I think I skipped this in science class

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aliaslocke
aliaslocke Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just trying to understand weight loss better. When you eat at a calorie defecit, does your body then consume fat and lean body mass to make up for the energy it's not receiving from your calorie intake?

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  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
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    That pretty much covers it.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    edited April 2015
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    aliaslocke wrote: »
    Just trying to understand weight loss better. When you eat at a calorie defecit, does your body then consume fat and lean body mass to make up for the energy it's not receiving from your calorie intake?
    Yep. Conservation of energy. Energy that goes into your body either gets used, stored or excreted. Energy that is needed by your body to perform work is either taken from food or your stores. All energy has to be accounted for.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Yep. That's why you lift heavy to eliminate as much muscle loss as possible.
  • aliaslocke
    aliaslocke Posts: 19 Member
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    Ok. Thank you. So when you weight train why do you lose less lean body mass? Is it because you're using those muscles more? Sorry, I know this is really dumb, I'm a slow learner.
  • determined_14
    determined_14 Posts: 258 Member
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    Correct me if I'm wrong, someone, but I think it goes something like this:
    Muscle is metabollically expensive; i.e., it uses burns more calories at rest than fat does. Because of the body's inclination to conserve energy, it doesn't want to keep muscle it doesn't use (this is why guys like my dad, who could squat over twice his body weight in high school, typically can't now that they're fifty).
    So as you create a caloric deficit, but you also strength train, the body gets two signals: "energy deficit! Must burn stored energy!" And "oh, but apparently I still need these muscles because they get used and challenged often." So it's like "gotta burn something else then," and that something else will be mostly fat (though some muscle gets used (lost) as well). Does that sound about right?
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
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    determined_14 wrote: »
    Correct me if I'm wrong, someone, but I think it goes something like this:
    Muscle is metabollically expensive; i.e., it uses burns more calories at rest than fat does. Because of the body's inclination to conserve energy, it doesn't want to keep muscle it doesn't use (this is why guys like my dad, who could squat over twice his body weight in high school, typically can't now that they're fifty).
    So as you create a caloric deficit, but you also strength train, the body gets two signals: "energy deficit! Must burn stored energy!" And "oh, but apparently I still need these muscles because they get used and challenged often." So it's like "gotta burn something else then," and that something else will be mostly fat (though some muscle gets used (lost) as well). Does that sound about right?
    As far as I know, that's about it.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    Your fat calories shrivel and turn into carbon dioxide which is released when you exhale. Your muscles are last on the list to go - i.e., starvation mode. But muscles are important, so cardio and strength training can't hurt.

    http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/body-fat-exhaled-as-carbon-dioxide-turned-into-water-during-weightloss/story-fni0fiyv-1227159818610
  • aliaslocke
    aliaslocke Posts: 19 Member
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    determined_14 wrote: »
    Correct me if I'm wrong, someone, but I think it goes something like this:
    Muscle is metabollically expensive; i.e., it uses burns more calories at rest than fat does. Because of the body's inclination to conserve energy, it doesn't want to keep muscle it doesn't use (this is why guys like my dad, who could squat over twice his body weight in high school, typically can't now that they're fifty).
    So as you create a caloric deficit, but you also strength train, the body gets two signals: "energy deficit! Must burn stored energy!" And "oh, but apparently I still need these muscles because they get used and challenged often." So it's like "gotta burn something else then," and that something else will be mostly fat (though some muscle gets used (lost) as well). Does that sound about right?

    Thank you very much for taking the time to explain. It was very helpful. :)

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