This is a great topic fellows as I wage this debate with myself all of the time. I am fortunate because I am able to carry enough body weight with manageable body fat levels so as not to look too fat. I'm 285 at 14% body fat right now, I'll be 265 at 9 or 10% b/f when I'm through cutting. I'll look lean enough for a non competitive bb and still show enough muscle mass to impress while at the same time holding on to enough body weight to move a respectable amount of iron. So I kind of enjoy the best of both worlds. For me, the bigger I become, the stronger I am. One begets the other. Obviously, this is not universally applicable to everyone. I'm married, celebrating my 10 year anniversary today, have a pair of little ones, so my time in the sun with the girls is over. Based on that, I suppose I value strength over other things at this point. Of course, I want the misses to keep me, so I guess I better keep myself looking decent too.