What's wrong with losing lean muscle?

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?

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.

i think if you're doing it in a healthy manor then there's nothing wrong with it.

for instance, i have a cousin who boxes and decided to drop a weight class. it did it by losing muscle mass (while still keeping the same strength. his metabolism is still pretty fast, he's not diabetic, doesnt have cancer, organs work great, etc. he didnt starve himself either.

i think this question is going to depend a lot on what the OP's LBM is now.

also, you cant elongate muscles. the length of your muscles is determined by where your tendons are attached to bone

Ok, everyone has already said the stuff and metabolism etc but when you lose muscle you don't loose the cells, they just shrink this is called muscular atrophy. You muscle cells can never be replaced nor can you get new ones so when you strain and gain muscle the cells just increase in size, this is muscular hypertrophy. When you've been inactive for a few days i.e in bed ill atrophy is already happening, its a rapid process, but its counter acted when you start moving again. The problem with atrophy of body building for a long while is the excess tissue and the muscle cells are 'over stretched', just look at Arnold Schwartaneiger now compared to what he was.

Basically, you're muscles will shrink and they will need less energy but you can always get them back by training if you change your mind.

I found a few things that may answer your question:

http://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/Kids/healthy_muscles.asp

Muscles are important to your over all body function, sugar and protein metabolism, as well as body heat production. Maybe if you work with a personal trainer you can learn how to elongate the appearance of your muscles rather than bulking up


*see I wasn't testy, was I. )

You can't elongate your muscles.. They are already a set length. Women also don't bulk up... so stop spreading that crap around.

To OP:
Basically you can either be a smaller and tighter version of yourself by doing cardio and strength, or you can be a smaller but flabby version of yourself by doing mainly cardio... which would you choose?

Lower lean mass = lower metabolic rate at rest = having to eat less and less to lose weight or having to eat less than you could to maintain your current weight.

Also, lean mass isn't just muscles, but your organs and bones as well.

Besides all the health benefits, I personally think the athletic girl looks better. But that's just me.






They both have 12-15% BF but the girl on the right weighs about 35-40 lbs MORE (i.e. muscle).

Simply, you'll put on fat easier as your TDEE will be lower. You'll also potentional look more gaunt, dependant on structure of your body. What is more, life expectancy of someone with a BMI 21-25 is much higher than above or below this figure.

I may be wrong but I'm starting to sense borderline eating disorder behaviour here, to know these catwalk models names is pretty odd in my book. If I'm wrong though, I do apologise.

don't really use muscle anyway.

Science teacher fails.

You'll be using muscle to type that question, not to mention stand up, breathe, keep your heart beating....

I find those emaciated looking women to be very unattractive, but that's a personal taste thing. More to the point of the question, it's all about your health over the course of your lifetime. I am not an expert by far, I am still learning all of this myself, but from everything I have read so far you will be much healthier and have an easier time maintaining a healthy weight if you maintain a healthy ratio of body fat vs lean muscle. Your body will run more efficiently.

I'm naturally tall and lanky and have always had an underweight bmi, never had an ED. I wish my legs were slightly less muscly though. I don't think because you're skinny it makes you any less of a woman. Plus clothes tend to look better on a 'hanger' body, and I love fashion so I prefer to be skinny then bulky.

Darling, I am 5'9, weigh 151, wear a size 4 and love fashion too. I also have a pretty curvy body(IE butt, hips, small waist)

You don't have to be a stick to look good in clothes.. You look good in clothes that fit well, and that flatter your body.

Again, that is just my opinion.. clearly you can do what you choose, but I would not choose that models look over the other girl.

In case no one said it, muscle helps BURN fat. You don't have to be a muscle ball. You can be lean and not have protruding muscles. I will say that I felt the same way at first. I didn't want my muscles to bulge. I still don't want to be huge. But there is something incredibly sexy about flexing your arm, seeing the bicep pop and feeling STRONG. Even if you aren't the athletic type, you can still be lean without bulging. I think it is disgusting when a woman's bicep is thinner than her elbow. It looks unhealthy. It is super important to exercise while dieting. Otherwise, you are bound to gain it all back.