Being an exercise devotee (aka “gym rat”)  I’m pleased to see that exercise and weight training seem to be hot topics of late. I’ve read a few posts and responses in the past few days that prompted this post.

First, a simple lesson in human anatomy: muscle and  fat are two different types of tissue found within the body. They serve completely different purposes. I’m fairly certain that since we’re all obese (or formerly obese) people here, we all understand how fat and muscle operated differently and serve different functions in our bodies. The simple fact is that we need both types of tissue to survive. Easy enough.

Fallacy: Muscle turns to fat when exercise lessons or stops. Folks, this is impossible. Muscle will atrophy from lack of use. That is all.

Muscle can be marbled with fat, sure, you see it in the cuts of beef that you buy at the market. Our muscles can be marbled as well. A muscle can also be covered, surrounded or encased in fat. That does not mean your muscle is turning to fat. It means that your muscles are being invaded by fat cells. Those tiny fat cells are just pushing their way in and around the muscle tissue. This happens when we consume more calories than we burn.

So here’s a scenario: 25 year old male works out 5 days a week. He is a “hard body”. As he hits 30, he is married, has more responsibilities at home and at work and time that once was devoted to being a hard body is now being dedicated to other aspects of his life, e.g. wife, kids, work, mowing the lawn, etc.... Most likely he still eats the same amount he did when he was working out heavily, but he’s not expending nearly the same energy, nor is he tearing down and repairing his muscles regularly. His muscles begin to atrophy and he begins to looks soft. His weight has not changed, but his pant size is one, maybe two sizes larger. How can this be?

This fellow’s muscles have atrophied, gotten smaller, over time. Because he is still eating the same number of calories, but using far fewer calories than he did when he was working out with regularity, he is banking calories, which means storing the extra as fat. So, far less muscle and added fat. Looks like muscle has turned to fat, but in reality the muscle has simply receded and allowed the fat to move in. This is an avoidable outcome.

Fat is far less dense than muscle tissue. A pound of fat takes a lot more room in the body than a pound of muscle. Thus, the popular, yet highly inaccurate statement, “Muscle weighs more than fat.” has come into being. Personally, that saying drives me nuts! A pound is a pound. IMO the saying ought to be, “A pound of fat takes up a whole lot more room than a pound of muscle.” I can personally attest to the accuracy of that statement!

So those of you worried that your muscle will turn to fat if life gets in the way and you stop exercising may stop your worrying. It’s not true. What is true is that you will have to adjust your calorie intake accordingly to match your new activity level. If you don’t, you are bound to gain fat pounds while your muscles atrophy. Not a good thing for us after all our hard work.

Also consider the following tidbits of info when considering exercise:
*It is a very rare woman that can bulk up without chemical intervention (steroids).

*A pound of muscle requires almost twice the energy to maintain than a pound of fat.

*It is virtually impossible to gain muscle during calorie deprivation. (rapid weight loss)

*Because muscle uses more energy than fat to exist, your metabolism will be higher the more lean muscle you carry on your body.

*Toning or adding muscle does not mean you will gain weight. As you tone and build, you will also lose fat. Most of us lose the fat faster than we build muscle. Take me, while on program I lost an inch and a half off my waist last month, and lost 5 pounds. That was a lot of fat loss with no muscle loss, but no muscle gain either.

*Remember, exercise includes walking and hiking and dancing, anything that gets you out moving and elevating your heart rate. You don’t have to be a “gym rat” like me. LOL!

Gail, aka Loverofcats, introduced me to a saying I think is great and one to live by:
                                          Strong is the new Skinny.

I’m not out to get anyone to become a body builder. But I’d love for a lot of you to get on the strength building bandwagon. Isn’t eating clean and getting lean what this journey is all about?

 Amen!  

 A man after my own heart. 

Thank  you for posting this. Lately,  I have seen more postings regarding weight training. I hope more people are deciding to integrate this activity into his/her exercise regimen. It was the best thing that I ever started, 1.5 years ago.


Gail

Beautifully written and accurate as always.  My big concern with exercise has more to do with my ability to cut calories if I decrease or stop exercising.  I have seen people become habituated to eating more calories while on the exercise bandwagon and then not be able to moderate the caloric intake when for reasons of injury or lack of motivation the exercise is reduced.  I think it is important to keep this balance in mind as as with anything else having to do with maintenance, refuse to play the ostrich.  Thank you for the post.

Concern understood! Still being in a psuedo losing phase I have chosen not to drastically up calories yet to accommodate my exercise level. I do take an extra 190 calories in a day on my exercise days.

That said, the worry seems to be about not maintaining the exercise while maintaining an increase in calories. I get that because I've lived it. To deal with that now I do not eat my one protein snack and protein shake on my non exercise days. Because I allow myself those two foods only after a workout, when I don't work out I don't miss those two items in my day. The rest of my meals have not changed.

That is how I deal with that particular issue. I also don't exercise more than an hour a day. Though I do exercise hard, I estimate my calorie expenditure from exercise isn't extraordinary - probably 400 to 550 calories at the most (though the charts indicate far more for what I do). For me, I don't see the need to significantly increase calories for exercise. I just make sure I have increased protein levels on exercise days. Today I'm at 119 grams of protein and 832 calories.

