Losing Body Fat
By WLR Dietitian
Q: I weigh less than I have for a long time but my body
fat has been lower in the past. Surely if I’m at my lowest
weight, I should expect to have the least amount of body fat.
Can you explain why this isn’t the case?
A: It sounds as though the proportion of fat and muscle in
your body has changed over time. When your body fat was lower
but you weighed more, it’s likely you had a higher percentage
of lean tissue (muscle).
The more muscle you have, the heavier you will be. It’s why
professional athletes or body builders often appear to be
overweight according to the
Body Mass Index classifications,
even though they have a very low
percentage of body fat.
In order to achieve your lowest weight, it looks as though
you might have lost a lot of muscle as well as fat.
This is
usually the result of a very low calorie intake – effectively,
your body goes into ‘starvation mode’ and starts using your
muscles to supply it with calories rather than using its fat
stores, which it tries to protect at all costs.
This is a
worry, especially if you’re trying to lose weight, because the
amount of muscle you have in your body helps to determine your
metabolic rate. Consequently, when muscle mass is reduced,
your metabolic rate lowers with the result that you need fewer
calories to maintain your existing weight – and therefore
fewer calories to lose weight.
Without having any details about your percentage of body
fat or lean tissue it’s hard to make specific recommendations,
but as a guideline, women should aim for 23 to 28 percent body
fat.
In the meantime, doing more exercise will help to
increase the amount of muscle you have.
For best results, do a
combination of aerobic activities to burn fat and resistance
training to build muscle. Having more muscle might mean you
end up weighing slightly more, but it’ll give your
metabolism
a boost so that you can eat slightly more in order to
maintain
your weight.
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