How do u know if you're burning muscle or fat ?

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  • dlpnrn2b
    dlpnrn2b Posts: 441 Member
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    bump
  • Debbiedebbiey
    Debbiedebbiey Posts: 824 Member
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    Thanks! I got Jillian's killer buns/thighs last week. Did some, hard to modify a Mtn climber, but I did :-). I drink a lot of water thou I don't always record. My dr said do yoga. So I'm going to start that too. But as most say, it starts in the kitchen. I think for the past 3 wks I was at 1000 cal a day deficit, according to my BB. I think (?) eating more to close the gap a bit will help. A month ago I put my goal as losing 23 lbs, can't believe I'm not 1lb closer than April 28th! Part of me thinks a shoulda done south beach , at least I'd lost a good 10. But I'm trying to get away from the fad stuff. Wanting 2beleive this eat more to lose more deal.
  • Luciendasky
    Luciendasky Posts: 30 Member
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    Very interesting topic :) I loved the guy that said fat bursts into flame and muscle just smokes
  • katemme
    katemme Posts: 191
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    When you burn fat it will catch on fire and cause a huge flame.

    when you burn muscle it generally just smokes.


    very nice!

    i have heard one quick way to tell if you are burning fat, is that even while sweating, your skin feels cool. i've noticed this during zumba and running (it was 80 out, so no reason i should be cold!!)
  • Forthe4
    Forthe4 Posts: 30 Member
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    When you burn fat it will catch on fire and cause a huge flame.

    when you burn muscle it generally just smokes.


    very nice!

    i have heard one quick way to tell if you are burning fat, is that even while sweating, your skin feels cool. i've noticed this during zumba and running (it was 80 out, so no reason i should be cold!!)


    I've never heard that but it would be awesome if that's true. I typically focus on just weight training and I'll be sweating buckets and feel like my body is a furnace but my skin always feels cool to the touch.
  • Pinky67
    Pinky67 Posts: 108 Member
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    The only guaranteed way is to get a ketone urine test. If you have ketones in your urine you are burning fat.

    True :tongue:
  • Debbiedebbiey
    Debbiedebbiey Posts: 824 Member
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    Interesting ! That would be a simple way to tell, I was on a med once that even when I was walking, outside in summer, I didn't sweat, stayed cool. But the pharmacist said could be sign of heat stroke! Yikes!!! Time for more water!!!
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,376 Member
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    Bumping for reference later...
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Thanks! I got Jillian's killer buns/thighs last week. Did some, hard to modify a Mtn climber, but I did :-). I drink a lot of water thou I don't always record. My dr said do yoga. So I'm going to start that too. But as most say, it starts in the kitchen. I think for the past 3 wks I was at 1000 cal a day deficit, according to my BB. I think (?) eating more to close the gap a bit will help. A month ago I put my goal as losing 23 lbs, can't believe I'm not 1lb closer than April 28th! Part of me thinks a shoulda done south beach , at least I'd lost a good 10. But I'm trying to get away from the fad stuff. Wanting 2beleive this eat more to lose more deal.

    Yoga definately sounds like a good idea - and maybe pilates.

    If you are at a deficit you will lose - sometimes its just hard to tell becuase of various fluctuations in weight that have nothing to do with fat loss.

    Sound like you have a good plan - hang in there
  • ChrisStoney
    ChrisStoney Posts: 479 Member
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    Very interesting topic :) I loved the guy that said fat bursts into flame and muscle just smokes

