What's wrong with losing lean muscle?
Replies
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While everyone is entitled to their own choice to encourage you to lose any more weight would be to encourage an eating disorder. Sorry. Please seek help and take care of yourself.
Thank you for the concern, but as i have stated before I am naturally lanky, I didn't join MFP to lose weight and I have not lost or plan to lose any weight. I just wanted to make sure I'm eating healthy. I have been the same weight since I stopped growing and I do not / have not ever had an ED. It is a bit offensive when people tell me to 'seek help' for being born this way.
As you have no pics it's hard to imagine at your low weight and height(tall)that your legs are too muscular.
And there is no way I would put any up for people to call me a '10 year old boy' or 'not a real woman'. My legs are muscular to me but probably not muscular at all according to the super fit people here.0 -
[sarcasm]
I know that when I see a fit person I know absolutely, unequivocally that they are extremely healthy in all things they do.
[/sarcasm]0 -
If you dislike someones body type -- please don't use terms like UGLY and DISGUSTING. There are other people who look like that model and the sporty girl out in the world and those words can cut like a knife.
So we can't have opinons anymore unless they contain nice terms? Awesome.0 -
At the height and weight you stated, your BMI is 15.6. That is not, nor will it ever be healthy. And you want to lose more and think your legs look too thick? That's the definition of an ED. You need professional help.
If your BMI is that low & you said that your legs are "too thick" then I think your body fat percentage could be too high for your frame. There is such a thing as skinny-fat or people who are thin but have unusually high body fat levels. Or could be that your body store most of the fat on the lower body which is attributed to genetics.0 -
While everyone is entitled to their own choice to encourage you to lose any more weight would be to encourage an eating disorder. Sorry. Please seek help and take care of yourself.
Thank you for the concern, but as i have stated before I am naturally lanky, I didn't join MFP to lose weight and I have not lost or plan to lose any weight. I just wanted to make sure I'm eating healthy. I have been the same weight since I stopped growing and I do not / have not ever had an ED. It is a bit offensive when people tell me to 'seek help' for being born this way.
If you don't have an ED, then you don't have an ED. However, you are underweight. Without a bf% it's hard to know the whole picture. You might consider getting an estimate of it from one of these bf% calculators: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/0 -
If you dislike someones body type -- please don't use terms like UGLY and DISGUSTING. There are other people who look like that model and the sporty girl out in the world and those words can cut like a knife.
So we can't have opinons anymore unless they contain nice terms? Awesome.
You know I like you and we're friends, but there are ways to express an opinion without being nasty and insulting.0 -
You are over 10 kilos under a healthy weight. That isn't "lanky." That's unhealthy. You have some serious body dysmorphia issues if you see yourself as "too muscly." and if you think you're muscly, it's probably due to the fact that you don't have enough body fat on your body.While everyone is entitled to their own choice to encourage you to lose any more weight would be to encourage an eating disorder. Sorry. Please seek help and take care of yourself.
Thank you for the concern, but as i have stated before I am naturally lanky, I didn't join MFP to lose weight and I have not lost or plan to lose any weight. I just wanted to make sure I'm eating healthy. I have been the same weight since I stopped growing and I do not / have not ever had an ED. It is a bit offensive when people tell me to 'seek help' for being born this way.
Sorry, but your posts scream eating disorder/body dysmorphia, which also screams professional therapy and help.0 -
While everyone is entitled to their own choice to encourage you to lose any more weight would be to encourage an eating disorder. Sorry. Please seek help and take care of yourself.
Thank you for the concern, but as i have stated before I am naturally lanky, I didn't join MFP to lose weight and I have not lost or plan to lose any weight. I just wanted to make sure I'm eating healthy. I have been the same weight since I stopped growing and I do not / have not ever had an ED. It is a bit offensive when people tell me to 'seek help' for being born this way.
I didn't mean to offend you. But you wouldn't be the first anorexic person to use these boards, post pics of rail thin models as inspiration and insult other, healthy body types as "too muscley". Your BMI already has you as underweight. And now you say you want to lose muscle.