I will enjoy talking to you about this more. Your perspective as someone who has been maintainging her weight for 2.5 years adds a great deal of credence to your concern.

 I"m with you I hardly ever eat more that 750 and I'm normally closer to 600.  I do however have more carbs on my heavy workout days.  I have those extra carbs in the form of my chocolate milk recovery drink.  And my carbs still stay below the 60g level.  I reguarly exercise more than an hour because I am now up to running 7-8 miles at a pop (and I run a 12 min. mile).

 Kairk, as always, great post.  A pound of muscle wighs more than a pound of fat has driven me nuts or years!  I do love how much better I feel converting all that fat to muscle.  I am so lucky to have friends that want to walk and hike. I truly feel lucky for each of them.  I do go down into the gym, but not very often with it being perfect outdoor exercise weather.

This morning I finished the first 7.2 miles of my hike, then amazingly had the energy left to intermittently run the last 1/2 mile.  Mornings like today just blow me away. I may have to brace myself for the big uphills, but I never regret having dome them!

I love when we talk exercise!

Leigh, when you hike, how do you fuel your hike?  I LOVE to hike, preferably up in the mountains.  I have a protein shake before I get to the trail head, and pack nuts and protein bars (usually a Quest bar - very low carb), maybe some cheese or peanut butter for the trip, and of course, lots of water.  But I have a hard time balacing energy input with hydration (if I decide I need a protein bar, it's really hard to wait 45 minutes before drinking when I'm doing a strenous trail), and once I get home I completely zonk.  I shower, and it's all I can do to blow-dry my hair and put some clothes on, and I usually end up having to take a nap.  I'm worthless, and I suspect it's because I'm not fueling myself sufficiently.

 Hi,
My hikes are generally 2 to 2.5 hours. 5.5 or 7.7 miles depending on the day and which trails. Sometimes they are longer but that is rare. I like to get out early in the morning while it's still cool so that I don't need much water.  My Sleevie feels like a wiggle worm if I drink while exercising.

Mornings like today when I feel lazy, I just do a 5k walk. I will probably walk again later or go down to the gym and do the weight machines.   Nothing special on these days.

For breakfast, generally 30-60 minutes before the hike, I eat a Premier Nutrition Protein bar.  I've tried it having a Quest  bar but the 170 don't keep me going as well as the Premier which has 270-290 depending on which bar it is. I get the variety pack at Costco.  I do well with the 23 carbs in the bar and never want to eat them except for hiking breakfast.  I tried doing a two scoop protein shake but tired more easily and got hungry.

I don't take food with me.  I drink some water, then more water in the car. Lunch is generally 60-90 minutes after the hike, depending on what time I started.

I think it takes experimenting to figure out what works best.  I like feeling lighter so like to eat less before hiking.

Ah, that explains it.  I can be out there for 5+ hours, so I'm burning enough calories that I need something on the trail (when I start to feel a bit woozy on my feet, it's time to fuel), and I'm working hard enough that I need hydration too (lots of elevation).  I'm an early bird too, like to be at the trailhead by 7:15 because I'm out there for tranquility and the chirps of the birds and communing with nature.  By the time I'm on my way back down it's a constant stream of chatty groups heading up.
I'll try a protein bar that packs a bigger punch, I just don't buy those because carbs tend to send me into binge cycles. 

 I wish you lived close so I could join you! I love the morning birds and quiet.  My walks tend to be walking meditations.

I'm the same way about carbs. I had to test a lot of bars to find the ones that were tasty enoug to get down, yet repulsive enough to never want another.

This post was the first one I've bookmarked. :)

Trainers always seem to be surprised at how strong I am. And how flexible. Fat just gets in the way.

Great post and well said. Thank you.

I love having muscle instead of fat. I love the look and feel of it. That's what keeps me motivated to keep exercising and running. I never want to feel fat and unhealthy again.

donna

Very well done :)

A couple of caveats I would add are:

1) If your program doesn't include it, invest in body composition and metabolic testing.  It's been very helpful to me since I started.

2) Once you go into maintenance and cease the major calorie deficit, you'll be amazed at the strength gains you can make.

3) When you have massive weightloss you lose strength and muscle mass, naturally.  Weight training helps to maintain it and ensure the 'weight' you lose is mostly fat, as noted above.  As an example, Last night, I was doing step-ups on a bench with a 30lb bar-bell on my shoulders. It was work.  My trainer, pointed out I did these when when I weighed 70lbs more, and the 30lb weight was less than half that. While I am relatively stronger, for my size, now, I had muscle built from hauling around the extra weight.

4) Maintaining muscle mass during weight-loss helps protect your metabolism. If you lose mostly fat and not a lot of metabolically active muscle, you will not see as much decline in your calorie requirements.

 Thank you SO MUCH!  I fight this enough in the real world.  People saying, oh you must be making muscle because you work out so much. NO I eat 600 calories a day, I'm working out so I don't lose what I have but the chances of me building are between nil and none.  It's just frustrating how quickly people are ready to repeat what they've heard without ever actually looking at the physiology of our bodies!

Thanks again for taking the time to write this.

you are so right. Quality if life is tied to my exercise now. I'm hooked.