Losing mass??

Rackcitycritch
Rackcitycritch Posts: 11 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Everyone always talks about "gains" and "getting massive" but what if the goal would be to lose muscle mass for a leaner/ lighter frame (muscle weighs a lot!) What are some suggestions for eating or working out regimens?

Replies

  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    It's really, really hard to get "massive," and more so for a woman. Building muscle requires eating a calorie surplus, and lifting heavy, for a really long time.

    How tall are you? That plays a part in the weights you can consider.

    Some of the time, being lean means your scale weight is higher than you may want it to be. But that's not always the case.

    Are you trying to lose weight right now? Maintain? Are you at a good weight but feel a little too "jiggly"?

    ~Lyssa
  • Rackcitycritch
    Rackcitycritch Posts: 11 Member
    Hi Lyssa! Wow! Already informative!

    I'm 5'6" and muscular from competing in sports my whole life. I am healthy but feel I'm much heavier than I'd like to be due to my muscle. So yes, I am trying to lose weight and do have some jiggles around the middles but I feel the real culprit is the muscle mass playing tricks on the scale! It is frustrating to attempt to weigh less but can't seem to find the right magic. @macgurlnet
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    But how do you FEEL? If you really have a decent amount of muscle, but look and feel great, the scale should not matter. It always boggles my mind when someone asks how to lose muscle.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    edited January 2016
    Aside from that number on the scale and that little bit of jiggle, are you satisfied with how you look?

    Does your current weight fall within the "healthy weight" BMI? You can calculate here if you're not sure: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

    Or use this table to find your height and weight & figure that out: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmi_tbl.htm

    If you're in the middle of the healthy BMI range, then my advice to you would be to follow a lifting program - that will help preserve & strengthen the muscles so you'll look less jiggly as you lose fat - and eat at a small deficit of 0.5 lb/week or less.

    It all depends on how you'd like to look.

    Check out this picture:
    tumblr_mgyk94fto81s1u8aoo1_500.jpg.

    The slimmer picture leads to a higher scale weight, but some might think the picture on the far left is the best one. It's a really personal thing.

    ~Lyssa
  • Rackcitycritch
    Rackcitycritch Posts: 11 Member
    Hi @arditarose ! Yeah I see what you mean, I do feel fine and look reasonable (everyone has their body peevs) My goal is to be lighter and I know muscle helps to reduce fat cells, but it also weighs a lot. This gives me a deceptively lean body for the amount I weigh. For example, I had someone try to pick me up and they almost couldn't, saying "you're more dense than I thought" I guess that got to me!
  • KathyApplebaum
    KathyApplebaum Posts: 188 Member
    Get your body fat measured. Unless you're already below a healthy percentage, which I doubt if you have a few jiggles, work on the fat, not losing muscle. And like @arditarose said, the scale doesn't matter a bit.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Sorry. You are not making sense to me. I just don't understand wanting to be light for the sake of being light. Being lean for the amount you weigh is a good thing, not a bad thing.

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    OP - I think it is a great idea to lose some of that stubborn muscle mass. I would suggest stopping all lifting and reducing your protein intake to minimal levels, that should do the trick. Good luck to you in your goals for 2016!!
  • Rackcitycritch
    Rackcitycritch Posts: 11 Member
    I wouldn't have guessed those numbers for the pics! @macgurlnet ! That does put it into perspective a bit. Your posts are incredibly informative and I thank you! My BMI is 28
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    Rackcitycritch wrote: »
    Hi @arditarose ! Yeah I see what you mean, I do feel fine and look reasonable (everyone has their body peevs) My goal is to be lighter and I know muscle helps to reduce fat cells, but it also weighs a lot. This gives me a deceptively lean body for the amount I weigh. For example, I had someone try to pick me up and they almost couldn't, saying "you're more dense than I thought" I guess that got to me!

    I would suggest aiming to lose the jiggle by cutting the fat, and you will probably lose a bit of muscle while you're at it. Keep in mind the end goal though, which I would think would be 'look good naked' not 'gee you're light but jiggly'. Muscle will let you look good. Oh, and don't worry about your BMI if your body fat is in a good range.
  • Rackcitycritch
    Rackcitycritch Posts: 11 Member
    @ndj1979 thanks for being supportive! Great ideas :)
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    Rackcitycritch wrote: »
    I wouldn't have guessed those numbers for the pics! @macgurlnet ! That does put it into perspective a bit. Your posts are incredibly informative and I thank you! My BMI is 28

    Okay - so a BMI of 28 technically puts you in the overweight category, but the flip side there is BMI is purely weight based. It doesn't take body fat into consideration.

