Muscle really is better than fat...

This weekend I hung out with a friend who weighs only 3 pounds more than me. We are basically the same height, and are going for the same goal weight. Anyway, I saw her in a bathing suit, and she looked a lot heavier than me. The difference is that she has almost no muscle, and I have a lot. Not to be catty, don't get me wrong, she looked great! It's just the first time I have really been able to compare the muscle I have gained against anything. It made me very proud of my muscle!

Sounds like a guy who works with me. I am 248 or so he is 230 and is MUCH larger than I am.

It's kind of cool to be able to see it first hand isn't it? I mean, you know that's how it should work, but I didn't always believe it.

its definitely the truth, when i was in HS my top weight was like 240 and now I have hit a whopping 279, but in HS I wore a size 24, and now I wear a size 18.

yahvinah - that's so awesome, isn't it? I think it's really neat to see how different our bodies can be when we work at them.

I wish this thread would be mandatory reading for anyone who wants to post in these forums. People seem fixated on the scale and it makes no sense. "Golly I can't do weights, what if the scale goes up a pound" or my other favorite "I run 90 minutes a day and totally lose weight". Yes you do and at least half is muscle!

I run becuase I love to and I highly doubt im loosing muscle doing it considering how firm my butt and legs are and the fact that I am 5 7 179 pounds and in a size nine where did you hear running burns muscle?

So I guess this is why my doctor told me to increase my strength training because even though the 40 minutes of cardio 6 days a week is good, I need to increase muscle mass.....

hmmm something to think about

"Muscle really is better than fat..."

The wording of the subject line for this thread kind of made me chuckle.  I agree, I would rather have an extra pound of muscle on my body than an extra pound of fat.  =P

I run becuase I love to and I highly doubt im loosing muscle doing it considering how firm my butt and legs are and the fact that I am 5 7 179 pounds and in a size nine where did you hear running burns muscle?

You are definitely losing muscle if you are eating at a caloric deficit and not doing any strength training. I could have been more clear on that.

I am trying to prep for a marathon....How do you balance running and strength training and calories when you are also trying to shed a few pounds....more like almost 30

I don't know anything about training for a marathon so I'm not even going to pretend. As for the other part, weights and dieting burn more fat than dieting and cardio with dieting. Cardio is good for losing weight, but that weight includes your muscle. That's why I like this thread so much. People focus on losing weight which is good, but losing fat is so much better.

Thanks for your help.  I completed a marathon on Sunday and I felt pretty good.  I guess I will keep with my current schedule and maybe add an extra day of weight training.

I found this thread interesting, partially because I'm still figuring out my goals.  I want to be as small as I can, yet everyone tells me I will always be big and need to "work with what I have". 

I posted pix of me in my profile...I'd be really interested in people's opinions re. what I can do with my body.  Basically, I want to lose as much of my chest and shoulders as I can.  I know muscle takes up less space than fat and all, but I would rather forego building muscle because I don't want to look muscular, just thin.

Muscles rule! Plus my doc said that heavy weight lifting a few times a week will help save my bones from osteoporosis as I age. This is especially true for women on birth control. Strong body and strong bones, that's what I want.

ignoranceandwant-

I know that you are hesitant to build muscle, but from my experience it actually makes me look smaller. According to the numbers on my scale, right now I am about 7 pounds heavier than at my lowest weight (last June). However, I look almost the exact same, and some parts of my body actually look smaller. I know 7 pounds isn't too much in the grand scheme of things, but I have only been strength training for about 2 months. I assume it's only going to get better.

I fear losing my big butt though. =(  Falling on muscle hurts a hell of a lot more than falling on squishy fat.

cellulitedelight - I'm going to have to disagree with you on that point.  When I get poked, pinched or smacked :) on my fat butt it hurts a lot more now than when it wasn't so big.  But, if it makes you feel any better, since I've been working out and lifting (a little) my butt isn't getting smaller, just more defined.  Unfortunately, that's not really what I'm going for...

Plus you are getting stronger so when someone pokes you, you can kick their @ss!!!

energy - I know that muscle takes up way less space than fat, but since I want to be as small as I can, I wonder if maybe I should just focus on losing all the size I can.  If I got muscular (and I don't mean Schwarzeneggerian overly muscled) and somebody complimented me on it, I would feel depressed.

I don't get poked in the arse.  I get squeezed. :D  I'll eventually trade in my fluff for something more sturdy, but while it's here I'm going to abuse it.