Reply to I’m 53 and I’m losing muscle fast. Any suggestions on how to regain muscle?

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Reply to "I’m 53 and I’m losing muscle fast. Any suggestions on how to regain muscle?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm a 63-year-old female and am gaining muscle for the first time in decades. I go to a weight loss clinic and their diet plan promotes protein--around 90 grams a day or more--for the specific purpose of gaining muscle while losing fat. They use a special scale that, among other things, measures the amount of muscle in the body so you can actually see if you're gaining (or losing) muscle vs. just guessing by looking at the mirror. I gained around 4 lbs. of muscle the first 1-2 months on the diet just by increasing the protein I eat. Protein is my least favorite food group, but I now know that I will have eat more of it than I like to gain or maintain muscle in my body as I age. About six months into my weight loss I started lifting weights with a personal trainer 2x a week and do a 3rd session at home each week--that's more than I've ever done in my life. I'll be going in to get a DEXA scan soon to get even more accurate information on the amount of fat and muscle in my body and plan to repeat it in 6 months.

In a nutshell, my advise is: 1) Measure how much muscle you are gaining or losing over time via a DEXA scan, an Inbody scale, or the like; 2) Prioritize the eating of protein--that builds muscle faster than strength training alone; and 3) Lift heavier.

P.S. I'm a pescatarian so you can indeed gain muscle without eating red meat or poultry. [/quote]

DEXA won’t tell you how much muscle you gained. It measures lean mass which is defined as everything other than fat, which it actually measures quite well. Lean will affected by water retention and whatever you have in your digestive system. If you want to get a somewhat reliable estimates, make sure to do the scans always at the same conditions, ideally first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and wearing the exact same clothes as those will be counted as part of your lean mass too. A better thing to look at with DEXA, particularly at your age, is the bone density. [/quote]

I’ll be sure to pass this in to the person administering my DEXA scan next week. [/quote]

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