Muscle burns more calories ... but how many more?

As I mentioned in my last posting, I'm about to start Chalean Extreme (CLX), a much more weight-intensitve program than I've been doing. After doing a bunch of high intensity interval training and a summer of T25, it's time to build up some muscle.

One of the catch phrases of this program is "Muscle Burns Fat". I have no doubt that this is true at some level, but will it be enough to make a real difference in my metabolic rate? In my case it's pretty unlikely... have a look at these articles:

LA Times article by James S. Fell - Put down that Haagen-Dazs

LiveStrong article - Is it a myth that muscle burns more calories than fat?

Back in August 2013, I wrote a post on "Counting Calories - Where to Start?" It talks about how to calculate your basal metabolic rate - the amount of calories your body needs to maintain itself, without accounting for any additional exercise. My BMR is currently around 1,400 calories. I don't plan to lose weight during this round - I'd like to swap about 3-4 pounds of muscle for an equal amount of fat, and drop my body fat percentage by a couple of points. Unfortunately, I don't think that means I'll be able to add many calories to my daily intake.

Current research shows 1 pound of muscle burns 7-10 calories a day, while 1 pound of fat burns about 2-3 calories. As the LiveStrong article notes, if I gain 4 pounds of muscle, I'll only increase my BMR by around 15-20 calories. I'm sure I'll enjoy those 3 grapes immensely.

Now, if someone has a lot of weight to lose, dropping the fat and adding muscle will eventually make a huge difference in that person's metabolism. And there are plenty of reasons to incorporate strength training into a workout plan beyond an increased metabolism - it can dramatically improve physical appearance, decrease the likelihood of injury, lower the risk of osteoporosis, and improve your immune system.

But I need to remember - strength training is not a pass to start eating anything I want. And in fact, I'm concerned that my new program won't give me enough cardio work. So at the end of the day, it's up to me to make sure my fitness program is balanced and well-designed to help me achieve my goals.

Counting calories - Where to start?

I first want to say that I do not religiously count calories. I do not track every bite I take in myfitnesspal.com or any other calorie tracking program. However, over the past six months I've taken a much greater interest in the number of calories in my food, along with the amount of fat, carbs, proteins, vitamins and other content. While I refuse to obsess over the caloric content of every bit of food that crosses my lips, I think it's useful to know how many calories I should consume to maintain, and how many I should consume to lose. I'm currently trying to maintain my weight (over the summer), but come fall I want to lose the last 3-5 pounds, so I'll need to be more careful.

So, to figure out my baseline, I've used the Harris Benedict-Equation, which determines a target caloric intake based on your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). The Insanity program uses a calculator based on this. BMR is basically the number of calories your body needs to stay alive and healthy. Once the BMR is calculated, you add an "allowance" for physical activity to determine the number of calories you should consume to maintain your current weight. From this number, determine a healthy caloric deficit based on your weight loss goals (this will vary greatly from person to person; you may want to chat with your doctor to determine the right level for you).

As a rough estimate, healthy weight loss is approximately 1-2 pounds a week, requiring a caloric deficit of around 3,500 calories to lose one pound. So, a deficit of 500 calories a day is probably a reasonable target if you're trying to lose weight. Like I've said in the past, I'm entirely opposed to diets. For me, it's all about eating healthy food in the right amounts, and permanently changing your approach to food.

THE HARRIS-BENEDICT EQUATION:

1. Calculate your BMR:

        Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

        Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

2. Multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

           Sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2

           Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): BMR x 1.375

           Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): BMR x 1.55

           Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): BMR x 1.725

           Extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training): BMR x 1.9

NOTE: For Insanity, most people choose to apply "Very Active" or "Extra Active". I think that for T25, "Moderately Active" is probably more accurate (though if you do other physical activity during the day, that will bump you to a higher category).

3. Your final number is the approximate number of calories you need each day to maintain your weight. For weight loss, determine the mild to moderate caloric deficit that is right for you.

So in my case:

Female, 148 pounds, 70 inches, age 42: 655 + (4.35 x 148) + (4.7 x 70) - (4.7 x 42)= 1429

Multiply 1429 x 1.55 (moderately active) = 2,215 calories a day to maintain my weight. With this information, I will probably aim for 1,900 over the summer, since I'm basically maintaining until fall (though dropping a pound or two wouldn't be unwelcome!)