Calories in a pound of muscle

danzik17 · 04-20-2008, 04:31 PM

Random question of the day:

How many calories are in a pound of human muscle? Let's say you are undereating by 600 calories and your body needs to burn muscle in order to compensate. What amount of muscle would be burned, and is it the same for the majority of people?

By the same idea, how many extra calories does it take to build that pound of muscle? If you know your exact maintenance, can you eat exactly enough to put on precisely 0.25lbs of muscle per week?

**Built** · 04-20-2008, 04:41 PM

I looked up lean beef and lean buffalo on the USDA nutrient database, and took the average - I think it was around 600 calories, at least that's what's STORED.

Now - to MAKE that pound of muscle requires WORK - fat just gets stored, there's very little energy taken up in doing so. But muscle has to be synthesized, since we don't really "store" protein elsewise. I've seen estimates in the 2000 to 2500 calorie range of how many calories are required to GAIN a pound of muscle, but really, it's just speculation. So many other things are involved - microtrauma repair, partitioning, testosterone, age, is this "new" muscle or "regained" muscle, etc.

The more prudent approach in my mind is to have some reasonable figure in mind for what's possible, and tailor your gains accordingly. For example, a not-yet-maxed-out young male can reasonably expect to gain 2 lbs of lean mass per month in a caloric surplus while training heavy. Most will have to gain at least the same in fat to ensure muscle gains are maximized, but it's a law of diminishing returns since insulin sensitivity drops as fat is gained. For most males, gaining more than 5 lbs a month is probably going to make him a fat boy right quick - although there surely are exceptions to this, particularly for older adolescents and men in their early twenties who have nowhere near maxed out their genetic potential.

(For females by the way, drop the above lean-mass figures in half)

danzik17 · 04-20-2008, 06:05 PM

There is a difference between new and regained muscle? Is it more difficult to gain one or the other?

**Built** · 04-20-2008, 06:34 PM

From what I've read, regained is easier. I seem to recall MuscleTech took advantage of this in their old HydroxyCut ads, where they'd take a fat, out of shape guy and show him jacked and ripped to shreds 5 months later. Turns out the dude was an off-contest bodybuilder...

04-20-2008, 04:31 PM	#1
danzik17 Gender: MALE Elite Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,256 Blog Entries: 5	Calories in a pound of muscle Random question of the day: How many calories are in a pound of human muscle? Let's say you are undereating by 600 calories and your body needs to burn muscle in order to compensate. What amount of muscle would be burned, and is it the same for the majority of people? By the same idea, how many extra calories does it take to build that pound of muscle? If you know your exact maintenance, can you eat exactly enough to put on precisely 0.25lbs of muscle per week?
	Ron Paul 2012 Journal: Boom goes the dynamite

04-20-2008, 04:41 PM	#2
Built Bioidentical Bodybuilder Moderator Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: . Posts: 2,749	I looked up lean beef and lean buffalo on the USDA nutrient database, and took the average - I think it was around 600 calories, at least that's what's STORED. Now - to MAKE that pound of muscle requires WORK - fat just gets stored, there's very little energy taken up in doing so. But muscle has to be synthesized, since we don't really "store" protein elsewise. I've seen estimates in the 2000 to 2500 calorie range of how many calories are required to GAIN a pound of muscle, but really, it's just speculation. So many other things are involved - microtrauma repair, partitioning, testosterone, age, is this "new" muscle or "regained" muscle, etc. The more prudent approach in my mind is to have some reasonable figure in mind for what's possible, and tailor your gains accordingly. For example, a not-yet-maxed-out young male can reasonably expect to gain 2 lbs of lean mass per month in a caloric surplus while training heavy. Most will have to gain at least the same in fat to ensure muscle gains are maximized, but it's a law of diminishing returns since insulin sensitivity drops as fat is gained. For most males, gaining more than 5 lbs a month is probably going to make him a fat boy right quick - although there surely are exceptions to this, particularly for older adolescents and men in their early twenties who have nowhere near maxed out their genetic potential. (For females by the way, drop the above lean-mass figures in half) Last edited by Built : 04-20-2008 at 06:36 PM.

04-20-2008, 06:05 PM	#3
danzik17 Gender: MALE Elite Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,256 Blog Entries: 5	There is a difference between new and regained muscle? Is it more difficult to gain one or the other?
	Ron Paul 2012 Journal: Boom goes the dynamite

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04-20-2008, 06:34 PM	#4
Built Bioidentical Bodybuilder Moderator Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: . Posts: 2,749	From what I've read, regained is easier. I seem to recall MuscleTech took advantage of this in their old HydroxyCut ads, where they'd take a fat, out of shape guy and show him jacked and ripped to shreds 5 months later. Turns out the dude was an off-contest bodybuilder...