How do I know if I am losing muscle or fat

[munch]

I am not sure if this is the dumbest question asked on this forum, or not, but at the risk of getting flamed, I decided to ask.

Are there any rules of thumbs or signs to watch out for which may hint at muscle loss over fat loss. Scales of course are useless (I am assuming), and calipers I don't have all the time. What signs in the gym are worth looking out for, i.e if I can do 100 press ups and a week later only 50 does this mean I am tired or does it mean that I have lost muscle.

tks

Dan

[EddieEdwards]

The mirror never lies! Calipers and fancy scales do though (I hope!!).

[Maximi11ion]

[ben 21]

not a dumb question at all. if your losing muscle and gaining fat usualy you,ll notice,

depression, trouble sleeping, loss of apitite, decrese in strength, sugar cravings, a constant tired feeling, loss of sex drive, flat and dull looking muscles, and of course looking like a teletubbie. im sure i,ll be corrected somewere, but thats my general rule of thumb

[lingwood]

would a body fat indicator not help at this point? or am i meant to frown on such equipment ?

[James]

Best way - if you are loosing scale weight whilst retaining lifted weight on the bar/exercises you are loosing mainly just fat, if you are also losing strength whilst losing weight and feeling generally crappy, you are losing mainly muscle, or too much lean mass.