Burning fat or muscle?
rebprest
Posts: 149 Member
I'm a little confused. What makes the body burn fat as opposed to muscle. I see so many posts about weight lifting to help you retain muscle as you lose weight, why does that help? What are the factors that go into this? Whenever I do I weigh-in with my trainer she uses some type of handheld tool that says I've gone up in muscle mass and down in fat percentage. How can I be going up in muscle and down in fat but still losing? I thought you had to eat on a calorie surplus to gain muscle...
-I'm weight lifting 2 times a week and doing cardio 2 times
-I'm weight lifting 2 times a week and doing cardio 2 times
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No one knows?0
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I am not 100% on this but this is my understanding of what happens...
When your body feels "starved" or you go too long without eating (i.e. you consume 900 in one sitting instead of spacing it out to eat every 3 hours) your body will feel starved it will store fats and eat muscle... or something like that I found this article online that might help you I copied and pasted it bellow so not plagiarizing lol
http://optimalbodyweight.com/qa/weight-loss-tips/body/starvation-mode-weight-loss
Question: I have been told that when I eat too little, my body goes into starvation mode to protect itself, and that it will slow down my weight loss. Is this true and how can I avoid starvation mode?
Answer: Many weight loss coaches use the term “starvation mode” to describe your body’s natural response to protect itself when you don’t eat enough for extended periods. When you regularly eat too little food to provide your body with the necessary nutrients, it perceives itself to be in danger from starvation. Since your body is wonderfully designed to protect you, it will slow down your metabolism to conserve energy so it can keep vital organs such as the brain and the heart going for as long as possible in the face of the perceived threat. While it will burn fat for fuel, it will also start burning lean muscle mass for fuel, which will slow down your metabolism even further. People on starvation diets invariably find that they regain all the weight they’ve lost (and then some) very quickly as soon as they start eating again.
While a starvation diet may help you lose weight quite fast in the short term, you will pay a heavy price because you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of weight problems. Your metabolism gets progressively slower with each day you remain on a starvation diet. This resultant slower metabolism needs less fuel, so you consistently have to eat less and less to lose weight! As your metabolism slows down even further and your lean muscle mass dwindles you will also find that you become more and more tired. This in turn means you will get less exercise, which leaves you with less lean muscle, and an even slower metabolism. It really is a vicious cycle. The importance of protecting your lean muscle mass to boost your metabolism can not be stressed enough.
The question arises: when does your body go into starvation mode? As with anything that involves the human body, there is no one single answer that will be true for everyone. The levels at which starvation mode kicks in vary from person to person. What we can do though, is understand how it gets triggered so we can avoid getting our bodies in that state. Your decision of how much to eat should be based on your individual Total Daily Energy Requirements, which takes into account a variety of factors including height, weight, age, gender and activity levels. If you want to lose weight safely, without setting off the alarm bells in your body; aim to eat approximately 300 – 500 calories less than your total daily requirements. This will provide your body with enough fuel to keep it going comfortably, but will still create a sufficient caloric deficit to ensure that you lose weight. To protect your metabolism even further, make sure your diet contains enough protein and that you maintain / increase your activity levels.
Note. You will find that many experts advise you not to eat less than 1 200 calories per day to prevent starvation mode. This is just a general rule of thumb to provide advice in the absence of enough information. To be safe, get your individual Total Daily Energy Requirements calculated, and follow the advice above.0 -
Maybe as a percentage of overall BW(body weight). Think about it.0
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As we lose weight our body uses lean mass and fat as fuel. That's just part of weight loss. We try to minimize this by eating adequate protein, eating at an appropriate calorie intake compared to our calorie needs and lifting. The reason our bodies use lean mass is that it's actually easier for our bodies to break down lean tissue versus fat.
