I think the"losing muscle instead of fat" theory is quite interesting and I find it really, really important to insure that I AM really losing FAT not muscle. I'm not very knowledable on this topic, but I found this article very interesting.

http://www.geocities.com/~slopitch/drsquat/fredzig.htm

If you read towards the middle, it talks about cutting calories and how when you reduce your calories (3500 calories=1gram of fat, so cutting down 500 a day consecutively will result in 1 lb weight loss) The article says that, in fact, this is not always the case.

"Actually, much of the weight you'll lose will come from muscle tissue, NOT fat! Why? Because your body tends to use ("excess") muscle tissue for needed energy before it reclaims fat deposits.
The answer is to TAKE YOUR TIME with fat loss, and either preserve or build muscle tissue by integrating scientific weight training, mild aerobics, dietary manipulation, supplementation and other technologies into your lifestyle. Follow the rules above!"

Is it possible that when we lose very fast we are actually losing muscle? And this is why its much easier to gain it all back when its a crash diet?

Now, I try to take this diet as WOE and lose my weight slowly and not rush the weight loss so that I can hope to keep it off forever... but it does bother me as I hope what I'm losing is all fat and not muscle. I'm guessing its important to keep protein levels up so that our body will use this for fuel and to repair muscles, while I should also keep my calories moderate, not too low.

He emphasizes in the article that one should

"NEVER attempt to gain or lose "weight!"
Instead, you should always strive to
gain muscle and lose fat!"

For those of you who are knowlegable on this issue, read the linked article and tell me what you think. =) I cant really respond like I want to because I dont have the knowledge backgroud to really "back up" any of this. Thanks everyone.

Brittany

Brittany