weight loss vs. fat loss

[zou]

Hello all!

I'm new here and have really been helped by reading so many of your posts. Congrats to all of you for making the decision to get healthier.

I see lots of folks talking about pounds lost and that is great but I haven't found a thread about body fat % lost. I only need to loss about 20 pounds, but my body fat is @ 35% so my real goal is to get that down to about 21%. I'm exercising with a trainer and trying to keep eating to achieve that. How have other people done using Phen and achieving body fat % loss?

I'd really like to know if the phen is going to just make me eat less and lose what little lean muscle I have or will it help me actually get to that healthier point.

Thanks to all who reply...all input is helpful

[terilyn61]

Zou I don't know alot about body fat percentage but I will tell you that if you don't get enough calories in a day your body will go into starvation mode. It will store fat and burn muscle so you have to be careful. And make sure you drink plenty of water!

[zou]

Thanks for reply. Drinking enough is not a problem for me. Eating enough is a little harder, but I'm making an effort to eat little bits throughout the day so I don't think starvation mode will be a problem.

I'm more interested in what sort of weight people are actually losing. Is a decent amount from body fat or are folks losing a lot of lean muscle while using phen?

[Eleanor Rigby]

To be honest zou, I think a lot of people don't understand the distinction.

I've used the body fat % calculator on a website to calculate how much fat I can safely lose (instead of using the BMI charts as I have a tendency to be very muscular) but beyond that I haven't really paid much attention. I suppose I'm erroneously figuring that I will simply continue to go to the gym once I'm skinny to add whatever muscle I lose.

[IWANTITNOW]

has anyone ever heard of shots that burn fat? my sis in law said she did it in argentina and lost lots of fat. i mean could it sound more like heaven?!!!

[marieeugene]

Might be mesotherapy, if it is VERY PAINFUL...

[Ladybug0872]

I have a scale that measures fat%, and I think as long as you keep up your water intake and reduce your calories enough to burn fat but not go into starvation mode, then you should be losing fat, not lean muscle. I'm on a high protein/low carb diet, (well, I'm supposed to be, but it doesn't always work for me, my body goes into starvation mode too quickly), so for most people, they go into ketosis, which burns pure fat. If you don't want to lose muscle, you need to exercise along with your diet program. There's no other way to prevent the muscle loss. Good luck to you.

[Laura Ross]

I've read somewhere that that every time you loose a pound it's 0.75 fat but 0.25 is a muscle mass. In average. I think it depends on what you eat, but mostly on how much you exercise; because you need to replenish whatever lean muscle mass you have lost. Also it can depend on your genetics a little (well, this part is beyond your control). I don't think loosing muscle mass or not depends on how you control your appetite. It's just an opinion, I might be wrong. I am very interested in this subject and would love to hear what someone else has to say about phen and fat versus muscle mass loss.

[zou]

Thank you all for you responses. I have become a gym rat in hopes of making sure that I am building muscle at the same time I'm burning calories on cardio. So far the scale is going the right direction and I am feeling stronger. My biggest problem is getting in enough calories to keep from going into starvation mode. I finally gave in and purchased a high protien/low carb/low sodium/low cholestoral drink mix from the health food store. I drink it twice a day and that added with my meals should do it. I just wish it didn't taste so horrible.

I've been shocked that in two weeks of I've managed to lose 2 inches in my waist. I have to believe that all of that is fat since it's not like I had a lot of muscel in that area.

Still would love to hear from more of you on this subject.

[Laura Ross]

Zou, I've seen in others' posts also people complaining about not getting in enough calories and I keep wondering:
if phen supresses appetite THAT much why people don't modify it's intake? Would it be (for some reason) wrong??!? Because I do. I started phen April 13 and I don't take it consistently: somedays I take only half of my 37.5 pill, somedays entire pill, 2-3 days I skipped it all in all (only for one day at a time). My cals intake is in range 1000-1200. Since Apr 13 I've lost about 14 lbs and have 33 more to go.

BUT NOW (after reading all those posts) I AM WORRIED if it is wrong to take phen the way I do it!!

[IWANTITNOW]

ok what about CLA, that is supposed to minimize muscle loss? why dont i hear anyone talking about it lately??? it helped me, i stopped taking everything for like 2 months but im taking it again... try asking ur trainer how much protein u should be taking, high protein is necessary but people tend to overdue it which is unhealthy, also do eat complex carbs, people like crossing them out but we all need complex carbs, about 80% of a persons diet consists of carbs, including veggies and such, its what is healthy, well my number is not 100% accurate but its an estimate, ive forgotten the exact number.

[Laura Ross]

IWANTITNOW, could you please tell more about CLA? What is it? How it works? I really need some help with maintaining muscle mass(!) (I exercise a lot and toning is not aproblem). I was down to 114 lbs for 3 years but I was not happy with the result because only my legs were OK, the rest of the body was so skinny; specially chest. I don't want it happen again, my goal is to be slim, not skinny.
If you don't have time to post the info, can you refer me to the posts/discussions you mentioned?

Thanks a bunch!!!

[IWANTITNOW]

Laura- Cla has been great for me, i only used it about 2 months before i stopped taking everything, but i lost about a total of 3 inches off my waist alone (its what i measure most) without losing any weight (once i hit a plateau, reason why i quit phen for 2 months) i was thrilled, my stomach seemed so much firmer also, i love the stuff, the catch is you wont see any results until about 5 weeks than BAM, its amazing! im pretty convinced it was the CLA, i wasnt taking anything else besides that and phen and green tea. ill post a web at the end. btw i have plenty of time this week only, im on break from school, thats why u'll see so many posts from me, it keeps me busy, motivated and out of the kitchen lol... get the one that says tonalin, honestly i hear they are all the same but i feel (dont know if its just me) that the CLA sold at walmart in the purple bottle works better, i even bought one at GNC but i liked the other one best (purple bottle).. i hope this helps

heres the link:

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/dietweightloss/a/cla.htm

recommended amount to take is 3.4 grams per day, about 4 pills a day

[IWANTITNOW]

FAQ on Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)-
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/cla.html

[MelissaCTX1977]

I modify my intake.
I have never even taken an entire pill of 37.5
I always split it.
I might increase those for the last month.
I dont always take it everyday either.
I think you are ok so long as you dont take too much!
I would never go over the amount prescribed to you.
Talk to your Doctor though, he/she can help you with this issue.

=)

[Laura Ross]

Melissa, that's very similar to how I take it, except I do take entire pill couple of days a week. Never more than that.

But, unfortunately, I still feel a little hungry in the evenings, regardless if I took entire pill, or just half of it, or none. Evenings were always the toughest time for me. But, strangely, then in the morning and till about noon I am NOT hungry at all!! So I usually HAVE to postpone taking phen till 12:00 - 3:00, even if I risk not to have a proper night sleep.

[Laura Ross]

IWANTITNOW, thanks for the info!

Couple of more questions: You took it separately from phen? Do I need a prescription for it? Did you have any side effects?

I've been reading on it and it sounds like something I really need because I am not a muscular type (at least not in my upper body) and even though 114 lbs is not very low weight for 5'4"; and I physically I felt great, my chest looked so... blah... ribs and colar bones, I was avoiding wearing open tank tops. Don't want it to happen again, not if I can help it.