Hey..

I know the definite consensus is that if you eat hardly any calories that all the weight you lose, or alot of it, will be muscle and LBM .. so you'll look peculiar after losing all that muscle, and scrawny.

A question though. I know some people specifically - most of the examples are female. One friend - almost stopped eating, missing breakfast, having tiny meals, and exercising hardcore (like 5-6 times a week for 45 mins). Anyway she looks fantastic now - in really, really good shape. But, I wouldnt say she looks 'scrawny' for a girl .. meaning her arms arent remotely anorexic-like thin or anything.. she has the 'meat' still on her :) LOL

But yeh ... so whats the deal? Wouldnt she have lost heaps of LBM doing that? If she didnt (and ate properly while exercising).... how would she look different? more solid arms, legs etc???

Basically im asking this to see whether the whole losing muscle is REALLY as 'bad' as its made out...

Let me know...thanks,
Andrew

Or would she have Britney-Spears like, muscle packed legs??? :P

I think that it's different for women. I like women all shapes and sizes Well, not ALL shapes and sizes, but I think there are girls who look GREAT that are toned and curvy rather than truly defined. If she had enough muscle to start with, she could've lost some and still look great. Doesn't mean her metaboism is doing as well. Also, how much time do you spend with her? Do you know her habits really well? Skipping breakfast is not a good idea, but she could be eating enough tiny meals in a day that she's properly fueling herself for healthy fat loss. And 45 minute workouts 5-6 times per week is not excessive. A guy might not do as well on such as program. I think muscle is more important for our bodies to look good. But, I've had plenty less muscle than I have now, not from starvation. But from competitive running. I was a distance runner. For a distance runner, I was extremely muscular. Many of my teamates were extremely skinny with little muscle. I liked how I looked, lean and defined with muscles popping. But I lke having more muscle better and still being low body fat and ripped. How your body ends up in a cutting diet that induces/allows for muscle loss depends on your starting point, and how you feel about where you end up is based on personal preference. People do make too much of muslce loss, generally IMO. I've known many people who've eaten at a lower caloric level than recommended who've maintained their muscle. Even myself at times. But why do this when there is the risk of muscle loss and you could get the same results more enjoyably with more food?