So I'm sorry if you're offended. But everything about what you've posted screams eating disorder. If you actually do want to be healthy you shouldn't want to lose muscle mass.
That's ok. I wasn't trying to offend when I said I thought she was too muscly, I am sure in many people's eyes she has an ideal body, it was just my personal opinion. I'm not trying to promote the model look, everybody is different and find different things attractive, it's just that I have always felt my body was different so I can relate to their skinny bodies and don't feel so abnormal.0 -
If you dislike someones body type -- please don't use terms like UGLY and DISGUSTING. There are other people who look like that model and the sporty girl out in the world and those words can cut like a knife.
So we can't have opinons anymore unless they contain nice terms? Awesome.
Everyone has opinions.. some people are just more respectful in how they deliver theirs.0 -
At least in the UK, a BMI of 17.5 or under is used as an indicator of an eating disorder. Now, at 14 my BMI was 15.5 and I didn't have an eating disorder. I was however, suffering from malnutrition due to stress. It is very rare that somesones BMI can be so low without there being health implications. I am not trying to upset you but am concerned.0
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There are many health risk factors if you lose LBM, these are:
1. slower metabolism - since muscles are metabolically active & needed more calories to sustain itself
2. osteoperosis - lack of muscle will make our bones do less work & therefore lose bone density.
3. it can lead to disease like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. (not to mention that our heart is a muscle too)
4. it just won't look good on our body. Those Hollywood celebrities you mention does a lot of exercise to keep their muscles. I even read that Scarlett Johansson rocks a kettlebell. Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel & others also do strength training workouts. You would end up looking more like Nicole Richie or Lindsay Lohan if you lose muscle.
5. you will feel weak since it is our muscles that keeps us strong
Finally having muscle doesn't equate to having bodybuilder like body. Those gals who are like that do HOURS of training everyday & with some "help". It is impossible for a woman to grow big muscles like a man since we don't have enough testosterone levels for it. What we can only get from having more muscles is a toned, shapely body.
Glad you wrote this out so I could just be lazy and quote you.
Op: it is true that many women would need to lose lean mass to get the number really low on the scale, like I prob can't weigh much less than 130 due to lean mass... But nobody has ever in my life when I was fatter or skinnier been able to guess my weight because I have muscle so I look smaller than if I were the same weight and more fat. Building muscle is hard, so just try losing weight and maintaining your muscle through adequate nutrition and resistance training. If you don't like what you see, muscle suicide later0 -
To the OP... I don't know at what point you are starting from, but if you have a lot to lose and you don't strength train, you will end up with a lot of loose skin. Muscle supports the space that the fat leaves behind, and the actions of resistance and movement in strength training help to restore skin elasticity.0
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Half the battle in the body image game is choosing realistic goals.
The only way anyone is ever going to look like Abbey is if they are very tall in the first place, and still very young - that low body fat and low muscle combination can only really look good on a very long frame, and you'll note that most former supermodels - the Cindys, Lindas etc of this world, have actually increased their weight and muscle mass as they have got older as that look can tend to be aging once you get out of your twenties.
I am quoting this one, because I feel the OP is more concerned about looking a certain way.
So, in your 20s....you can look great with not much muscle tone and being super skinny. But, as you age, you start looking sick. Your sin is not as tight, the muscles start looking more loose, your metabolism has dropped, so you have to eat less. Sooo, these models that have starved themselves to stay so thin by the time they hit my age (42), look like crap. If you keep your muscles healthier, you will look better as you age.
If a woman in naturally underweight and thin, then that is fine...you can not help what your body looks like and you should embrace a thin body. But, if you want to starve yourself and lose muscle mass to look super thin, I think that is wrong...but it is your body, so do what you want...I don't care! :drinker:
Every word of this.
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weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee0
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That's ok. I wasn't trying to offend when I said I thought she was too muscly, I am sure in many people's eyes she has an ideal body, it was just my personal opinion. I'm not trying to promote the model look, everybody is different and find different things attractive, it's just that I have always felt my body was different so I can relate to their skinny bodies and don't feel so abnormal.
