Lean Body Mass, Muscle Mass, and Muscle Percentage

Ever wonder what all that fitness jargon means? Me too.

If you want to learn how to calculate your Lean Body Mass, click here. I wrote a post about calculating Lean Body Mass and your ideal weight a few days ago.

Now onto the question of muscle mass. It seems obvious that muscle mass is the amount of muscle present in your body, and that a muscle percentage statistic would show you the percentage of your body that muscle mass takes up. From all of the googling I've done, this seems to be the case, but when you pose the question of calculating these numbers, they don't tend to agree!

Let me explain. I just bought a body composition scale. In fact, I bought this one:

It's a Beurer Body Analysis Scale.

Anyway, some scales measure muscle mass and some scales measure muscle percentage. Mine measures muscle percentage. I have also used a scale that measures muscle mass. Here's where it can get confusing. I googled how to calculate muscle mass, and instead the few websites I found seemed to be giving me a formula for calculating lean body mass, which I already know how to calculate (see previous post). The formulas would use your body fat percentage and simply figure out what your supposed muscle mass is by subtracting your BF% from your total weight... but that leaves all the other stuff in your body in that number as well like bones, veins, and whatever else is in there. Then, somehow, I got a number that seemed close to what a previous scale had given me for muscle mass, but it seemed wrong too because if you took my body fat mass and my supposed muscle mass and added them together, there were only about 4 lbs left over to account for bones and stuff. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that all the bones in my body probably weigh more than 4 lbs.

So I'm still lost, unfortunately. If anyone can explain to me how these scales measure muscle mass vs muscle percentage, that would be awesome. If it's exactly what it sounds like and the 2 scales that measured the 2 different statistics on me are just miles apart with regard to accuracy, I can understand that too.

I think that the closest I've gotten to a real muscle mass is actually by using the muscle percentage provided by the scale I own. This number seems to take into account my body fat percentage while also leaving out bones, blood and vessels, and non-muscle organs like skin. If my scale is reasonably correct, my muscle% is 29.4% or right around 51 lbs of muscle.

Herbalife Update

It's been 5 days since I posted my initial post on Herbalife.  It's been a week since I started the program.  I have gained 4.4 lbs during the past week on Herbalife which has basically put me right back where I started.  Needless to say, I'm not too happy with the program at the moment.

It doesn't help that the shakes aren't very appetizing.  I mean, they're not disgusting but they're not amazing either.  When I first tried an Herbalife shake I thought it wasn't too bad and actually tasted pretty good.  The problem I'm having is repetition: it tasted alright the first couple of times but now I'm waking up dreading my breakfast and dinner routine.  I've found that if I add greek yogurt it tastes a little better, and my Herbalife coach likes that because greek yogurt is a good source of protein.  But even that is getting old really quick.


Anyway, I think I'm going to try and head in a different direction.  My father-in-law told me I should watch this documentary called Forks Over Knives.  It's really good.  The focus is on nutrition, and how the right nutrition can change everything about your health.  My in-laws have started trying to eat healthier, less animal-based products and more plant-based products.  I think I might try and do this as well.

If you are concerned about your health and about your diet, I highly recommend Forks Over Knives.  It's on Netflix.  Watch it.

Rather than spend $150/month on shakes that don't taste all that amazing, I'm planning on focusing on whole foods and plant-based foods.  I'd like to cut down on processed foods, start eating more vegetables, and just become more healthy in general.  I'm tired of being tired and exhausted after doing nothing.

Herbalife

I just started Herbalife.  What is Herbalife, you ask?  It's a nutrition system based primarily on "Healthy Meal" shakes.

So here's the breakdown of what I'm doing:

Breakfast: Formula 1 shake powder with 8 oz of skim milk + Formula 2 multivitamin + Formula 3 Cell Activator

Morning snack (around 9:30 or 10am): fruit usually

Lunch: some kind of homemade meal with lean protein and veggies + Formula 2 multivitamin

Afternoon snack: (around 2:30 or 3pm): protein snack bar or fig newtons

Dinner: Formula 1 shake powder with 8 oz skim milk + Formula 2 multivitamin + Formula 3 Cell Activator



Weight as of beginning Herbalife: 174 lbs.  We'll see how fast this comes off.  I'm giving this nutrition system a try for 1 month at least.

Exercise Routine

I just ordered TapouT XT.  Why?  The short answer is because I'm out of shape.  There's a more in depth answer, of course.

I currently weigh 176 lbs.  I'm 5'6" and I am overweight.  My goal is to get in shape and obviously lose the weight in the process, but my goal weight is 140 lbs.  That's 36 lbs to lose.  I know I can realistically reach 135 lbs because I've done it before, and I'd ideally like to reach 130 lbs, but I don't want to set my sites too high (or too low, rather, hee hee) and then give up too easily.

I think I can reach 140-145 lbs relatively quickly with a workout program like TapouT XT.  Those last 10-15 lbs to get down to 130-135 lbs, though, will be the hardest part, so I'll cross that road when I get there.

Muscle weighs more than fat, and I know this.  I'm looking to shed the fat, get in shape, gain muscle, and then tone it.  For the past week and a half, I've been waking up an hour early to go to the gym and use the elliptical.  I know this will help, but it's not going to get me there by itself.

I've also been trying to eat healthier.  I've been bringing my lunch with me to work, making it in the morning at home, and the majority of it is fruit.  I make a turkey and cheese or chicken and cheese pita sandwich, and I have some cut up strawberries, an apple, and some grapes.  I've been eating a granola bar for breakfast with a coffee drink to wake me up.

I want to be in shape.  I want to be healthy.  I want to feel better, both about myself and in general.