can fat be burned without exercise?

michelle916

I'm having a discussion with my friend.
She thinks if you eat less calories than you burn during your normal day (by checking your BMR) you're still burning fat, but I say you store fat if you don't move around - you're just losing muscle (and therefore poundage).

Who's right?

Hendrix7

if you are in a calorie deficit you will lose weight With or without exercise, she is right about that.

some will be fat but there will be some muscle loss as this is pretty much inevitable. how much is fat and how much is muscle would depend on many factors such as how much muscle mass/fat the person had in the first place, how big the calorie deficit is, protein intake etc.

Exercise will allow you to at least retain muscle mass, plus the obvious cardiovascular benefits. Even with exercise you can expect to lose some muscle mass if you are in a calorie deficit for a prolonged period of time.

she is essentially right but like i said there are various other factors involved.