Just started and four days in. I understand all the science but do worry about muscle loss rather than fat loss. How can I ensure it is fat I am losing. I do have a fat %age calculator on my scales but know these are not always that accurate?

Given a choice the body starts on fat stores, it will not attack muscle until you have next to no fat available. So don’t panic.

Excellent, thank you. I guess providing I eat the recommended protein and fat the muscle stores will be ok.

Short answer, you can’t guarantee it. It is kind of true to say that the body will use the easiest source of fuel first and that is food. Then it is really all about your body composition, hormones, age, gender, amount of exercise and type that you do each day.

The best thing you can do for muscles is strength training, you cannot build muscle when eating in a deficit you can however help (help, not guarantee) your body maintain what muscle it has by working those muscles at least 2-4 times a week with weights, and body resistance exercises. Also make sure you are using different muscles on different days – you maintain muscle in the same way you build them, rip/tear them and then give them time to heal/build up. It can take body builders years to get those bodies so don’t worry you will not end up bulky.

At the start of weight loss (and I lost 30+ kilos twice in my life!) you will lose fluid/fat/muscle. Not always in that order and not always at the same time. Fluid is the easiest to lose, but of course you then become dehydrated.

If you really are wanting to check on fat get a scan done or pay someone at a gym who knows what they are doing and get them to measure your fat. Then do it all over again at the end of the 8 weeks. Measuring tape is also good along with a mirror. 🙂 If you have a lot of fat then the measuring tape is best, otherwise a good hard look in the mirror after a few weeks should tell you if you have lost fat (at least) and might surprise you by showing off some muscle definition.

That’s a really good question.

A low carb lifestyle will help you shed visceral fat first (that’s the fat hanging out near your organs which is really bad for you), next you will lose fat which is deposited in the easy stores (which are generally around your waist and bum/hips if you are a woman). If you exercise more visceral fat is burned first.

As others have said you need to lose quite a lot of fat before you start burning muscle – I think it’s about 15% body fat from memory but don’t quote me on that. Before you get there though you lose face and neck fat.