How thin is too thin?

Post by **Jungledoc** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:43 pm

Someone should bring up the importance of muscle mass for health. In general, more muscle is healthier. That's a difficult task more for women than for men. Increased muscle mass decreases the "skinny" appearance, but (at least in my opinion) looks very good.

Post by **stuward** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:18 pm

Jungledoc wrote:Someone should bring up the importance of muscle mass for health. In general, more muscle is healthier. That's a difficult task more for women than for men. Increased muscle mass decreases the "skinny" appearance, but (at least in my opinion) looks very good.

stuward wrote:....
Personally, I think people should look like they're at the low end of the healthy BMI but actually be at the heavy end. Of course you can only get that way through lifting heavy sh!#. They say that people in the overweight level are actually the healthiest but I think that it's due to the people that strength train that are in that range.
....

Maybe I didn't word it the same way.

Oscar_Actuary · Post by **Oscar_Actuary** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:11 am

Ironman wrote:Oscar, you do have tendency to be right on the borderline. It's maybe flaming light. Not a big deal if done less frequently.

Are you saying my game is weak sauce ?
I may have to step it up

robertscott · Post by **robertscott** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:19 am

Matt Z wrote:However, men just aren't that critical unless they're extremely immature, secretly gay or actually trying to attack your self esteem.

I've never been so embarrassed about my 6-pack obsession...

...and Matt have I ever told you how big and strong and handsome I think you are?

kab3261 · Post by **kab3261** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:34 am

Stephen Johnson wrote: Most of the carbs eaten in the US diet fall into the junk category. Foods made of them are cheap, have a long shelf life and they're easy to prepare. Plus, people just seem to like them. If you're eating them, you could be hindering your progress in growing healthy.

Wow, it sounds like you just described my food cupboard. When I work later in the day, our lunches are scheduled at around 2-3pm. By the time I get home at 9:30pm, I am starving and pasta with it's quick prep time tends to be one of my go to meals. Is whole grain pasta and rice a good alternative?

Jungledoc wrote:Someone should bring up the importance of muscle mass for health. In general, more muscle is healthier. That's a difficult task more for women than for men. Increased muscle mass decreases the "skinny" appearance, but (at least in my opinion) looks very good.

Would I be correct that there are only a certain number of muscle cells and that you can't increase the number but only the size? What does increased muscle mass do to improve health? When I first started exercising the improvements were very noticeable, but the changes don't seem as big now.
Thank you
Karen

Post by **Jungledoc** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 8:28 am

kab3261 wrote:
Jungledoc wrote:Someone should bring up the importance of muscle mass for health. In general, more muscle is healthier. That's a difficult task more for women than for men. Increased muscle mass decreases the "skinny" appearance, but (at least in my opinion) looks very good.
Would I be correct that there are only a certain number of muscle cells and that you can't increase the number but only the size? What does increased muscle mass do to improve health? When I first started exercising the improvements were very noticeable, but the changes don't seem as big now.
Thank you
Karen

I'm not sure that anyone knows the exact mechanisms, but it's an observed fact that people with more muscle mass live longer. It's a better marker than any cholesterol test. It probably has to do with fat metabolism, but I don't know.

Stephen Johnson · Post by **Stephen Johnson** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 9:21 am

kab3261 wrote:
Stephen Johnson wrote: Most of the carbs eaten in the US diet fall into the junk category. Foods made of them are cheap, have a long shelf life and they're easy to prepare. Plus, people just seem to like them. If you're eating them, you could be hindering your progress in growing healthy.
Wow, it sounds like you just described my food cupboard. When I work later in the day, our lunches are scheduled at around 2-3pm. By the time I get home at 9:30pm, I am starving and pasta with it's quick prep time tends to be one of my go to meals. Is whole grain pasta and rice a good alternative?

Whole grain products are far preferable to refined (white) products nutritionally. The problem is that whole grain pasta and brown rice have a different mouthfeel to them that some diehards just can't get used to. Gone are the days of gummy wholegrain pasta, but still, wholegrain pasta lacks the springy quality that traditional pasta lovers expect. And whole grain rice is chewier that white, which some rice fans dislike.

Also, the whole grain products have longer cooking times - something that you might not appreciate coming home at 9:30 in the evening. And they tend to be more expensive - although the price disparity is declining as the whole grain products increase in popularity among food shoppers.

If you can't get used to whole grains, eat refined grains with beans. The high fiber of beans will lower the glycemic index of the two eaten together. Adding veggies and/or meat, beside improving the nutritional content, will lower the glycemic index even more.

You don't have a problem with excess fat -lucky you - but eating a lot of high glycemic carbs raises insulin levels, which leads to fat deposition.