Fat/lean mass loss ratio when losing weight

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

After losing 11 lb I had a bit of a disappointing DEXA scan, which told me I went from 24.6% to 22.7% body fat, 5.9 lb of that being fat, and 5.4 lb being lean muscle loss. My waist circumference went from 32 inches to 30.5 in that time. I had been hoping that more of the weight loss would have come from fat!

I am doing a relatively high volume strength training program and far exceeding the daily and weekly activity recommendations via walking daily and hiking or cycling 5-7 hours/week. One thing I may be lagging on is daily protein intake - I’m averaging around 100-125 grams per day.

Do you think I have a shot at improving this fat:muscle loss ratio, or should I just keep chugging along and accept that maybe this is my genetic burden to bear?

For reference, I’m male and 30.

2

Unless you’re under ~ 165lbs, I’d definitely ascribe some of this to low protein intake.

The other thing is that DEXA can’t tell you that you lost muscle, but rather lean muscle mass. A lot of that is going to be water. If we studied this tightly in you, I’d bet you lost 50-60% fat, 20% muscle, 20-30% water/organ tissue, etc.

-Jordan

3

I’m actually 163 lb, so does that mean the protein intake is OK?

And great to know - mistakenly thought Lean Tissue meant muscle mass.

Ok, so just checking, based on your response: I shouldn’t alter my approach other than maybe bumping up protein slightly for insurance?

4

Pretty much. Just bump the protein up ~ 30-50g/ day