When you stop working out do your muscles stop burning fat but still exist? When do you lose them completely?

Question

Hi,

This post actually consists of a few questions:

I have learned that your muscles don't turn into fat when you stop working out but that you gain more fat because the muscles are still there but no longer burning fat. Is that correct?

I also learned from the same source that your muscles don't go away but they just become floppy from lack of use. If so, does that mean that your muscles exist forever? If not, how long does it take to lose them completely?

You must lose some muscle mass and doesn't that mean that you lose those muscles?

Also, if you used to have a lot of muscle mass is it much easier to gain it back than if you were trying to gain that weight for the first time? If so, what role does time play in this. Is it harder as time goes on to regain the mass?

For instance, if you work out hard and gain 15 pounds of muscle then lose it all by not working out, do you have to work as hard as you did to gain the muscle in the first place, or is it easier?

Answer 1

Muscles do not burn fat - they burn calories. The more lean muscle you have, the more energy the body requires to maintain them. Therefore, the more lean muscle mass you have, the greater amount of calories you are able to consume without resulting in fat gain.

When you "build muscle" you are expanding existing muscle fibers (hypertrophy). You are not creating new fibers. When you fail to provide the body with a reason (use) or a means (nutrition) to maintain that muscle, those fibers reduce in size (atrophy). But you still have those fibers.

It is easier to regain lost muscle tissue as opposed to gaining it for the first time. It becomes progressively more difficult as time goes by.

Answer 2

First of all your muscles can never completely go away unless you die and they rot off of you...sick yes, but that's really the only way. Also, yes it would be just as hard to regain lost muscle...sorry dude.

Answer 3

Oh Lord, just go to the gym and stop worrying.