[PSA] lean mass is not what most of this community thinks it is
lean mass is not what most of this community thinks it is — with the reasoning, because a rule without a reason gets ignored.
Reduced appetite makes hitting a protein target a logistics problem rather than a motivation problem, which is why the practical advice here is about timing and food choice rather than willpower.
Hydration status and fasting state affect the lean mass estimate. Standardising both is the difference between a comparison and a coin toss.
Fat-free mass index is a ratio of fat-free mass to height squared. It moves when either term does, which makes it awkward to interpret during active weight change.
I will update this if the picture changes rather than quietly leaving it up.
best — the order this archive was captured in
Strength retention is an imperfect but free longitudinal proxy: it is affected by neural factors and by being in a deficit, so it tracks tissue change loosely rather than exactly.
Disagree — slower loss does not automatically preserve lean mass. Protein and training do the work, not the rate on its own.
a single DEXA is a number, two is a comparison, three is a trend
Right — strength retention is a free proxy and it tracks better than most people expect.
Removed a prescriptive nutrition target aimed at another member. Describe your own intake instead.
Lost slower for six months deliberately and my composition change was not obviously different. Training was what mattered.
Correction: those scans are from different machines, and the difference you are describing is within the measurement error.
Agreed — protein and resistance training. Everything else in these threads is a rounding error on those two.
DEXA has a meaningful coefficient of variation, and it differs between machines and protocols. Comparing scans from different clinics adds a systematic offset that is invisible on the report.
DEXA has a meaningful coefficient of variation, and it differs between machines and protocols.
Agreed — and same machine, same conditions, or the two scans are not comparable.
Push back: strength dropping in a deficit is not the same as lean mass loss. Related, not identical.
the scale cannot distinguish tissue types and never could
That is a trial average in a supervised population and you are comparing your own scan to it.
the same DEXA machine or it is not a comparison
- 1Right — strength retention is a free proxy and it tracks better than most…11 comments in this branch · started by u/edit_for_clarity