Nutrition Nugget: The Magic of Muscle
Bite-Size Reads for Your Health and Your Waistline
We’re all familiar with muscle. But many aren’t sure of the ins and outs of why muscle is so important. Of course, there are those “muscle-men” in the gym pumping iron a la Arnold Schwarzenegger and those Instagram influencers who seem too good to be true (is there a fit and toned filter?!). And that leaves most wondering, “where do I fit in? Do I have to look like them to be healthy? I don’t know if I can do that.” Good news — You DON’T! Let’s go through the details so you know what you DO need.
Starting off, you may have heard the phrase “muscle weighs more than fat.” This can cause us to resist (no pun intended) building muscle because we want to see changes on the scale. Let’s break this down because it’s not entirely true. A pound is a pound; a pound of fat and a pound of muscle both weigh a pound. The difference is, muscle is more dense than fat so a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. Think of fat as a bag of sand and muscle as a brick. Ultimately, when people are saying this, they are simply observing that someone who weighs 170lbs and is made up of muscle looks much smaller than someone who weighs 170lbs and has a high body fat percentage. It’s deceiving because we think the leaner person would weigh a lot less. In essence, muscle looks tighter and smaller, and so will your body if you have more of it. (This also gives us reason to pay less attention to the total number on the scale!)
But that’s the catch, right? How can we build all of this muscle, see the scale not budge or it might even go up (gasp!) and be healthier? This is because muscle dictates metabolism. I remind my clients of this often! It’s not easy to find time to work out daily. Some are scared to lift weights for fear of getting bulky (I’ll come back to this) and we’ve been told for so long to focus on cardio for weight loss. But the truth is the more muscle on your body, the more fuel you burn (even when at rest!). If you want to eat in a more lenient way and not see the same impact in the mirror as you see now, BUILD MUSCLE!
So the “bulky thing”…women out there, I feel you. I’m here to tell you, you aren’t going to grow these gigantic thighs or huge backs because you picked up a couple of dumbbells. There isn’t enough testosterone in your body for that! Instead, you will become leaner and tighter due to metabolic activity and the shape of toned muscles. How to do this you may ask? RESISTANCE TRAINING! Pick up heavy things and put them down. Then repeat. Use your body weight or extra tools like resistance bands, dumbbells, kettlebells, a medicine ball, etc. You will see and feel a difference.
At the end of the day, building muscle doesn’t have to be a scary or off-putting task. It allows you to be healthier, stronger, and leaner! So go on, allow your body to move in a new way, and always remember muscle dictates metabolism!
