Sounds crazy, but it's true. One pound of fat burns two calories per day. It adds up; 10 pounds of fat burns 20 calories, and so on. Now, of course you don't want to gain weight to burn calories, that's ridiculous. But, this just happens to be one of the lesser-known metabolic facts that illustrates how misled people can be. Everything is not quite as it appears!

How Many Calories Does Muscle Burn?

Medical professionals don't agree on an exact number, but, muscle burns somewhere in the ball park of 5-6 additional calories per day. Think about it, this is not a huge number at all. As you keep reading, you'll realize just how insignificant this number is. Muscle really doesn't increase your metabolism as much as you've been led to believe.

Putting It All Together

Simply put, if you lost 20 pounds of fat, you will be burning 40 fewer calories per day. At the same time, if you gained 10 pounds of muscle, you would be burning 60 calories more per day. Add it up-a grand total of 20 extra calories per day burned. This is not a huge change in your metabolic rate, no matter how you look at it. A 40 pound loss of fat and a 20 pound muscle gain would add up to 60 extra calories burned per day. That's practically nothing.

How Many Calories Do You Have to Burn to Lose a Pound of Fat?

One thing that is agreed upon is that a body has to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound of fat. At a rate of 20 extra calories per day, you'll never get there. So much extra effort being put into gaining muscle, and you can't shed an ounce of the fat? This extra effort can be directed toward cardio workouts, and the difference in results would be staggering.

Lose Fat By Burning More Calories

A good, hard cardio workout can burn 600 calories. If you are not trying to gain muscle, you can also eat less, taking in 600 fewer calories per day. This level will maintain your current muscle easily. A combination of good cardio and good diet can burn 1,200 extra calories per day. Now, that's a figure that adds up quickly. Figure it out-this is about 60 times as many calories burned compared to trying to gain muscle!

Combination of Cardio and Diet is Best

Clearly there are other factors involved, but the bottom line is that a combination of good cardio and good diet is the best, most effective way to lose fat. Burning more calories burns fat. Working hard at gaining muscle is not the best way to get your body lean and defined. Focus on the facts, and get effective strategies in place if you want to see results.