However, there are two ways of going about it. You could be a crash diet devotee, remove all kinds of carbs and fats from your dietary intake and become Skinny. Or you can come up with a healthy diet plan and fitness workout to build muscle mass and shed fat to get thin. While both of these mean you can fit in to the trendiest of dresses and look fabulous, the actual question here is, ‘Getting Skinny or Gaining Muscle Mass – What Should You Aim For?’

Surprisingly, 80% of women choose becoming skinny over gaining muscle mass, even though both of these mean they get thinner. The reason is probably because going on a diet requires lesser effort than gaining lean muscle mass. However, if the question is which a better option is, gaining muscle mass offers a lot more benefits in the long run.

Let’s take a look at how more lean muscle mass affects your health:

Metabolism

By gaining lean muscle mass, you increase your body’s basal metabolic rate. In other words, your body naturally burns more calories through the course of the day. On the other hand, crash diets often result in a sluggish metabolism.

Bone Density

To gain lean muscle mass, you need to work out every day. And that doesn’t just give you a svelte figure, it also improves bone health. Those who simply diet to get skinny have decreased bone density from lack of nutrients and activity, which in turn means more brittle bones. In fact, if you consistently practice strength training exercises, you can considerably reduce risk to Osteoporosis.

Muscle Strength

Who doesn’t benefit from growing stronger? As you gain lean muscle mass, not only do you burn more body fat and look fabulous, you also feel great as you have more stamina and endurance. Now those who simply want to get skinny by dieting can look forward to the exact opposite – constant fatigue and tiredness. And what would you rather prefer?

Injury Prevention

When you gain muscle mass, you also improve your balance, flexibility and coordination skills. As a result, you reduce risk to everyday life injuries and become less ‘accident-prone’.

Improved Health

Gaining lean muscle mass will not only make your body heal faster, it also gives a boost to your immune system. On the contrary, those who are simply skinny have a poor immune system, which makes them more prone to allergies and infections. Also, working out every day is great for heart health, as it is the only way to naturally decrease cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure as well. On the other hand, just being skinny is not going to keep heart diseases at bay!

Feeling and Looking Better

Not only will gaining lean muscle mass make you look good, it will make you feel good too. Exercise helps release ‘feel good’ hormones in the body, which is why a 30 minute workout can leave you feeling a lot more satisfied than wolfing down a chocolate cake ever can. On the other hand, trying to get skinny by going on a diet can often leave you feeling deprived and unhappy, though leaner toned muscles make everyone feel good about themselves no matter what!

So ladies, forget your inhibitions about gaining muscle mass. Not only will it make you look and feel great today, it will also ensure that you age gracefully. Additionally, a healthier way to get thin is always the only way to stay in shape permanently, so you may want to re-consider going on that crash diet and instead join the gym today. But here’s the deal: you don’t really need an expensive gym membership to get fit when YouTube is filled with wonderful workout videos. Just invest in some weights and other workout tools and you are good to go!

Here’s one of my favorite to help you get started.