Ratio of lbm to fat loss?

[Cord the Seeker]

Just wondering,

Is there any information on how much lean body mass you lose along with your fat loss?

I know there would be a huge difference depending on whether you do resistance training to retain muscle mass or not, but I guess what I'm wondering about is how much of your lbm is just there to support your extra fat?

I work out pretty regularly, and if my body fat tests are anywhere near accurate (or at least consistent), then with my last 25 lbs lost it seems that 5 of that was lbm. So about 20%.

Does anyone know if that is average or not?

 

[usedtobefatmatt]

I read something once that said when the average person loses a pound that 75% is fat and 25% in muscle. I read it on the net so i'm not sure how accurate it is.

Just thinking as I type this, there are probably too many factors to ever get an accurate figure.

 

[KaraCooks]

In one of Lyle McDonald's articles he said that for those who are very overweight, up to 25% of your lean muscle has to be lost in order to achieve a "normal" body weight.

From what I recall, he says that's because although most of the excess weight people put on is fat, overweight people do put on some lean muscle mass in order to support that additional weight. The more overweight you are, the more lean muscle you'll have to lose to become "normal".

I think for those who are just moderately overweight, you probably would need to lose less lean muscle. Also if you're really out of shape, it's possible that long term the "support the fat" muscle that you would lose becomes a more fit/strong muscle, so it might even out. [Note that this is my supposition based on logic, not anything he's said necessarily.]

Anyway that said, from what I've read, anywhere around 20% is a normal amount to lose even if you are weight lifting to maintain lean muscle. And if you're not weight lifting and eating enough protein, you could lose even more.

Do a search on his site for lean muscle mass and I'm sure the articles will come up.