Dianne,

What you have pointed out here is true - working out and maintaining LBM is a good idea as you will burn calories more quickly the more LBM you have. I personally reccomend doing some type of exercise while you lose, and weight training is a great way to maintain LBM.

I understand the point you were making - about getting to the goal and still having a higher body fat percentage than an active person at the same weight. We were actually saying basically the same thing - looking at it from different sides of the fence. It stands to reason that a heavy person isn't going to be as active because of the extra weight, and if they maintain that attitude as they lose and get to their goal - then they should have more %BF than an active person of the same weight. Why? Because if they aren't active they don't need as much LBM as the active person. A person with a sedentary lifestyle needs to realize that they are going to lose a lot more LBM than a person that is exercising or doing resistance training.

The good news is this - if you are getting towards your goal and still have too much tummy, then you should use that as a clue to do one of two things. First you can start working to maintain LBM, or gaining some back, or you need to reset your goal to take into account a lower LBM.

My point is simply this - as you lose you will end up looking like you want to look like, and your LBM and %BF will be what they need to be based on your lifestyle. If you work out and do weight training, you will burn more calories and not have to lose as much weight to look like you want to look like. If you decide that you are going to be sedentary, you do so realizing that it is going to take longer, and that you are going to lose down probably below where you think you should be because of burning LBM in addition to fat.

Great discussion - thanks Dianne!!