How long does it take to lose muscle mass gained if one stops working out?

When my back went out on me a few weeks ago, I was starting to feel a little flabby around the middle because I was unable to do any crunches, let alone some other strength training!  I was still able to bike and ride, at a slower pace, but able!  Maybe I was feeling a little obsessed, and a friend told me it takes 6-8 weeks to start losing muscle mass.  Not so!  Here is the best answer to my question that I found on the world wide web!

Answer....

Firstly, it will depend on how long you have actually been training for.  Usually you will find you can get away with 2 to 3 weeks without any real activity but then you will probably start to notice a difference. Perhaps you could do something else while your resting, a sport that's a little less demanding like swimming, which exercises every muscle in the body!