Hi all,
I run regularly and complete lots of other exercise such as horse riding and trampolining. I feel my lack of any success (and I do mean any success) is due to the fact that these exercises build muscle. I have massive, muscular thighs and glutes and I hate that, I want to be thin, not muscular. Do you have any idea how to lose that muscle? Or how to exercise without building it? I diet well, am always well under the recommended calorie intake and have been trying to lose weight for over a year with no improvements.
What are your stats, Crystal? The exercises you mention typically build very lean, not bulky, muscles. If you look at champion marathon runners, for instance, they tend to be very thin.
I know this is probably going to be a bit unwelcome, and I am not going to push my values on you, but what you've described sounds crazy fantastic. Do you look like Serena Williams? I would be very surprised if your muscles look like hers, because she lifts weights to build the muscle she's been genetically gifted with, so I would guess that her build is much more muscular than yours. And you know what? She is incredibly gorgeous. And those muscles mean your body is burning more calories than someone with less muscle, so the muscle may be allowing you to eat more without gaining fat. I guess I'm just a bit concerned that you might be looking to emulate the body type of some of the most unhealthy people on the planet -- anorexic models who subsist on caffeine, cigarettes, and maybe drugs. (Not to say all models are unhealthy - some people are just naturally very thin, and thin bodies are gorgeous, too. It just seems that too many people risk their health to get that body type.) I hope not. A strong body is a functional body, generally.
But to answer your question -- yes, you can get rid of muscle. Most dieters have muscle atrophy because of insufficient calories to maintain them. There is a genetic component to it, of course. You might have to decrease calories to do so. If you're not getting enough calories, it may be more challenging to exercise, but the calorie deficit will decrease muscle mass if the deficit is sufficiently high. I lift weights when I restrict calories so that I can preserve as much muscle mass as possible, but I still end up dropping muscle mass. Consulting with a medical professional to find the best calorie level for your goals would be ideal, but there are also apps that can help you figure it out.
Last edited by LaurieDawn; 10-26-2017 at 12:24 PM.
Thank you so much for your detailed and quick answer! My stats: sw: 58kg cw: 54kg gw: 49kg height: 171cm. My legs look a lot like Serena Williams’, but my arms have no muscle and are very lean. It kind of looks like I’m two people joined at the middle! My ideal body type is very lean with little muscle, although I would say my role model (in body shape as well as in general life!) is Taylor Swift. I’m so frustrated that even with careful restriction and lots of exercise in about 13 months I’ve lost 4kgs. The last time I lost weight was around half a year ago. I’m so angry at how little progress I’ve made and don’t know what I’m doing wrong so don’t know what to change!
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I have heard that running will increase lower body muscles, while reducing upper body muscles, and that sounds like what you've done. It also might be possible that it is in your genetics to have more muscle in the legs. Maybe you should change from running to some other form of exercise. Do some upper body weight lifting to increase upper body muscles, which may at the same time reduce lower body muscles, or at least make your body look more balanced.
I agree with Laurie Dawn, that you have a problem that many women would love to have, but I know that most of us are never satisfied with out own bodies.
I had to translate to American measurements to better understand, and it looks like you're about 5'6" and 119 pounds. If you have a lot of muscle, then I would guess that you're a size 0 or size 2 in U.S. sizing. Maybe even a size 00. That, my dear, seems quite tiny to me. Do you have a way to measure fat percentage? I am slightly worried that your fat percentage might be too low, which can cause serious damage to your body, sometimes even long-term damage.
Carol is right that it can be very difficult to appreciate our own bodies. She is also right that it is possible to reshape our bodies without actually losing more weight. I am not in the business of telling grown women what they should and should not want. But it sounds like maybe you don't necessarily even want to lose weight? You say that you want Taylor Swift's body type. According to one website, she is 178 cm and 57 kg -- very, very close to what you weigh now.
Perhaps instead of focusing on weight loss,then, perhaps you could attempt to reshape the body you have, as Carol suggests. Maybe meet with a personal trainer, if you can afford it, to get recommendations for the specific body type you want and build up your upper half while perhaps reducing those exercises that build up your lower half. I think your issue might be more with proportionality than excess muscle?
Whatever you decide - take care of yourself. And, if you can, try to appreciate how fantastic you look now. Not saying you shouldn't try to adjust things to be more in line with how you want to look. But you can do both, right?
Without addressing any of the measurements or weight loss or anything like that, you might try something that specifically shapes your muscles in a certain way--ballet, yoga, gyrotonics, extra stretching, something like that. I would think anything that focuses on precision and control and lengthening would probably help you see the kind of results you want.
Exercise without gaining muscles
