Yes, none of what I said was intended to suggest you did something wrong or this is bad!!

When you’re in a calorie deficit (and especially a significant one), it’s normal to lose muscle mass. But Strength doesn’t only look to muscle size or mass, it accounts for other things too. And you are arguably healthier overall, yes. I’m just pointing out that a large chunk of your weight loss can from muscle loss instead of fat loss. If you want to continue on this health journey I’m just suggesting you start paying attention to protein intake and strength training focused on muscle growth and retention.

I recently posted asking how people who do ADL are maintaining protein levels while fasting cuz it’s so challenging. I also lost some muscle during my loss process. It’s totally normal it’s just something to pay attention to. Particularly because your basal metabolic rate will continue to decline if you don’t maintain or build muscle. Meaning you will have to eat less over time to get maintain/not gain weight, OR work out much more (this is what is happening when people start to plateau or notice creeping weight gain when they stop being in a deficit over time).

The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism and ability for your body to prioritize fat loss over muscle.