3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community - Interesting Article on Muscle Mass & Calorie Burn

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Interesting Article on Muscle Mass & Calorie Burn

AWESOME Article!!BRAVO!!!
You just hit a home run with what my problem is! I can't thank you enough!! BRAVO!!!

Good article. I have heard, though, that weightlifting continues to burn calories while the torn muscles are repaired over the next 24 hours or so after lifting so in the end it's a wash when it comes to calories burned from cardio vs. lifting (and lifting might actually be more).

I wonder if that 50 calories/pound of muscle somehow takes into account exercise? Obviously, if you're sitting still your muscles aren't going to be burning nearly as many calories as if you're running or lifting. Just curious.

Quote:

Originally Posted by runningfromfat (Post 4065686)

Hmm . . . I've never heard that one. So, are you saying that after lifting, we tend to burn more calories at rest because of muscle repair?

I've heard something similar about HITT workouts, i.e., after doing a HITT workout I've heard that we continue to burn more calories at rest than we would if we had not worked out (I can't remember how long this is supposed to last after a HITT workout, though). I don't know if that's true, but I have noticed in the past that whenever I have done a HITT workout, I tended to be hungrier that day than when I didn't do those types of workouts.

I found the article interesting as a way to dispel the myth that when we gain more muscle, we can eat significantly more. I don't want to give myself any more excuses to eat more (I've done that too much in the past). This doesn't mean, however, that I don't see value in weight lifting. In fact, it's one of the only types of workouts I go out of my way to formally and regularly do because, IMHO, it's the only type of workout that can actually change my body shape.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lin43 (Post 4065846)

I definitely got that point about not being able to eat more with it. ;) I just couldn't let the part where weight lifting burns more calories afterwards go. Yes, weight lifting is like HIIT in that it's anaerobic exercise. Here's something I found discussing it:

Quote:

The key with anaerobic training is what is known as EPOC. Anaerobic exercise
burns a ton of calories while you are performing it. However, the metabolism
remains elevated following this type exercise. This was, at one time, referred to
as the oxygen debt, but is now referred to as the excess post-exercise oxygen
consumption (EPOC). The recovery of the metabolic rate back to pre-exercise
levels can require several minutes for light exercise (aerobic training), several
hours for very heavy exercise (anaerobic cardio training), and up to 12 to 24
hours or even longer for prolonged, exhaustive exercise (interval training or
circuit weight training).

The EPOC can add up to a substantial energy expenditure when totaled over the
entire period of recovery. If the oxygen consumption following exercise remains
elevated by an average of only 50 ml/min or 0.05 liter/min, this will amount to
approximately 0.25 kcal/min or 15 kcal/hr. If the metabolism remains elevated
for five hours, this would amount to an additional expenditure of 75 kcal that
would not normally be included in the calculated total energy expenditure for
that particular activity. This major source of energy expenditure, which occurs
during recovery, but is directly the result of the exercise bout, is frequently
ignored in most calculations of the energy cost of various activities. If the
individual in this example exercised five days per week, he or she would have
expended 375 kcal, or lost the equivalent of approximately 0.1 pounds of fat in
one week, or 1.0 pounds in 10 weeks, just from the additional caloric expenditure
during the recovery period alone. This is the key to maximizing the return on
your exercise investment.

The fitness industry makes me sick. They exagerate one little fact and so one person can blow it all off as a myth. All for profit and to promote what they're selling.

I believe the truth to be somewhere in between.

One cannot disspell the fact that maintaining a healthy weight is simple math. We consume calories. We burn calories. If we don't burn what we consume, we store it as fat.

So if we're not happy with our weight loss, we adjust accordingly.

Also, DO WHAT YOU LIKE TO DO to burn calories. Don't like to run? Don't do it! Find another activity. If weights are your thing, do it!

Overall, though, whatever you do, make sure you're not consuming more than you're burning. If you are calculating these efforts and not finding results, change your regimine.

It's really that simple.

Thanks for that link, runningfromfat. I'll admit that I'm skeptical of the "15 calories more per hour claim" if applied to several hours. I suppose I find it hard to believe that the effect would last that long. Put it this way: It might be true but I wouldn't eat an extra 75 calories on such days (just in case!) :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitness4life (Post 4065883)

I absolutely agree with this. We really have to run our own experiments because we truly are all different. I love to research and watch TV shows etc. about weight and fitness, but I take everything with a grain of salt. It seems that every single week there is some news report: CARBS are evil, WEIGHTLIFTING is best for you, you shouldn't be eating FRUIT, COFFEE will kill you, COFFEE is good for you, EGGS are loaded with cholesterol, EGGS have good cholesterol-eat all you want.

I believe that basic, old-fashioned advice is best, at least in my case. Exercise lots more, eat lots less. Simple.