It has nothing to do with "starvation mode" as described above.0 -
Initially you'll lose fat, and if you have too much of a caloric deficit you'll eventually lose muscle with the fat. Best of luck. PS--I'd recommend going slow on weight loss and retain as much muscle as possible. So, maybe weight lifting is beneficial for muscle retention. I know I've heard this somewhere before.0
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I'm a little confused. What makes the body burn fat as opposed to muscle. I see so many posts about weight lifting to help you retain muscle as you lose weight, why does that help? What are the factors that go into this? Whenever I do I weigh-in with my trainer she uses some type of handheld tool that says I've gone up in muscle mass and down in fat percentage. How can I be going up in muscle and down in fat but still losing? I thought you had to eat on a calorie surplus to gain muscle...
-I'm weight lifting 2 times a week and doing cardio 2 times
Also, those hand held body fat analysis devices (bioelectrical impedence) are highly inaccurate. Undigested food and hydration levels can impact them significantly. If you were to use it after using the bathroom then drink 32 ounces of water your body fat would fluctuate by 5% easily.
As a beginner you can gain a little bit of lean mass, but women who are bulking gain around a pound of lean mass in a month (two if they have the perfect conditions for growth).0 -
Your trainer is using a bio impedance reader which is very inaccurate at reading muscle/fat ratio.I'm a little confused. What makes the body burn fat as opposed to muscle. I see so many posts about weight lifting to help you retain muscle as you lose weight, why does that help? What are the factors that go into this? Whenever I do I weigh-in with my trainer she uses some type of handheld tool that says I've gone up in muscle mass and down in fat percentage. How can I be going up in muscle and down in fat but still losing? I thought you had to eat on a calorie surplus to gain muscle...
-I'm weight lifting 2 times a week and doing cardio 2 times
When one loses weight, they lose both fat and muscle, but to what degree will depend on whether or not you're strength training (there's a difference in strength training and just resistance training), fulfilling nutritional essentials, how big your deficit is, and rest.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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As we lose weight our body uses lean mass and fat as fuel. That's just part of weight loss. We try to minimize this by eating adequate protein, eating at an appropriate calorie intake compared to our calorie needs and lifting. The reason our bodies use lean mass is that it's actually easier for our bodies to break down lean tissue versus fat.
It has nothing to do with "starvation mode" as described above.
^ listen to this OP..
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I'm a little confused. What makes the body burn fat as opposed to muscle. I see so many posts about weight lifting to help you retain muscle as you lose weight, why does that help? What are the factors that go into this? Whenever I do I weigh-in with my trainer she uses some type of handheld tool that says I've gone up in muscle mass and down in fat percentage. How can I be going up in muscle and down in fat but still losing? I thought you had to eat on a calorie surplus to gain muscle...
-I'm weight lifting 2 times a week and doing cardio 2 times
Also, those hand held body fat analysis devices (bioelectrical impedence) are highly inaccurate. Undigested food and hydration levels can impact them significantly. If you were to use it after using the bathroom then drink 32 ounces of water your body fat would fluctuate by 5% easily.
As a beginner you can gain a little bit of lean mass, but women who are bulking gain around a pound of lean mass in a month (two if they have the perfect conditions for growth).
and this too ...0 -
the muscles are an easier energy source for your body. i started to notice more fat loss from cardio when i started to slow down. lower intensity steady state cardio can be great for tapping fat for energy.
but it's a double edged sword, as you are now training your body to rely on this energy source, it's going to start storing more of it.0 -
Weight training helps retain your muscles because it's telling your body you NEED them. If you sit around all day, you don't need your muscles.0
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No, you don't have to eat a surplus to gain muscle, assuming you are new to strength training. A surplus simply makes it easier to gain muscle. The body is a dynamic system, you are gaining and losing muscle, and gaining and losing fat, all the time.0
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So what I'm getting is that nobody truly knows, lol. I guess it is more complicated than I realized. I'll try to keep lifting and eating lots of protein!0
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I did actually read the comments (all of them). No need to be rude and presumptive MRM27. I meant no one has provided any hard evidence or a detailed explanation. I should have been clearer in my question.
