From the Lab

fat or muscle which one am I burning

Name: XPERFORMANCELAB
Rating: 5.0

          May 13, 2026
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          By Xavier Savage
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          Resources
        

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“Am I burning fat or muscle?” The number one question asked by anyone in the gym, no matter what their goal is. From the avid weightlifter to the novice, looking to lose a little weight, the question remains the same.

The amount of muscle you have on your body will determine how much fat your body burns for energy. Your bmr or basal metabolic rate s the number of calories your burn daily without doing any activity whatsoever.

If you end up burning off muscle and not fat, than your bmr decreases and essentially you become fatter, and your goal becomes harder to achieve.

How can you tell if your losing fat or muscle

First and foremost if you are only doing cardio based workouts, or classes, than unfortunately you are burning some fat, and more than likely more muscle than anything else.

To preserve muscle you need to do complex lifts, 2-3 times a week.

You can use a fat scanner, scale or fat calipers to measure your weight and body fat percentage every 3-4 weeks. While there is room for a margin of error, it still beats just guessing.