Muscle burns more calories than fat, which is just one of the many reasons it’s so important to make sure you’re incorporating strength training in your workout program. That’s also why you shouldn’t focus too much on the number on the scale; you may have only lost 2 pounds in two weeks, but really, you could have lost 5 pounds of fat and gained 3 pounds of muscle. Translation: Your clothes are going to fit a lot looser, and you’re burning more calories at every moment of the day.
But it also means you have to be careful not to LOSE muscle. Decreased muscle mass can be one of the main reasons that metabolism slows. It’s especially important for women because women can lose up to 10 pounds of muscle between the ages of 30 and 50, and losing that much muscle mass means you’ll burn from 350-500 less calories a day!
You don’t have to be pumping iron in the gym 6 days a week, for the rest of your life. To build and maintain muscle mass, try to complete two strength training workouts a week. If you don’t belong to a gym, buy a workout DVD! Make sure it involves dumbbells, or body weight exercises like push-ups, tricep dips, and squats. Just two sessions a week will make a big difference in maintaining precious muscle!
