The only reason I knew the answer to this is because a few months ago, the gym I work out at posted it as one of those interesting health facts most people don'

The only reason I knew the answer to this is because a few months ago, the gym I work out at posted it as one of those interesting health facts most people don't know. Looks like they were right. I'd only ever heard the "burnt as energy" explanation before then. But once you understand protein synthesis, it doesn't add up nearly as easily as that.