So muscle really doesn't burn that many more calories than fat....

RE: So muscle really doesn't burn that many more calori...

Well if you go back to A&P:

Muscle tissue produces:

movement- requires energy
maintains posture- another energy requirement
stabilizes joints- more energy requirement
generates heat- well you have to burn something to get heat, right?

calories burned provide energy.

Adipose tissue (FAT):

serves as a nutrient storing facility
almost pure "neutral fat" fills the entire cell, pushing and compressing the nucleus aside
unused food nutrients encourage formation of even more fat cells

I am not convinced. I'd rather burn than store. That's why I don't keep junk around my house. I'd rather give it away than keep getting stiffled. That's just my perspective.

Marla
 
RE: So muscle really doesn't burn that many more calori...

Hi All

As my very first post I have chosen to reply to this one, so I will strive to make myself clear..

It seems to me that if fat burns 2 calories a day per pound, and muscle burns 6cals. per pound. That sounds to me (if I’m doing my math correct) like 33% more calories burned per pound. Doesn’t sound too shabby to me. Also, If you carry around 10 lbs more muscle mass then say the average women (I say women because a majority of you here on this board are women, I don’t intentionally leave out men to be offensive) that’s 60 extra calories a day burned. That may not sound like much but in a month’s time, that could lead up to 1,800 extra calories per month. I like the way that sounds.

I know for me personally. I’m 5’7 and weigh 165. I’ve lost 45 lbs in the last year after giving birth to my twins. I did that by way of lifting and cardio (thank you Cathe) where as previously, before twins; I used to do only cardio. I weighed 145 lbs at this time two years ago and I fit into the same jeans now at 165 lbs that I did when I weighed 20 lbs less (I’m a size 10) I’m not saying I’ve got 20 lbs of muscle on me at this time. I’m at 27% body fat and still working on losing more weight (Thank you Cathe again) But there is a huge difference in my body shape at 165 lbs and size 10 clothes then there was when I weighed 145 and was a size 10. I can’t believe that I’ve only gained less than 6 lbs in muscle mass and also fit into a size 10 at 165 lbs, such as the article that Jcrew posted by Art Cary. There must be a happy medium in there somewhere for me. My husband is calling me a hard body and telling me how much working out is really complementing me. Then he always follows that up with, “Not that you didn’t look good before” He’s such a sweetie.

But my point is, 1,800 calories extra a month due to muscle mass is a good number in my book.

Also, I’m really enjoying this forum and want to thank you all for making it so fun,


Laura
 
Not true! Fat does burn some calories. Adipocytes are fat cells that do have active processes that require energy and hence use calories.
 
RE: So muscle really doesn't burn that many more calori...

Bunbun - you're doing a combination of cardio and weights with Cathe. Plus, I think the whole workout WITH weights does burn calories. Cathe's workouts are definitely more intense than they were back in the Power Max days.

I do wonder about this, though. Because I always read in the "success stories" in Shape how the women who were quite overweight start off with just cardio and have good results, but then plateau way before they hit their targt. Then they incorporate weight training and begin to start losing again.

I don't know anything other than what's working for me. I've dropped 2 sizes since August and look better than I have in my entire life. When doing just cardio back in my 20's, I weighed less than I do now, but I definitely didn't look as good. Not by a long-shot. I'm also a size smaller than I was weighing 7 lbs. less. Weird...
 
RE: So muscle really doesn't burn that many more calori...

Hi, 6lbs relative to 2 lbs is 3x more or 300% more not 33%. 33% more than 2 would be 2.66 . The rest of the math seems right if we assume that we who exercise carry 10 extra lbs of muscle which seems like a lot. Competitive female weight lifters who don't use steroids typically have only 9-11 lbs more muscle than you average woman. I am guessing that even though I work out hard I am not in that league and likely only carry 4-5 lbs more muscle than than the average woman.:)
 
RE: So muscle really doesn't burn that many more calori...

Agreed, Donna. Especially this part: <<I'm also a size smaller than I was weighing 7 lbs. less.>> I'm a size 4 in most brands now, yet the last time that I was at my current weight, I was a size 8-10. I've also seen and lived thru the plateau thing--weights made all the difference.
 
RE: So muscle really doesn't burn that many more calori...

Has anyone here read Gina Kolata's book Ultimate Fitness? It was published a couple years ago. She's a science reporter for the New York Times and a spinning fan. She set out to find the truth behind many of the fitness claims and the one about muscle burning more calories than fat was one of them. I think her research indicated that muscle did indeed burn more calories, but not enough to make a difference. I think I read a study somewhere recently that said an hour of weight training would burn the same amount of calories as an hour of cardio. I always feel like I've worked harder with cardio. Has anyone else heard this?
 
RE: So muscle really doesn't burn that many more calori...

It would be interesting to see if there are different changes in diet associated with different types of working out. I sometimes hear people who do cardio justifying eating more because they know cardio burns a lot - maybe that is less likely to occur when weight training because its thought to burn fewer calories? Also, skeletal muscles, unlike other parts of the body, can use glucose from the blood without the need for insulin, so maybe there's something related to that? Anecdotally, it seems that weight training does add something to the fat burning picture, but it could be for another reason other than burning calories. I think there is still a lot people just don't know about the body, weight gain, and energy use. I sure wish they'd get it all figured out so we could benefit!
 
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