Their delusion that they're "strong" is one of the funniest pieces of FatLogic ; Nadja Hermann confessed in her book that the notion that at least she was "strong" because she was fat was the most consoling, hardest to lose bit of fatlogic of them all. But she GAINED strength as she lost weight, because her muscles had been atrophying under the layer of lard in which  she'd  encased them . I doubt it's any different for men.