Does Muscle Burn Fat?
Yes, muscle burns fat. While not a miracle solution, building muscle mass increases your metabolism, leading to greater calorie expenditure, even at rest. This increased calorie burn contributes to fat loss.
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Increased Metabolism: Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue. This means it burns more calories, even when your body is at rest. The more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR), resulting in more calories burned throughout the day. Mayo Clinic confirms that people with more muscle burn more calories, even at rest.
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Calorie Expenditure During Exercise: Strength training, which builds muscle, burns calories during the workout itself. CNET highlights that strength training burns calories during and after workouts.
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Post-Exercise Calorie Burn (EPOC): Even after your workout finishes, muscle building exercises continue to burn calories as your body repairs and rebuilds muscle tissue. This is known as Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC).
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Improved Body Composition: Increasing muscle mass improves your overall body composition. A higher muscle-to-fat ratio contributes to a healthier weight and reduces the amount of stored body fat. Shape notes that building muscle is part of a comprehensive approach to fat loss. Healthline further emphasizes that weightlifting alone can lead to fat loss.
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Hormonal Influence: Building muscle can positively influence hormones related to metabolism and fat storage.
While building muscle is beneficial for fat loss, it's crucial to remember that it's only one part of a healthy lifestyle. A balanced diet and consistent exercise are also essential for effective weight management and fat burning. A pound of muscle may burn around 6 extra calories per day, which is helpful but not a primary driver of significant weight loss, as noted on reddit.
