Is it true that if you dont eat your body burns muscle first and fat last?

Question

I always heard it was the other way around. I think the other way would maybe make more sense for survival.

Answer 1

In order to survive the body reverves fat so muscle goes first. In order for fat burning to occur you need certain Vitamin/minerals and Water and if you do not eat how will you get these nutrients in your system. If you do not eat you are damaging your bones-for you need calcium eery day for bone health-so you stop for approx 1 week then eat you've gone a week without important nutrients and you'e damagaed your bones-your brain needs food every day for cells to renew-your brain cells die wihout food-do they come back? Not eating is abusing you body,being stupid-do a search on nutrients the body must have daily. If you want to lose weight stop the junk food,cut way down on sugar-eat healthy.

Answer 2

Starving your body by not eating will make it conserve fat (which is actually reserves of excess complex carbohydrates that were unused by the body) to survive.

Eventually you would run out of fat, of course, but by then you'll be malnourished and quite unhealthy. And you would also lose muscle, of course. If you lasted that long starving yourself.

People who do either don't have access to food (many in "third world" countries) or have a mental disorder which we pretty up by calling it an eating disorder. It is still a mental illness that allows a person with access to food to starve themselves for long enough periods of time to lose serious weight.

Reduce calories, exercise, eat a healthy diet. This is how to lose weight safely and effectively over the long term. Moderation in all things is the key. It takes time to put on weight. It takes time to take it off.

Answer 3

cut down on starchy foods, keep walking, aerobic exercise, and lift weights but make it higher reps, lower weight. High weight low reps build body mass where as the reverse tones and firms and defines muscle and burns fat. Proper diet and good worouts are key. Swimming is a great cardio workout that is non-impact.

Answer 4

It is true and my body is a walking example of it. Due to a digestive problem I haven't been able to keep certain foods down. When you're not eating or not eating properly, your metabolism starts to slow down, your muscles waste away and your fat stays.

Answer 5

If you don't eat, you're body slows down it's metabolism and you burn less. You might even gain some weight. But I do believe that the bodies' muscles turn flabby before you lose the fat.

Answer 6

it's not neccessarily burning the muscle first, like if you don't eat because you want to lose 5 pounds, you might lose like 2lbs water, 2 lbs muscle, 1 lb fat. If you don't excercise, your muscle will go faster than your fat, but muscle isn't lost "first" so to speak.

Answer 7

Your body burns fat first, then muscle and body tissue.

Answer 8

Once your body metabolizes all the calories and energy reserves (ie: fat stores) that it has, it will then begin to metabolize muscle. Which, at this point, is very dangerous. (Your body is starving and is essentially feeding off itself. Non-vital functions will begin to shut down too.)

Answer 9

yes! because your body can survive longer on fat then muscle.

Answer 10

Fat , then lean muscle tissue