100 lbs (?) to go--and body comp/goal weight question.

I dropped some weight this morning (yay) and am now down 35 lbs total (including pre-op diet).  That means that, using the arbitrary, subject to change goal weight my surgeon mentioned during our consultation, I have 100 lbs left to lose).

However, yesterday I did a body composition analysis at my gym.  It used this special scale thing you stepped on plus some handles, and I couldn't eat, drink, or exercise for 3 hours prior to the test.  Here are the results (yesterday afternoon the scale said 233):

Lean Body Mass:  111.2 (water 81.9 plus dry lean mass 29.3)

Body Fat Mass:  122.3

Skeletal Muscle Mass:  61.5

Percentage Body Fat: 52.4

Body Fat:  89.1 (suggested loss)

BMR:  1459 kcal

So if I use my suggested body fat loss, my actual "goal" weight would be more like 144.4 instead of 130, but I assume as I get smaller I will lose some of that lean body mass as well.  I hope I keep most of it, because I want to keep my muscles, but I think that, particularly my legs won't need to be quite so strong if I weigh less. 

Weird thing:  the "segmental lean analysis" showed that my muscle mass in my trunk was normal, in my arms was over, and in my legs was under.  I find this odd since I have pretty much no upper body strength but I feel like my legs are pretty strong.  Something to keep in mind as I add resistance training/weights back in when I hit 6 weeks out.

I'm excited to do this again the next time it's offered and see how my body has changed!

Is this a good way to go about determining goal weight, should I just focus on losing for now and figure it out later, or what?  Does anyone know how much (like a percentage) of their lbm they lost in this process?

That's all good and everything .... Great to know about it.... But you have the advantage of working with Dr.C on zeroing in on a goal weight as you get close......

frisco

Here's a link to a body fat chart that is interesting:http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blbodyfatcharts.htm

It gives body fat ranges based on age and notes that a healthy range is 21-33% fat.  So you could calculate your weight range from that, and see what you think. 

 

I had a similar analysis done prior to surgery that suggested my ideal weight was 233 pounds. LOL! So you are at my "ideal weight".    Anyway, I now weigh 215 now and still have some body fat I could lose (some of it is excess skin that is going to get removed surgically).  As I lost weight, I obviously lost a bit more muscle that was "ideal" but certainly almost unavoidable.   I think if a similar analysis was done on me today it would say my ideal weight is more in the range of 190-200. 

 

What I really like about this kind of analysis is it can give you a realistic goal based on your actual body - your muscle, your bones, etc.  It is far from perfect, but I think it is lightyears better than just looking at standard charts.

 

If you have the means to do so, it would great to get this test redone as you get closer to your first goal.  It's a useful guide, but really your goal weight is ultimately up to you and what makes you "happy" and allows for a total resolution of any weight-related health issues you might have. 

Thanks, I plan to do that.  My gym was offering them for $10, so why not???? (they are normally a little more, but not much).  It was mostly for my own curiosity and so I'd have a before-ish and after.  Of course my surgeon will have a big say in the goal I end up with, but I thought it was a good way to see how much of me I "should" keep.

:)

There's quite a large "healthy" range.

You just gotta figure out if you wanna be voluptuous, or normative, or scrawny.  

Ohhh Ruggie! I love your choices. Voluptuous, normative, or scrawny. Fun choices lol