According to my recent bodyfat composition test, I have put on about 26 pounds of lean weight and 31 pounds of fat since 1990, when I was a fit young soldier.
After 18 years of deskjobs and beer, I know exactly where the fat came from. But how the hell did I manage to put on 26 pounds of lean weight as well? I don’t think my fatbelt is hiding a huge increase in muscle… back then I could do over 80 pushups and run 2 miles in 13 minutes, but now I struggle to crack 25 pushups, and let’s not talk about running. I do work out a little bit, but the intensity is best described as near-maintenance.
I suspect something is fishy with the hydrostatic test. Like perhaps they are calculating on the density of pure rendered fat, and not actual adipose tissue with all the water and stuff? What else could explain this mysterious lean weight?
You put on muscle because you’re hauling all that extra fat around, and it requires more muscular effort than when you had a smaller overall mass. Also, which muscles have been getting exercise might also be important to consider. If you play a lot of video games your keyboard muscles/thumbs get stronger while your chin-up muscles get weaker (as just one whacky example).
“Lean” mass does not necessarily mean “muscle”, though in common parlance they’re assumed to be equivalent. More accurately it is anything other than “fat” (adipose or subcutaneous), which means it includes bone, water, hair, your brain, etc. as well as muscle mass.
Most likely you’ve added some amount of muscle and a lot of water along with your fat as you gained 57 lbs. since your peak form.
Your metabolism naturally slows down as you age, and dropping off your physical activity at the same time is a sure fire way to gain fat. The good news is that you are in a good position to lose the fat fairly rapidly, given that you were once in very good shape. Anecdotally, I’ve noticed that with discipline, one can regain something close to one’s former peak shape in less than a year’s time and maintain that; it’s getting into BETTER shape than you’ve ever been before that’s really, really hard. This is because the muscle mass you had as a fit soldier didn’t “turn into” fat, despite what people think; it just got atrophied from underuse. Kick them back into service and they are just like little furnaces waiting to generate power.
Start by eating smaller meals more frequently, don’t stuff yourself at any one meal, lay off the beer and soda and any other empty, liquid calories (drink pretty much only water except for special occasions once a week). Go easy on refined sweets that can add a lot of calories in a short time. Don’t snack in front of the TV. Do some push-ups every day before you shower. If you struggle to do 25, start with 20 and try to add 1 or 2 twice a week (like, on Monday and Thursday); I predict you’ll be up to 40 or 50 within three months. Do 30-45 minutes of some cardio at least 4 times a week, more often if you can work it into your life, be it as low level as a brisk paced walk. Give yourself a complete day off once a week. Don’t go nuts and stop eating stuff you like, just don’t gorge yourself and learn what it means to “not be hungry” as opposed to “full up”.
Get a body fat scale and check how you’re doing no more than once a week.
Focus and make this a priority in your life, and I predict rapid progress in your case.
OK… the above is really the information I was getting at. If the hydrostatic test tells me I only need to lose 20 pounds of fat, that means I really need to drop like 40 pounds total because of the water associated with the fat… or at least that’s my thinking.
