> If you increase muscle mass, you increase your metabolism, which means your resting metabolic rate increases. Yes, but not as much as people think [0]. It's

> If you increase muscle mass, you increase your metabolism, which means your resting metabolic rate increases. Yes, but not as much as people think [0]. It's about 5 kcals per lb. of muscle (compared to roughly 1 for fat). Your organs consume the vast majority of your calories. An extremely fit person can expect to burn maybe 50-100 kcals more a day than a fat one per pound. It's not nothing, but if you read men's magazines they make it sound like if you lift some weights, you can eat whatever you want. This isn't to say there are not many good reasons to strength train, especially as you age. I just wish people weren't trying to sell benefits that didn't exist when there are so many that do exist. [0]: https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/metabolismcontroversy.html https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/metabolismcon... EDIT: I shouldn't say "50-100 per pound", I should say that a fit person can expect to burn 50-100 more than a fat person of the same weight, within a normal weight range.