Study: You can only burn so many calories a day

Yes, but equal sized portions of fat and muscle have a very different weight.

 

Correct, but in high-end facilities, body-fat % testing usually accompanies BMI evaluation.

 

For sure, because the mass is different.

 

Sure it does, but muscle is denser. A pound of lead and a pound of feathers both weigh a pound too. Which takes up less space?

 

As you get older you really start to know your body. Every body is different.

For me, it's all about when I eat.

(Keeping in mind that I exercise most days for general health and enjoyment, taking a day off maybe once a week.)

If I eat only a light dinner... Or don't eat anything at all after 5:00.... Weight just falls off.

If I'm looking to gain, I eat carbs at 7 pm or later.

 

With enough pressure applied, they both take up the same space.

And thus ends my yanking of your theoretical chain, Mr. Switzerland.

 

All those are true for me!

I do something with weights 1-2 times a week... light lifting, plyometrics, squats, planking, whatever.... some combo of that...

And it's fascinating how less is more for me. If I do less weight and don't tear myself up so much, my weight goes down.

If I attempt to lift a lot of weight and tear myself up, my appetite skyrockets and-- while I might be adding muscle, I also add fat and body mass in general.

If I do no weight bearing activity at all, I also gain fat.

There's a sweet spot somewhere in there for me when it comes to lifting... still trying to figure it out !

 

Unfortunately for those of us with a bit of a gut, we humans were built to conserve fat at all costs. Meals were infrequent affairs that had to be hunted down at the Dawn of Humankind, so the body was built to create and conserve fat for emergency use.

Oh, and McDonald's didn't have all-day breakfast items yet.

 

I'm going through the same thing. I really got dedicated to weight-lifting the last few months, and had gotten (and probably remain) as strong as I've ever been in my life. Unfortunately, I also was putting on fat. I assume there is some level of clean-eating I have to attain in order to gain muscle while not gaining fat at the same time, but I clearly wasn't achieving it.

 

I used to be a big dinner eater in my newspaper days, but now that I've moved to an 830-5 gig for the most part, I've definitely switched things up to where lunch is my bigger meal. I tend to work out after work and then eat a smaller dinner at home. It's amazing how much going from a 2-10 or 3-11 schedule has shifted the way I eat and exercise.

 

This will probably change as I get older, but I can eat as much as I want at breakfast and not put on weight. I run in the morning, so I feel like I kickstart my metabolism pretty well. I try to take in about 60-70 percent of my calories by 1 p.m. and it seems to suit me better.