ok so i lost 17 pounds in the last month. (&14 inches tyvm ) but its sorta bittersweet because according to mybodycomp, 8 pounds of that were muscle & only 9 were fat i exercize regularly... mostly cardio... i do some resistance/strength training... admittedly not as much as i should, tho. i just joined a gym last week... i've been 'toying' with the machines and such but am waiting till my appt with a personal trainer next Friday to really jump into it because i want to do it right. i thought i was supposed to eat like 80 or so grams a day of protien to maintain my muscle mass & i do, but its obviously not working if these figures are right. i don't eat a whole lot of fat... well, let me rephrase that, i dont eat alot of saturated fat. i get my fats from natural sources... nuts and cheeses. im not big into oils... or greasy cheeseburgers or bacon & whatnot. so please dont tell me to up my fats.. there has to be another way that doesnt make me want to gag at the thought. im curious what i can/should eat to maintain muscle and just lose fat. will more strength training help with this or increase my need for more carbs or something? i'm so scared to change my diet because its 'working' for me, but with the added exercize i will be getting at the gym, i know im going to need to eat more... or differently. does any1 else use mybodycomp? how accurate is it? im not even sure how much i believe that my BF% is the 36.47% that it says it is... so maybe it could be a little off about me losing muscle mass too? but at any rate, im still curious what to eat to maintain my muscle and just lose fat. thanks

what are the ratios of protein/carbs and fats in your current diet and how many cals are you eating. You lost muscle because you are doing cardio which is catabolic (muscle wasting) and not enough weight lifitng which is anabolic (muscle building) Built will be along I am sure as she went through this exact thing early on, you might want to check her journal for more info. You need to get on a regular weight resistance program keep cardio to a minimum and lets look at your diet to see what tweaks can be made.

You've had great advise from Liftnlady. Cardio is catabolic to both muscle AND fat. You need to focus on your lifting, first and foremost. Cardio on alternate days, or strictly post-lifting, never before. And do yourself a favour and have the trainer teach you how to lift free weights - machines are of limited benefit, IMHO.

Mybodycomp, as in all proxy measures of body composition, is fundamentally flawed. You probably HAVE lost some muscle, but it's anybody's guess how much. As you start lifting heavier and heavier, this will be easier for you go gauge because you will be able to monitor your strength.

Protein should probably be closer to a gram per pound of your target weight to conserve muscle.

Cheeses contain saturated fat, and this is fine. Saturated fat is very very good for you. It's TRANS fat you need to avoid, and it sounds like you're doing that. I like to boost my fat intake with fish oil, butter, coconut milk and avocados, if you're looking for new sources of healthy fat.

i always thought you were supposed to do cardio before lifting to 'warm' your muscles or whatever. my ratio average for the past month are 56% fat, 10% carbs, 34% protien. averaging 1033 cals a day... wow, thats bad, huh? if i were to up my calories, would i be better doing it in the form of fat or carbs or protien? probably protien, huh? fine with me... i love chicken. i do avoid the transfats as much as possible, but i have to have my peanut butter... and the natural stuff just doesnt do it for me. so is it better to do more reps and sets of a smaller weight or less of a bigger weight? thank you girls so much.

well I would up your protein to at least 1 gram per lb of BW, you should possibly bring carbs up to 20% as well. You shoul donly do cardio prelifting for 5 mins tops to warmup, all fat bruning cardio otherwise should be done post lifting, and even then the most optimal is actually on non lifting days. Definitely heavy weights for less reps. I believe Built has a beginner program all laid out her journal or gym log ..she can help direct you to that as well.

Never do cardio before lifting. You'll be more prone to injuries, and you won't burn as much fat. Your muscles will warm up as you lift.

Really.

I'm female, over forty, and I train like a man. So far, in three years of lifting this way, no injuries and 30 odd pounds that have stayed off.

In general, shorter, heavier sets are better. There ARE a few exceptions to this, but it's a good rule of thumb when beginning a lifting routine that you should do 3 sets of 8-10 until it gets easy - then increase the weight by the smallest increment you can and drop the reps down to 3 sets of 6, and work it back up.

Your cals are low. I'd increase protein to at least 120g a day, and fat to wherever your comfort level is.

And I LOVE my natty PB
The other stuff is plastic. Work your way toward weaning yourself off of it. Not only is it nasty for your arteries, it'll slow your fat loss.

Built, out of curiosity, what are the exceptions?

some exceptions could be a person who has alot of muscle mass like a bodybuilder who wants to bring down the size of their muscle to compete ina different category or balance their physique, or someone who is interested in endurance training. They would do higher reps to train the muscle to have endurance for racing for instance. You can also use a method of higher reps if you have issues with knees or other joints, you would then modify the workout to a slower tempo and shorter rest period to keep the muscle under tension for a longer period of time thus stimulating muscle growth without stressing the joints.

oh, okay. I thought she meant that there were exceptions for certain muscle groups and I was confused - not what I expected to hear from Built!
That makes a lot more sense, though.

Liftn's answer was far more detailed than what I was going to say, and a lot better.

I sometimes do longer sets for some of my leg work, but my legs are massive and seem to thrive on the abuse.