Ok, please just understand that the responses you will see over and over in this thread come from a place of concern. Please just strive to be healthy. Eat well and eat plenty, you don't need to lose any weight. You can even set your goals to gain a few pounds. You can certainly do that in a healthy way and you won't look bad at all. You never need to feel abnormal, losing muscle won't make anything better.
Just take care of your health. Eat and know that you don't need to lose any weight. :flowerforyou:0 -
She may not have an eating disorder, but most likely is suffering from Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). She sees herself as larger than she really is and cannot get that image out of her mind and see the "real" her.
BDD often leads to eating disorders but it is possible to have BDD and not have and ED.0 -
To the OP... I don't know at what point you are starting from, but if you have a lot to lose and you don't strength train, you will end up with a lot of loose skin. Muscle supports the space that the fat leaves behind, and the actions of resistance and movement in strength training help to restore skin elasticity.
Read her replies, she is 5'10, 109, at that weight and height, there is not much fat or muscle to lose.0 -
I'm not defending the runway. I'm defending all the "real women" out there who don't fit the ideal of the people in this thread who have called them "ugly" and "disgusting."see ^^ that 'musclyness' is exactly what I want to avoid. I think Snejana looks amazing, so ethereal.
She is too skinny, very low muscle mass. Her body looks loke a 10 yr olds not a woman. How old is she?
Considering she is, in fact, a woman, it seems she does look like a woman.
I'm all for educating someone on the benefits of maintaining a healthy amount of muscle, but can we please stop insulting any woman who isn't YOUR ideal? Thanks.
Her body looks like a child's. I think from later pics she's put on some weight and looks better. I like the thin look but that is too thin. Intentionally done by under-eating.
And some women (yes, ADULT WOMEN) look like that without trying. I know several. I don't get why so many people here have to be insulting because another woman looks different than their particular goal.
How about some respect that we're not clones?
The runway is nothing but clones , why are you defending it? Seriously, you talk about respect and not bowing to other people's ideal images, yet the professional modeling world is nothing if not the epitome of bowing to an ideal image. Instead, you're getting snippy on people who support women being at a comfortable body fat % with a healthy muscle tone to promote a healthier way of living that reaps benefits even into old age.
Believe it or not, there are women -- REAL WOMEN -- who are very thin and not because they starve themselves or don't work out or whatever. Some women really are just very thin. And, you know what? Some people -- men and women -- actually find that look attractive.
Just imagine if I came on here and said any women with a body fat percentage below 25 were "disgusting" and "ugly." Would you be upset about that? I think so.
I know there are real women who are naturally very thin. But the OP isn't posting about women who are that way naturally, she's idealizing people who starve themselves into the runway look. And you're off by about 6% for what I'd think would be horrible to encourage in women, and again for the same reason I discourage INTENTIONALLY going anorexic/bulemic, and that's the health concerns. Going above 30% body fat for a woman starts bringing on the same health issues in men above 24%, what I "idealize" if anything, is actually a pretty damn wide range in terms of body fat %.0 -
I'm not defending the runway. I'm defending all the "real women" out there who don't fit the ideal of the people in this thread who have called them "ugly" and "disgusting."see ^^ that 'musclyness' is exactly what I want to avoid. I think Snejana looks amazing, so ethereal.
She is too skinny, very low muscle mass. Her body looks loke a 10 yr olds not a woman. How old is she?
Considering she is, in fact, a woman, it seems she does look like a woman.
I'm all for educating someone on the benefits of maintaining a healthy amount of muscle, but can we please stop insulting any woman who isn't YOUR ideal? Thanks.
Her body looks like a child's. I think from later pics she's put on some weight and looks better. I like the thin look but that is too thin. Intentionally done by under-eating.
And some women (yes, ADULT WOMEN) look like that without trying. I know several. I don't get why so many people here have to be insulting because another woman looks different than their particular goal.
How about some respect that we're not clones?
