Does Muscle Burn Fat Fast?

One of the common things that people often talk about in online fitness forums and in the gym is fat. I often see the question does muscle burn fat? The answers I've seen and heard vary greatly and I hope I can dispel some of the myths and confirm some of the truths. Burning fat can be easy or hard, it just depends how you approach it.

So getting right down to it the short answer is that muscle does indeed burn fat, that includes all the muscles of your body, even your heart and diaphragm. The conditions have to be right though. Muscle won't burn fat 24/7 and it won't even burn as much as some people might think.

Muscle will always burn carbs and sugar before fat. The reason for this is that burning carbs and sugar is much more efficient and easier for the body to do. However when muscle is burning these it will cease burning fat. For many people who have a diet that is high in carbs this is going to be a problem, you see it's not all that easy for the body to make the switch between burning carbs and fat. The body needs to make a hormonal switch which can take time. This is often why people with high carb diets are also on the large side, it's because they don't give their bodies the time to get into fat burning mode.

Does muscle burn fat while you sleep, or do you need to be running miles on the treadmill? The truth is muscle will burn fat any time day or night. In fact muscles will burn fat at almost the same rate while you sleep as while you are sat on the couch.

If you want to burn your body fat you need to take control of your diet. The most effective way to get your body to burn fat is either to eat a paleolithic/primal diet which involves very little carbs and therefore your body switches permanently into fat burning mode, this is also the best way to eat if you have a lot of weight to lose. The second way is to alternate carb and fat ratios in your food. The easiest way to do this is to eat slightly more carbs than normal on days that you work out while minimising your fat intake, and on rest days or days that you do just walking or slow movements you want to eat more fat while minimising the carbs.

Another important question I see is does muscle burn fat fast? After years of study the answer to this one is slightly disappointing. I have seen reports that say that muscle will burn 50 calories per pound of bodyweight per day but the truth is that it's actually closer to 5 or 6 calories. So if you're wanting to lose fat don't count on putting on lots of muscle and then using that to burn of the fat. I have tried that method and it really doesn't work.

Steve Hyde has been into fitness for many years. His passion for working out and getting healthy started when he was 17. He has tried a range of methods and approaches. Steve considers the best body shape to be that of the fitness model not that of the "puffy" body builder.

Visit his site: More Than Just Muscle.
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