Does Having More Muscle Mass Mean You Can Burn More Body Fat?

YES! As you see from the picture above, muscle tissue is far more dense then fat. This is another reason why the scales are not an accurate measure of body fat loss. You could be gaining lean muscle mass and dropping body fat but the number on the scales remains the same or even increases 🤔 This is because muscle mass weighs more then body fat 💪🏼 Muscles grow through protein synthesis, which is the one of most energy consuming processes in the cell. If you’re building muscle, it is not just the workout it-self but also the growth of the muscle that consumes energy and burns calories. This happens primarily when you sleep, hence why if your goal is to build muscle or enhance recovery then SLEEP should be your priority 😴 Muscle tissue is metabolically more active and burns more calories then fat tissue. The more lean muscle mass you have, the bigger you resting energy expenditure (or resting metabolic rate) 💯 If body fat loss is your goal, including strength or resistance training into your exercise routine is important 🏋🏻This way you can improve your body composition, that is losing fat, maintaining muscle or even gaining some 💪🏼It is also important to keep in mind that muscles require enough nutrients to grow 🥙🍗🍳🥦 As we age, our body composition changes and we start to lose muscle mass (a process called sarcopenia). It has been shown that physically inactive people can lose as much as 3-5% of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 30. This increases to as much as 8% after the age of 40. Most men lose as much as 30% of their muscle mass during their lifetimes 🥱 This increases your risk of falls, fractures, less mobility and functional movement. Another important reason why (as you age) ensure that you are doing some sort of resistance exercise (can be anything from weight training to yoga) a few times a week can decrease the process of sarcopenia. Additionally, ensuring your diet includes good source of quality protein 🍳🥩🍗 Overall there are many benefits of having increased muscle mass such as improved insulin sensitivity, decreased injury risk, improved mood, increased immunity and increased resting metabolic rate. This doesn’t mean you need go out there and become a body builder 🏋🏻 Start to incorporate some sort of resistance training a few times a week, eat adequate amounts of protein and other nutrients, and prioritise sleep 💤 This will help you build lean muscle mass which will benefit your health long term 💯