Strength training specialist and freelance writer James Fell recently wrote an article for the Los Angeles Times in which he challenges the belief that a pound of muscle has 50 times the calorie-burning power as the same amount of fat.
Fell, who over the course of years lost 50 pounds of fat and gained 20 pounds of muscle, said that if the myth were true, it would mean that he should be burning an extra 1,000 calories per day through his resting metabolic rate.
The writer laments his inability to freely eat potato chips and ice cream without gaining body fat, and concludes that there must be something off about the math that the myth is based on. So, he interviewed metabolism expert Claude Bouchard of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and found that each pound of muscle burns about six calories a day while at rest, while a pound of fat uses about two calories daily.
Fell said that a combination of weight training and aerobic activity is likely the key to ripped abs.
"Don't think I'm down on weights; I lift four hours a week because it's awesome. It makes me stronger, increases my bone density and improves the strength of my connective tissues," Fell wrote.
The Mayo Clinic reports that gaining muscle mass is important in keeping the metabolism healthy and that it is key in losing body fat.
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