of total mass. 

That means that my ratio is steady, and I am just whittling away overall, without becoming particularly more muscly. 

So, I think it is normal for one to lose weight and have the ratios stay the same, and to lose weight and have the fat % decreased. 

What would be abnormal is if your lost weight, but then your fat % increased. 

Finally, to question two: "...should I incorporate weight training into my routine?" 

I'd answer: YES.  Definitely.  Some light free weights are really important for helping develop balance and all sorts of smaller muscles and ensuring you keep building muscles instead of just losing mass all-around. 

I didn't see what image you said you attached, but I assume you are going off of Aria (or similar) scale data.