Myth or fact?

maria_elaina
maria_elaina Posts: 53 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I heard something a while back along the lines of "every pound of muscle burns X amount of extra calories a day" Is this true or am I getting my hopes up? If it is true how many calories is it?

Replies

  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Each pound of muscle added burns anywhere from an additional 4 to 11 calories per day. Not enough to make any significant difference.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
    Each pound of muscle added burns anywhere from an additional 4 to 11 calories per day. Not enough to make any significant difference.

    Agree. Ignore it, it's not enough to make a difference. :)
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Not a huge difference but having more muscle and less fat once you reach goal can make a big difference to what you can eat.
  • maria_elaina
    maria_elaina Posts: 53 Member
    Thanks guys, makes sense!
    Not a huge difference but having more muscle and less fat once you reach goal can make a big difference to what you can eat.

    Any chance you explain this please? What I can eat in terms of quantities or...?
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    It's a combination of increased lean body mass (or body mass in general) and activity level. For instance, I need 2850 calories to maintain my weight when considering 5 days of heavy lifting a week. If my weight drastically increased, or decreased, so would the amount of calories I could eat and maintain body weight. Likewise, if I upped or decreased activity, my energy demands would change to reflect that.
  • like_milk
    like_milk Posts: 79 Member
    It's true. Consider this, it's better to gain 5lb of muscle than lose 5lb of muscle. That's a 10lb difference meaning it could be the difference of about 50cals a day.

    The only problem is it's rare to lose weight AND gain lots of muscle and much more common to experience muscle loss. Exercise and diet plays a huge roll in this.
  • maria_elaina
    maria_elaina Posts: 53 Member
    Ahh that makes a lot of sense now. Thanks guys!
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Each pound of muscle added burns anywhere from an additional 4 to 11 calories per day. Not enough to make any significant difference.

    That is an additional 4 calories per HOUR not per DAY. Big difference there.


    "One pound of muscle burns about 6.5 calories per hour, according to McArdle. Muscles burn 5.5 times more calories than fat tissues, which burn about 1.2 calories per pound per hour.

    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/310070-how-many-calories-does-a-pound-of-muscle-burn-per-day/#ixzz2BsElkUsh
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Basal Metabolic Rate

    Basal metabolic rate, or BMR, estimates how much calories you burn when you are at rest, according to dietitian Ellen Coleman. The more muscles you have, the more calories you burn when you exercise and rest. A man with 100 lbs. of muscle would burn about 1,342 calories per day, while a man with 120 lbs. of muscle burn about 1,558 calories a day.

    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/310070-how-many-calories-does-a-pound-of-muscle-burn-per-day/#ixzz2BsFRfWTS

    So every 10 pounds of extra muscle you gain gives you around an extra 100 calories on your BMR.

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