What's more important: Weight or Physique?

rodamyot

The real number is the fat %. In the las month I lost 10 pounds in weight but I lost 16 pound in fat mass and gain 6 in lean mass (muscle mass). At one point the BMI or weight balance simply don't work.

Kim55555

What can improving my physique do that working on eating right, getting the right nutrition, hydrating well and doing cardio can't? Other than (as has been said) a faster metabolism resulting in faster loss, which isn't something I'm bothered about?

I hope someone will bother to explain the benefits that I can't get from my current exercise. I'll take away the information about the growth hormone from your post, though, so thanks for that.

Also and I dont think this has been said yet. If you dont work with weights whilst losing weight you will lose muscle along with fat and thats the last thing you want to do. Some forms of cardio will help your body to retain muscle too but not as significantly as weight training. I guess doing cardio is better than nothing but weight training is ideal! It is compounded by low calorie diets. ie You dont give your body enough protein for instance guess where the body gets it from. Thats right, it eats away at your muscle and its very easy to do so because you are not weight training!

If you lift weights you will maintain your muscle mass. If you are able to retain your muscle mass your BMR will be higher because muscle is an active tissue it needs fuel to stay alive. This means that you can eat more each day and still lose fat. You will also be able to maintain your weight eating higher amount of calories because of the muscle you carry.

When doing the actual activity of weight lifting your metabolism will be revved up and if lifting heavy enough you will have epoc. Post exercise oxygen consumption will be greater ie increase in metabolism. Your body has to work extremely hard to get your body back into normal homeostasis. In order to do this the body needs calories to get back to normal levels. The level it was before you started your exercise. ie breathing rate, heart rate etc etc etc. In other words your body burns more calories to achieve this!!

I can eat a lot more for someone of my height. 5 foot 2 than another person my height who doesn't do weight training or exercise because I have more muscle, more LBM (lean body mass)


re: This comment of yours below

"a faster metabolism resulting in faster loss, which isn't something I'm bothered about?"

When you weight train it wont result in a faster loss because you are retaining your muscle. This only happens when you dont weight train and do zero exercise when you lose faster because you are losing muscle along with fat. Your metabolism lowers because of this.

I highly recommend buying Tim Venuto's Burn the fat feed the muscle. A very good read. Also read up about body recomposition.

Kim55555

physique hands down. I never cared about the number on the scale. people see me and are surprised and shocked that I am over 300 lbs.

Yes ditto. People are shocked when they hear I weigh 60 kg. They think i'm closer to the mid 50's!

btw Congrats on your 172 lb loss! That is amazing! wow.

ninerbuff

And surely ones also available without working on physique?

What can improving my physique do that working on eating right, getting the right nutrition, hydrating well and doing cardio can't? Other than (as has been said) a faster metabolism resulting in faster loss, which isn't something I'm bothered about?

Obviously if you aren't bothered about it then I guess it's weight that matters.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

korsicash

physique! I wouldn't give a hoot about the scale if I had a 28 inch waist, abs galore, toned arms, toned bum, nice legs. that scale could say just about anything if I knew I was solid and not flab.

maryduggins

Physique(:

If I weighed 200 pounds, but looked super tiny, trim and toned... I wouldn't give a rip(:

HOSED49

this is a great post, one that i have always struggled with
wanting to be a certain weight but have the "physique"
And when i got the physique i wanted i was at 192 lbs
then i went back up to 200 and mentally it killed me
the physique changed a little, but not much
yet i was tore up about the scale
even though i was still running farther and lifting more and doing more reps at 200 lbs
the scale every morning to me..
told me i was geting fat again
a stupid number that takes away your perspective when you look in the mirror
all you think about is the number you just read and dont really pay attention to the image in the mirror
the physique is there
forget the number

missikay1970

that's a harder question than it seems. i do care mostly about my appearance/physique, but my weight is still important. if i looked good but weighed 10 lbs more than i do right now, i honestly think it would bother me.

kieva626

My physique makes me more comfortable with how much I weigh. Everyone always guesses I weigh about 110 - 115 lbs when I actually weigh 130lbs. I would like to weigh 120lbs but really as long as I look good I can't really complain. Physique makes all the difference.

ninerbuff

Thanks for responding. I haven't wanted to do strength training as I'm focusing on reducing body fat (not necessarily adding muscle in its place for now), and getting to a healthy BMI as my goal. It's not that my 120lbs goal weight based on BMI is a final goal, but that it's the marker to show I'm at a 'healthy weight' which I feel is important.