    More food for thought: here's a picture I've seen posted with various body fat percentages:
    Women+Fat.jpg

    You can use that to get an idea of where you are.

    If you really, really want to, you can just lose weight and not do any kind of strength training, but you may find that losing muscle mass leaves you unhappy with how you look.

    So what if you're solid. It's fun to surprise people.

    :)

    ~Lyssa
  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
    .
    Rackcitycritch wrote: »
    Hi @arditarose ! Yeah I see what you mean, I do feel fine and look reasonable (everyone has their body peevs) My goal is to be lighter and I know muscle helps to reduce fat cells, but it also weighs a lot. This gives me a deceptively lean body for the amount I weigh. For example, I had someone try to pick me up and they almost couldn't, saying "you're more dense than I thought" I guess that got to me!

    You should've responded with "you're weaker than I thought!"

    Don't let an offhand comment make you think you're too heavy! Weight is just a single component out of many. And not really all that important compared to body composition. Don't let a random number on a scale be your goal.

    But a calorie deficit will lose you muscle and fat if that's what you decide you really want.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    Well, muscle is made up of a lot of protein, and protein is unique in terms of the macros because it contains nitrogen, unlike fat or carbs.
    So have you considered hooking yourself up to the fuel line of one of those nitro cars? Or ask someone who works with them how they get the nitrogen out of humans. Maybe they'll pay you for it!
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    gains is kind of a generic term that can be applied to anything..

    ie: I ran a mile faster today #CardioGainz

    Losing muscle mass doesn't get you more toned.. it does the opposite. You get softer because the muscle is what "toned" is.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Rackcitycritch wrote: »
    Hi @arditarose ! Yeah I see what you mean, I do feel fine and look reasonable (everyone has their body peevs) My goal is to be lighter and I know muscle helps to reduce fat cells, but it also weighs a lot. This gives me a deceptively lean body for the amount I weigh. For example, I had someone try to pick me up and they almost couldn't, saying "you're more dense than I thought" I guess that got to me!

    Please don't let his lack of strength distort your body image.

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,207 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Rackcitycritch wrote: »
    Hi @arditarose ! Yeah I see what you mean, I do feel fine and look reasonable (everyone has their body peevs) My goal is to be lighter and I know muscle helps to reduce fat cells, but it also weighs a lot. This gives me a deceptively lean body for the amount I weigh. For example, I had someone try to pick me up and they almost couldn't, saying "you're more dense than I thought" I guess that got to me!

    Please don't let his lack of strength distort your body image.

    Agreed. It was far easier for him to blame his failure to lift you on your 'density' than his own lack of strength. Muscle is good.
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    edited January 2016
    Density is important for women especially as they age. Bone density is like always on TV telling me as a man that old women are all frail and need calcium.

    If you were not aware bones become slightly denser to support the added muscle on the body.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Rackcitycritch wrote: »
    Hi @arditarose ! Yeah I see what you mean, I do feel fine and look reasonable (everyone has their body peevs) My goal is to be lighter and I know muscle helps to reduce fat cells, but it also weighs a lot. This gives me a deceptively lean body for the amount I weigh. For example, I had someone try to pick me up and they almost couldn't, saying "you're more dense than I thought" I guess that got to me!

    Please don't let his lack of strength distort your body image.
    This^
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Rackcitycritch wrote: »
    Hi @arditarose ! Yeah I see what you mean, I do feel fine and look reasonable (everyone has their body peevs) My goal is to be lighter and I know muscle helps to reduce fat cells, but it also weighs a lot. This gives me a deceptively lean body for the amount I weigh. For example, I had someone try to pick me up and they almost couldn't, saying "you're more dense than I thought" I guess that got to me!

    Please don't let his lack of strength distort your body image.

    How did they become a his?
  • Alassonde
    Alassonde Posts: 228 Member
    A few years ago I lost 20 pounds and got down to 114 pounds. Even at 114 I was "skinny fat". My doctor told me I needed to start strength training because lighter women tend to lose bone density over time. I started strength training, since then I have gained 14 pounds....but I have not gone up any sizes or inches, may have even gone down a bit. I have gained lots of muscle. I haven't been tracking fat but I must have lost some or my size would have gone up. I've received quite a few compliments and I've had people ask if I've lost weight. The most important thing is how great I FEEL. I feel so much better all the time now! And I was able to help my husband load 70-pound sand bags into the back of his truck. The number on the scale just doesn't matter much to me anymore.

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