Less muscle mass = less calories burned?

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whiteteeth
whiteteeth Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone, have just joined MFP for some support and advice :happy:

I've been reading up on calorie counting and so on, and have found it stated in numerous sources that as a rule, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. I take it therefore that the helpful calorie counters available to us assume a certain muscle/fat ratio?

I have never had much muscle!... But now in particular, I think I have even less. I had an operation which caused me to be laid up for a few months with virtually no exercise. I lost a significant amount of muscle in my legs. Due to complications I'm still not as mobile as I should be, so have no plans for getting to the gym in the near future!

Although I'm within the 'healthy' range for my height, I think that a LOT of my weight is fat, not muscle.

Does anyone know what percentage I should lop off my daily calorie target to compensate for this?

Thanks :smile:

Replies

  • foxxybrown
    foxxybrown Posts: 838 Member
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    You probably shouldn't be trying to lose weight if you are unable to exercise and are concerned about your muscle mass. The calorie deficit, without doing anything to rebuild your muscles, will eat away at your muscles.
  • whiteteeth
    whiteteeth Posts: 3
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    Thanks for that, it had crossed my mind. But even so, I'd assume that I would need less calories to maintain, too. It would be handy to know how much to adjust by!
  • romiga
    romiga Posts: 44 Member
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    One option you could try is...provided you are mobile enough to do at least 10-20 minutes of continuous walking, even if its a slow pace, try going for walks. This will help bring your moblitity back up and help perserve the muscle you have left, eventually building some back. The good news about this is you can walk anywhere. I would suggest doing it early in the am or late in the afternoon so you dont become to fatigued when you first start out.

    I wouldnt really worry about lowering your calories because you are going to need them to feed your muscles and body in general.

    Finally I would say talk to your doc, he/she should be able to provide you with better nutritional/exercise advice that will help you get back on the right track.

    I hope this helps, good luck!!!
  • whiteteeth
    whiteteeth Posts: 3
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    Thanks romiga - I have been doing exactly that! I've been having a lot of physio, and one of the things I do daily is practise my walking... Which is at by no means a strenuous rate... But nevertheless feels it to me right now! I have tried to question the Doc about it, but he's a surgeon by trade and really just told me that I shouldn't worry about it too much and just eat healthily. Which I do, just too much! I was in a rut of overeating for some time before my op and knew I had to stop with that in order to not balloon to epic proportions, thus all the calorie counting research. This is all new to me!

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