Why Build Muscle?

Besides looking and therefore feeling better (and being stronger), having more muscle makes you into a fat-burning machine. So, why count calories and sacrifice the foods you love when adhering to the proper amount (duration), frequency, and type of exercise (resistance training) is all you need.

Some specifics:

1. A pound of muscle burns an extra 35 to 50 calories a day
2. Ten pounds of muscle burns an extra 350 to 500 calories a day resulting in a pound of weight loss every seven to 10 days.

Add this to a regular exercise program and eating the right foods (at the right time)--and you'll be burning tons of calories/fat all day even while you're sleeping.

Check out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/exercise/lookup to find out how many calories you're burning while performing a particular exercise

Personal example:
I weigh 125 lbs. Of that number, 20% is body fat, 50% is water, and 30% is muscle (or roughly 37 lbs of my total weight). Based on the assumption above, I burn roughly an extra 1,400 calories a day minimum without having to do anything.

And, that figure doesn't take into account the calories I burn from daily activity/exercise. This is why I can eat a lot (including dessert) and still be the same size as when I was in high school even after having 2 kids and being almost 41.