Clinical studies conclude that adding strength training increases fat loss (if that is your goal) in conjunction with diet. Also anyone with more lean muscle will usually be deemed as overweight on the BMI scale.

I'm going to keep the weight off, that's not an issue, nor is the speed at which I lose, or the look. For me, it's about nutrition and health, with the focus being on a body that will last, not necessarily one that looks good. That's why, for now, I'm solely doing cardio - working on my heart and lungs.

While cardio IS important, many Journals of Medicine have emphatically concluded that strength training is essential to good health. This is why seniors and others who may be cardio fit are still encouraged to strength train since it has a direct effect on joint support, bone density increase, reduction in muscle injury, etc.

If strength training is something you don't want to do or don't care to do, then just admit it. That's a personal choice. But there are way too many benefits to disregard it and to equalize cardio as having the same benefits is a reach.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

scott091501

Good night. Why do people obsess over BMI. It's an antiquated way of looking at things. For instance a professional athlete who is say 5'8" 190 lbs and 8% bf is probably considered obsese by that scale. Sound right to you? Nope, doesn't pass the eyeball test.

Why would anyone listen to the establishment about nutrition and weight related issues anyway? Heck look at the recommended daily allowances put on food labels and tell me they aren't on crack, but that's a discussion for another day.

Dudagarcia

Thank you for this post you're absolutely right! I will say physique

allifantastical

It took me a long time to get thinking this way, but definitely physique. Screw the number on the scale.

BigBoneSista

Weight was more important until I started to educate myself on weight loss and the effects of strength training. Now I strength train more and do less cardio. I'm loving the transformation of my body.

fitnfancy80

physique

taliasometimes

when i look how i want, the scale wont be a factor in my life.

it was handy to get me healthy but it can be thrown out a window as i get the physique right.

scott091501

Thanks for responding. I haven't wanted to do strength training as I'm focusing on reducing body fat (not necessarily adding muscle in its place for now), and getting to a healthy BMI as my goal. It's not that my 120lbs goal weight based on BMI is a final goal, but that it's the marker to show I'm at a 'healthy weight' which I feel is important.

Clinical studies conclude that adding strength training increases fat loss (if that is your goal) in conjunction with diet. Also anyone with more lean muscle will usually be deemed as overweight on the BMI scale.

I'm going to keep the weight off, that's not an issue, nor is the speed at which I lose, or the look. For me, it's about nutrition and health, with the focus being on a body that will last, not necessarily one that looks good. That's why, for now, I'm solely doing cardio - working on my heart and lungs.

While cardio IS important, many Journals of Medicine have emphatically concluded that strength training is essential to good health. This is why seniors and others who may be cardio fit are still encouraged to strength train since it has a direct effect on joint support, bone density increase, reduction in muscle injury, etc.

If strength training is something you don't want to do or don't care to do, then just admit it. That's a personal choice. But there are way too many benefits to disregard it and to equalize cardio as having the same benefits is a reach.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

To elaborate on this all of the folks I know who have sub 10% body fat happen to be body builders and personal trainers. They avoid cardio like the plague. The extent of their cardio is to walk on a treadmill for an hour or so fasted in the morning. They control their bf % by lifting and what they put in their mouth.

Now if we want to talk overall health I'd assert they aren't the healthiest folks I know overall. Cardiovascularlly their systems are far behind mine as a triathlete. And mine behind theirs muscularly (type II muscles at least). For most of the populace the healthiest point is a mixture of the two. So please don't say you want to be as healthy as you possibly can before focussing on physique because in all honesty just dieting and doing cardio is neglecting so many other systems in your body that lead to overall health.

sewerchick93

Physique hands down

Josee76

Good night. Why do people obsess over BMI. It's an antiquated way of looking at things. For instance a professional athlete who is say 5'8" 190 lbs and 8% bf is probably considered obsese by that scale. Sound right to you? Nope, doesn't pass the eyeball test.

Why would anyone listen to the establishment about nutrition and weight related issues anyway? Heck look at the recommended daily allowances put on food labels and tell me they aren't on crack, but that's a discussion for another day.

Good point! I had a body composition test done yesterday.... my BMI is overweight and pretty darn close to being obese, however my % of body fat is average healthy.

Bearface115

i want to lose weight first, then work on my physiique, i keep getting demotivated when i dont see the reflection on the sclae, when i wanna jut get down to my goal weight, So I personally want to LOSE WEIGHT, then work on PHYSIQUE! Everyone looks great by the way :-D