The runway is nothing but clones , why are you defending it? Seriously, you talk about respect and not bowing to other people's ideal images, yet the professional modeling world is nothing if not the epitome of bowing to an ideal image. Instead, you're getting snippy on people who support women being at a comfortable body fat % with a healthy muscle tone to promote a healthier way of living that reaps benefits even into old age.
Believe it or not, there are women -- REAL WOMEN -- who are very thin and not because they starve themselves or don't work out or whatever. Some women really are just very thin. And, you know what? Some people -- men and women -- actually find that look attractive.
Just imagine if I came on here and said any women with a body fat percentage below 25 were "disgusting" and "ugly." Would you be upset about that? I think so.
Thank you. Up until a couple of years ago I was VERY thin...naturally. I ate pizza and chilled on the couch. I looked just like the run way model only because of my natural build but my hip bones showed more. HOW EMBARRASSING! I didn't even want to see myself naked much less have anyone else see me that way. I simply could not gain weight. Now that I'm older, that's not an issue anymore and I LOVE fitness.
I can't even count how many times I was insulted and put down and accused of having an ED. That's as terrible as putting down a heavy person and accusing them of having an ED. I would never!
With that said, I have never, NOT once in my life, suffered a lack of male interest. People can say what they want here but men like ALL different types of women, even the skinny ones 0 -
She may not have an eating disorder, but most likely is suffering from Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). She sees herself as larger than she really is and cannot get that image out of her mind and see the "real" her.
BDD often leads to eating disorders but it is possible to have BDD and not have and ED.
^^^This and it's very sad.0 -
That's ok. I wasn't trying to offend when I said I thought she was too muscly, I am sure in many people's eyes she has an ideal body, it was just my personal opinion. I'm not trying to promote the model look, everybody is different and find different things attractive, it's just that I have always felt my body was different so I can relate to their skinny bodies and don't feel so abnormal.
Ok, please just understand that the responses you will see over and over in this thread come from a place of concern. Please just strive to be healthy. Eat well and eat plenty, you don't need to lose any weight. You can even set your goals to gain a few pounds. You can certainly do that in a healthy way and you won't look bad at all. You never need to feel abnormal, losing muscle won't make anything better.
Just take care of your health. Eat and know that you don't need to lose any weight. :flowerforyou:
Well said0 -
What is your diet like OP? Do you keep track of calories or exclude certain food groups? If you're in your mid 20s and that tall, you would have quite a high BMR. Honestly this thread is starting to stink of pro anorexia and the "thinspo" cult developing across the internet. I hate to see young women going malnourished for some media-created ideal so I'm genuinely concerned.0
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I can eat like a pig. I'm only 21 so can still get away with it. I'm sorry if you think this thread is pro-ana or thinspo. I hate that culture and really feel sorry for the young girls who get caught up in it.0
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I know there are real women who are naturally very thin. But the OP isn't posting about women who are that way naturally, she's idealizing people who starve themselves into the runway look. And you're off by about 6% for what I'd think would be horrible to encourage in women, and again for the same reason I discourage INTENTIONALLY going anorexic/bulemic, and that's the health concerns. Going above 30% body fat for a woman starts bringing on the same health issues in men above 24%, what I "idealize" if anything, is actually a pretty damn wide range in terms of body fat %.
You're completely missing the point.0 -
I'm not defending the runway. I'm defending all the "real women" out there who don't fit the ideal of the people in this thread who have called them "ugly" and "disgusting."see ^^ that 'musclyness' is exactly what I want to avoid. I think Snejana looks amazing, so ethereal.
She is too skinny, very low muscle mass. Her body looks loke a 10 yr olds not a woman. How old is she?
Considering she is, in fact, a woman, it seems she does look like a woman.
I'm all for educating someone on the benefits of maintaining a healthy amount of muscle, but can we please stop insulting any woman who isn't YOUR ideal? Thanks.
Her body looks like a child's. I think from later pics she's put on some weight and looks better. I like the thin look but that is too thin. Intentionally done by under-eating.
And some women (yes, ADULT WOMEN) look like that without trying. I know several. I don't get why so many people here have to be insulting because another woman looks different than their particular goal.