    thanks!, just just having fun!! on the serious side, I think you have to really starve yourself to burn muscle, I lost 50 pounds and increased my bicepts and chest, and increased in strength in pretty much every area so I guess I wasn't burning muscle.... I lift, but cardio is my bread and butter!!
  • Debbiedebbiey
    Debbiedebbiey Posts: 824 Member
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    Good to know ! Thanks to all who helped me out. I guess from not losing, I'm grabbing for pretty much any reason as to why. So it's probably not that any muscle I'm building - I'm then walking, dancing or hiking off. I'll just "remain calm" & maybe stay off the scales for a couple weeks....peace ;-)
  • acm130
    acm130 Posts: 100 Member
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    You can have ketones in your urine for a variety of reasons: hyperglycemia, prolonged vomiting, dehydration, starvation, hyperthyroid, or even certain meds (like prednisone), folks on low carb/high protein diets will also have ketotic urine, women who are breast feeding.... Thus is not a reliable indicator for whether or not you're burning fat. In fact ketotic urine could indicate you're not adequately hydrated.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    Additionally, I'm not sure it's even important to know whether or not you're burning fat in a given snapshot of time. As long as fat oxidation exceeds fat storage you will eventually have a net loss of fat.

    big picture >> acute.
  • acm130
    acm130 Posts: 100 Member
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    Additionally, I'm not sure it's even important to know whether or not you're burning fat in a given snapshot of time. As long as fat oxidation exceeds fat storage you will eventually have a net loss of fat.

    big picture >> acute.

    I agree
  • Lady_Bane
    Lady_Bane Posts: 720 Member
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    You can have ketones in your urine for a variety of reasons: hyperglycemia, prolonged vomiting, dehydration, starvation, hyperthyroid, or even certain meds (like prednisone), folks on low carb/high protein diets will also have ketotic urine, women who are breast feeding.... Thus is not a reliable indicator for whether or not you're burning fat. In fact ketotic urine could indicate you're not adequately hydrated.

    One would assume they should know the things they can rule out. You should know if you are hyperglycemic, if you throw up a lot, if you starve yourself, if you are breastfeeding, or what meds they are on etc.
  • jenniejengin
    jenniejengin Posts: 785 Member
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    bump
  • cloveraz
    cloveraz Posts: 332 Member
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    bump...very interesting post...and the answers are pretty interesting, also...
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    you tend to overshoot on carbs intake compared to your target in the diary. Food for thought. Bit more fat perhaps ?

    You won't see significant ketone levels in urine with that level of carb intake.
  • acm130
    acm130 Posts: 100 Member
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    You can have ketones in your urine for a variety of reasons: hyperglycemia, prolonged vomiting, dehydration, starvation, hyperthyroid, or even certain meds (like prednisone), folks on low carb/high protein diets will also have ketotic urine, women who are breast feeding.... Thus is not a reliable indicator for whether or not you're burning fat. In fact ketotic urine could indicate you're not adequately hydrated.

    One would assume they should know the things they can rule out. You should know if you are hyperglycemic, if you throw up a lot, if you starve yourself, if you are breastfeeding, or what meds they are on etc.
    Agreed,presumably everyone knows what meds they are on and usually knows what medical problems they have (unless they're undiagnosed) and they certainly know if they're puking their guts out or if you're breastfeeding:smile: but maybe they don't know that the aforementioned will cause ketones to show up in your pee . my saying ketones in urine are not a reliable indicator is kinda misleading as well because ketones ARE the end product of fat metabolism... but that being said I would warn against buying urine dip strips and checking for ketones because while a healthy person who's burning fat and receiving adequate nutrition may have ketotic urine so will someone who's undereating and underhydrated.... Hope the FYI didn't come off as pretentious or preachy:smile:
  • hothodgie
    hothodgie Posts: 258 Member
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    Bump! I found this thread very interesting. I recently had someone who lifts all the time, though NOT a trainer, that I was burning muscle by doing 25 minutes of cardio. He said I should be doing weight lifting and interval instead. I was already doing strength training in addition to my cardio. And I added interval training this past weekend because of what he said. However, in the back of my mind I was thinking, ok, but if Im burning muscle, how come I lost 2 inches and gained 2 pounds in three weeks. To me that meant I was gaining muscle, not losing it. I do like the interval training and will keep it in my rotation of working out. However, Im glad to see that I shouldn't be really concerned about burning muscle. Thanks everyone!