Sorry if I offended you, usmcmp. I was looking for a scientific breakdown but I didn't see anything but broad, unsupported statements. I did find your comments helpful in general, especially about the handheld device my trainer uses. it just seems like conjecture unless it has validation from authoritative sources. Otherwise it is really hard to tell who knows what they are talking about, and who is just stating their opinion as fact. Exhibit A- the starvation mode comment.
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I'm on my phone, so I can't link all the studies that I have read where the groups with resistance training and the groups with higher protein intake lost more weight from fat compared to the diet only groups. There are lots of them. If you absolutely must see them I will come back tomorrow and post several.0
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Between now and tomorrow you're more than welcome to search www.nlm.nih.gov for articles on protein and weight loss or resistance training and weight loss.0
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Thanks for the research tip Usmcp.
I am just interested. That's what I'm looking for exactly, but if it is too much work don't worry about it. I'll see what I can find.If you absolutely must see them I will come back tomorrow and post several.
I don't think it is actually unreasonable to ask people where they are getting information, MrM27. If you can't back up what you are saying, it isn't worth much. But feel free to troll somewhere else if it is bothering you. I can't help but notice your food diary is glaringly empty and your comments on other posts are rude and abusive...Exactly what evidence are you looking for? What would the study be looking for that you would like people to provide? Are you looking for peer reviewed studies or did you want someone to link you to a physiology textbook?
People gave you answers based on years of experience and studies but you have refuted them. Tell us what you want.
I don't know, MrM27, do you have a textbook on hand that you have actually read that looks helpful? Can you give me the page range? Years of experience aren't necessarily proof and they don't help me understand. If yes then thank you, if not you may want to reinvest your time somewhere else.
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That must be nice.What makes the body burn fat as opposed to muscle. . .weight lifting to help you retain muscle as you lose weight, why does that help? What are the factors that go into this? ...How can I be going up in muscle and down in fat but still losing? I thought you had to eat on a calorie surplus to gain muscle...
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Try harder and lift at least 3 times a week especially if your trying to lose weight. Google scholar is a good place to get the answers you want and that way you won't have to take our word for it, a win win.So what I'm getting is that nobody truly knows, lol. I guess it is more complicated than I realized. I'll try to keep lifting and eating lots of protein!
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BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »Weight training helps retain your muscles because it's telling your body you NEED them. If you sit around all day, you don't need your muscles.
Yes! Strength training is very important to add to your repertoire when on any weight loss program. I lost a huge amount of weight over the last two years and if I had to do it again I would have started weight lifting much earlier in the process. I lost weight which was great but lost a lot of muscle too and had the dreaded "marathon runner" look. People wondered if I was sick! So, I've added about ten lbs back of muscle through weight lifting 3-4 times a week.
Everyone's body is different so it's hard to say when someone will burn fat over muscle. I know that hi intensity cardio can tap fat reserves pretty well but so does steady state cardio if done long enough. The key is to keep those muscles working through strength training and make sure the protein intake is reasonably good.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18296329
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17622289
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23019316
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23107521
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9309627
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/51113664_Effect_of_two_different_weight-loss_rates_on_body_composition_and_strength_and_power-related_performance_in_elite_athletes
These have multiple studies in their references that you can read.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/33/5/969.full
http://jap.physiology.org/content/113/12/1831
http://www.jissn.com/content/11/1/20
http://www.jissn.com/content/11/1/19
http://www.jonasbergqvist.se/Files.aspx?f_id=92503
Would you like more or are these enough?0 -
Thank you!0
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Bump0
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In layman's terms... Muscle is denser than fat and takes up less space than fat.
You can see the difference in fat vs. muscle in this picture. The weight is the same, but one is mostly fat and the other is mostly muscle.
Having more muscle will actually boost your metabolism as well. According to WebMD, "10 pounds of muscle would burn 50 calories in a day spent at rest, while 10 pounds of fat would burn 20 calories."
Btw, the tool your trainer is using is probably a caliper.0 -
Good advice you've been given. I also don't make cardio the focus of my exercise. I superset so that elevates my heart rate lifting weights and that's good enough for me. If I do cardio, it's a 5k jog or 1/2hour step mill at a moderate pace after my weights workout.0
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