How about some respect that we're not clones?
The runway is nothing but clones , why are you defending it? Seriously, you talk about respect and not bowing to other people's ideal images, yet the professional modeling world is nothing if not the epitome of bowing to an ideal image. Instead, you're getting snippy on people who support women being at a comfortable body fat % with a healthy muscle tone to promote a healthier way of living that reaps benefits even into old age.
Believe it or not, there are women -- REAL WOMEN -- who are very thin and not because they starve themselves or don't work out or whatever. Some women really are just very thin. And, you know what? Some people -- men and women -- actually find that look attractive.
Just imagine if I came on here and said any women with a body fat percentage below 25 were "disgusting" and "ugly." Would you be upset about that? I think so.
25% body fat on a woman is already a borderline between ideal & overfatness. I'm close to 20% body fat but I don't look anywhere near skinny0 -
I can eat like a pig. I'm only 21 so can still get away with it. I'm sorry if you think this thread is pro-ana or thinspo. I hate that culture and really feel sorry for the young girls who get caught up in it.
Good to hear it. Honestly, you really don't need to lose any more at your current weight. If you think you're too muscular, if anything, you should be looking to raise your BF% as you won't have much muscle mass as you are.0 -
I can eat like a pig. I'm only 21 so can still get away with it. I'm sorry if you think this thread is pro-ana or thinspo. I hate that culture and really feel sorry for the young girls who get caught up in it.
OK, my suggestion is that you should start exercising and working on eating the healthiest foods you can MOST OF THE TIME. Not because you need to lose weight and I'm with the others that I doubt your legs are very large (muscle or no) at your height and weight. I don't know how that's possible. But I will say that at your age, I was able to eat what I wanted and not exercise and be quite thin. And then a few years later, that was no longer the case and I had to totally relearn how to eat and start exercising more regularly.
That may or may not happen to you, but you can head it off now.
I'll take your word that you're not anorexic, especially at your young age. I have a good friend since high school who was 5'9" and 99 pounds and she WANTED to weigh more. She overate and lifted weights just to try and put on weight and she couldn't. She was also healthy. (According to the people in this thread, she was "ugly" and "disgusting.") So if you say you're eating and not ana, I'm not going to question it.
But I will say that muscle is a good thing to have. You need it for far more important reasons than how you look.0 -
nothing is wrong with it if that's what you intentionally want to do.
it's your body.. i'm assuming you're an adult. what difference does it make to you whether or not others agree with your opinions and how you want your body to look?
just BAD, BAD, BAD advice, seriously these passive answers are worse than the questions themselves0 -
I know this will fall on deaf ears, but what the hell...
Current estimates of fat vs muscle in terms of energy expenditure are 2 calories per pound of fat and 6 per pound of muscle. So if you lost 20 pounds of fat and then gained 20 pounds of muscle (something I think a lot of us would *love* to do), you're looking at a net increase of 80 calories per day to your BMR.
In other words, there are a ton of reasons why muscle is good and fat is bad. But the idea that muscle is some kind of magical fat burner is, well... simply not true.
References:
http://muscleevo.net/muscle-metabolism/
http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=how_many_calories_does_muscle_really_burn_not_as_much_as_you_think
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-many-calories-does-muscle-really-burn-and-why-its-not-about-calories-anyway/#axzz1uNVP9WzH0 -
I'm not defending the runway. I'm defending all the "real women" out there who don't fit the ideal of the people in this thread who have called them "ugly" and "disgusting."
Believe it or not, there are women -- REAL WOMEN -- who are very thin and not because they starve themselves or don't work out or whatever. Some women really are just very thin. And, you know what? Some people -- men and women -- actually find that look attractive.
Just imagine if I came on here and said any women with a body fat percentage below 25 were "disgusting" and "ugly." Would you be upset about that? I think so.
25% body fat on a woman is already a borderline between ideal & overfatness. I'm close to 20% body fat but I don't look anywhere near skinny
*sigh*
Did you even read what I wrote?0
This discussion has been closed.
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