Originally Posted by
Null66
Don't have access to reliable body comp measurements. Tried various bioelectrical impedence, never could get reliable measurements with any of them (radically different measurements) over very short periods... So no way they are accurate. Tried calipers, got reasonable but not flattering numbers...
Didn't redo the measurements. However, when I went from 285 to 265, I lost a is real lot off all maxes 25 off pull, then 50! lost close to that off MP, was 350 in Hammer Strength, not ~300... i don't have a max comparison for decline as it only goes to 450, but 450 is one heck of a lot harder and I used to do 5x5 450 day in day out, and now I fail on one or 2 sets.
Vascularity did not improve any with weight loss... Oddly, maybe 1/2 inch off biceps and forearms... A bit of flab off the midsection but not much. From a look see estimation I went from about 25-27% BF to around 23-25%...
As what is known and a FFB (former fat boy), who was insulin resistant, loosing weight w/o sacrificing more significantly more muscle then others would is normal and to be expected.
Visually thighs improved, midsection a little at a cost of a lot of strength.
But, health and age seem to dictate that I target 250 if I can pull that off with less muscle loss... 240 is more likely to get to decent body comp... Wonder how many plates this gonna cost...
The amount of muscle loss you describe sounds very high to me.
Most all methods of determining body fat percentage are pretty good at measuring relative changes, but not so good at producing an accurate number. And the higher your body fat percentage, the more difficult it is to get an accurate measurement. Losing a half inch of muscle from your forearms sounds extremely unlikely to me. Once you get over 20% bf, the amount of intramuscular fat can be significant. This not only makes muscles appear larger but also provides a mechanical advantage by increasing leverage. Basically, fat people are in fact stronger.
If you are doing a lot of low-med intensity long duration exercise (more miles), it will unfortunately reduce strength and muscle mass, even more so with age. You didn't reveal all that much about what kind of exercise you are doing, but I don't think that losing weight while increasing strength is an unreasonable expectation. The only practical way to get there might be more time spent weight training and very strict control over your diet.