| Question on Lean Body Mass |
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Past Member
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Posted: 12 Nov 2007 06:40 am |
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A long time ago, I graduated high school at 175 #. I had no way of knowing what my body fat % was and how much was lean body mass. I was fairly athletic, played basketball and baseball and was a 'normal graduating senior'.
Today, I am a 54 year old male and considerably heavier and fatter, but I've calculated my lean body mass today at 155 #.
Is is a safe assumption that lean body mass remains fairly constant through the years? So I can assume I graduated high school at 155 pounds of lean body mass and 20 # of fat or roughly 13%.
I've been thinking about this for some time now and wondered if anyone had input.
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 12 Nov 2007 07:27 am |
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| As we age and assuming we don't weight-train the older we get the more muscle and bone mass we lose (1-2% per year?) which is why the RMR/BMR formulas take your age as input and report you as requiring less energy - there is a built-in assumption in the formula that your LBM shrinks (because most people do not weight-train)
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Past Member
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Posted: 13 Nov 2007 04:18 am |
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Thanks....guess its a moot point and what I should be concerned with is the now. I was at the Doctor's last week who was pretty pleased with my results so far and this issue of 'goal' or where do I want to end up has surfaced.
From what I'm reading, the methodology should be maintain (or increase) LBM and reduce fat% and not concern myself with total weight loss.
I pay far more attention to fat% than I do my weight and understand those charts my Dr. has in his office are outdated.
A little math and the guidelines for total body fat % should tell me where I 'should' be.
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NevD
New Member
| Joined: | 26 Oct 2005 |
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| Posts: | 1536 |
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Posted: 17 Nov 2007 02:29 pm |
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I don't think the yearly loss is quite as high as Nir suggests, but it does add up over time.
The bone density thing is why weight training is so important as you age. It's the only thing that helps you retain the density. Not much point in maintaining a 'good weight' or having ideal body fat % if every time you slip you break a hip!
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