LBM frustration

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tigerblue
tigerblue Posts: 1,525 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Okay, let me say right up front that I believe building muscle through strength training is very important. I try to make it a priority even though it is not something I enjoy. But I know it is important because I DO NOT want to be a frail little old woman who can barely get around. I know that if I don't work now, I will pay later!

So here is my frustration. On the boards, I see so many people saying "build muscle--it is more metabolically active--therefore you can eat more". This is so misleading. I have run the numbers through every calculator on the web, and for me ( maybe its because I am already small and fairly lean), a 5% drop in body fat from 25% to 20% will give me only about 50 more calories a day. Hardly enough to matter, really. Somehow I thought that if I was extremely muscular, I would get to eat like maybe a couple hundred more a day. Pipe dream, I know.

So anyway, lets not mislead everyone into thinking they will burn large amounts of cals with more muscle. Instead, why not tell everyone the true benefits of fitness--more energy, feel stronger, healthier, more endurance, just better feeling on an everyday basis!

Replies

  • rhall9058
    rhall9058 Posts: 270 Member
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    I'll give you your point, with one simple consideration. The additional cals that are burned in the 48 hours of recovery after a strenuous muscle "tear" (read muscle burn) can not be calculated into any web calculator, nor accounted for; however, they are there and they need to be fed in some manner. Just my 2 cents.
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,525 Member
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    I'll give you your point, with one simple consideration. The additional cals that are burned in the 48 hours of recovery after a strenuous muscle "tear" (read muscle burn) can not be calculated into any web calculator, nor accounted for; however, they are there and they need to be fed in some manner. Just my 2 cents.

    Hadn't thought of that. Thanks that is encouraging.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    As you build muscle and get stronger, you will be able to do more weight/reps too which will also require more energy (calories) to be expended during your workouts (and, as the poster above me mentioned, during your recovery between workouts). So yes, resting metabolic rate is only one piece of the puzzle. Unfortunately there is no really accurate way to measure how much of a benefit you are getting overall, but it can be significant. Just take a gander at some of the diaries of the strong men and women here. They eat a LOT just to maintain their weight. I lose weight on 2400 calories daily and I am far from being one of the big and strong people here.

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