Good morning everyone & Happy New Year!!

A question that I have... I'm about 1 month pre-op, but again, I'm trying to learn as much as I can to have the best results possible.  To maximize weight loss, is it best to let the "Nutrition" work for you for as long as possible and then start working out.  The reason I ask, my best friend had RNY 06-03-2013; she lost a lot of weight, and changed a lot to Muscle.  I'd like to maximize the weight loss before building a ton of muscle.  Do I just walk as much as possible, and leave lifting weights to closer to goal to build lean muscle??  My PT thru the insurance says I can do both at the same time, but I look at my BF who did both who is still @ a size 16 because of the muscle mass.  I'm a little fixated on the numbers and would like to be smaller then a size 16 when done. 

Any help/advice that anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance!!!

Fat does not turn to muscle. Muscle actually increases the amount of calories you burn so it is a good thing. i doubt your friend is a size 16 due to muscle. Has she had her body fat measured?

I think you are over-thinking this. Get into the habit of exercising. It's good for your overall health.

I hate to be a downer but the effect of increased muscle on your metabolism is negligible.  Skeletal muscle (biceps, quads, etc.) accounts for only about 20% of your energy expenditure.  So while it's technically true, it's not the metabolic furnace we would like it to be.  ;)

Yes. One of the most often repeated "facts" is that muscle burns more calories than fat. It is true, but it is overall a very, very small difference.

damn it! You are breaking my heart and my faith!

I can speak to this because i am doing it.  My first question to you is: do you have a disease in which you have high testerone?  For example, I have PCOS and I inherently have higher than average testerone for a girl and this increases if I get into too many carbs. It is so bad that I had a smattering of chest hair, a treasure trail, a mustache and side burns until I got it all lazered off.  Yay technology!

If you have high testerone, you WILL have a tendency to bulk up more easily than the average gal.  With that said, I lift weights 3 times a week (body pump and cable machine). The trick is to use HIGH REPS and freakishly low weight. By high reps I mean around 22 repetitiions.  The max I will squat, lunge and dead lift is 17 lbs.  This tones and defines your muscle without making them big.  You will also want to do exercises that LENGTHEN your muscles like yoga, barre, and pilates.  You will also want to do a cardio that BURNS fat without building muscle (think walking within your target heart rate zone and LONG DISTANCE RUNNING at a freakishly slow pace within your target heart rate zone). DO NOT DO sprints.  Compare a marathoner's lean physique to a sprinters highly muscled physique.

The women on Womens Muscle and Fitness- I suspect are like me (i.e. have high testerone) or are taking something  and LIFTING heavy weights with low reps to bulk up.

Now for the reality check- have you seen my wedding dress photos on this site?  Friend me here and send your email address and I will send you Iphone pic of me in my wedding dress.  I have exercised (hard) pre-op and post op.  I have done weights, yoga, and long slow distance running.  I wear a size 6-8 and weigh 144-146 lbs in those pics. My t-shirts are an adult small and my warm up pants are also smalls.  Yet, I am 144 lbs and do not look like a body builder. My arms are toned and with no excess skin. I do not have excess skin ANYWHERE except for my inner thighs and it is not excessive...more like "relaxed fit"

I wish I could send you pics of me that I had from over 8 years ago. I was 142 lbs at that time and wore a size 8-10. I DID Not work out and had just picked up running as a weight loss mechanism.

In summary, I weigh MORE today yet wear a smaller size and have smaller measurements than I did when I weighed less.  The difference is muscle density.   I have also beat several younger, hotter males (about 17-22 years of age) in my 5K races. It is sort of an ego boost to "chick" them when I could be there Momma!

Also my NUT claims my lack of hanging skin is a result of exercise. She claims exercise forces blood through microcapillaries and it somehow encourages the shrinkage of skin.  I cant research that substantiates this.

I would encourage exercise while losing weight.  Just dont compensate by eating more food because you exercised. That is not correct.

Lastly, my weight loss has been really consistent despite exercise. The first week I didnt lose anything (water weight/muscle gain) but afterwards my weight loss started trucking along as if I hadnt been working out.

Check out my profile. The album called wedding and rehersal.

They are also under recent pics.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/photos/880510

You are substantially overestimating how much muscle a person might gain.  Under ideal cir****tances, nutrition, and training, a woman would be lucky to gain 15 pounds of muscle over the course of their first year of dedicated bodybuilding.  And none of those will apply to you. :)

I'm a guy so I really don't know what a size 16 is; however, I can say with a high degree of confidence that if your friend is "stuck there" it's almost certainly not due to muscle.

Please exercise.  Best wishes.

You cannot build muscle while losing weight. You just can't. You can build strength, but it is just making existing muscles stronger, it is not building new muscle.

While in a caloric deficit, you will lose muscle mass. It's a simple fact. Lifting heavy weights while losing weight will maximize fat loss and minimize loss of muscle. But you will lose muscle. And you must lift heavy. If you can do more than 8 or 10 repetitions, the weights aren't heavy enough. You won't bulk up, as you will still be losing muscle, while gaining strength.

The only way to actually gain muscle mass is to eat more calories than you burn. This means you will also gain some fat, and weight. Body builders refer to this as cutting and bulking. They will eat extra, gain muscle, but be chubby. Then they cut calories, lose the fat, and have nicely defined muscles.

Weight loss is almost entirely about the food. You can't exercise your way out of obesity. Exercise is amazing for health and well being, but don't count on it to do anything for weight loss.

The best scenario for health is to do a mix of cardio and HEAVY lifting. Lifting will get your body to preserve existing muscle and burn the most fat. Waiting until later will only delay the benefits.

As Chulbert said, you won't bulk up. If you lift heavy and work out like an olympic athlete, you could add 15 pounds of muscle in a year. But certainly not while you are in a very low calorie diet. And as Laura said, if your friend is still big, it isn't muscle.

Thank you every one for the replies.  It all makes a lot of sense.  I will get my happy self to the gym.