Benefits of Having Lean Body Mass
You may have Googled many times on how to lose weight and stumble across websites that say “to lose weight you have to know your lean body mass”
Now you are confused wondering what in the world is Lean Body Mass(LBM) and start to overthink and panic about it. I was in the same position and the sooner I realized what Lean Body Mass was, it helped me in my weight loss journey to better understand the importance of Lean Body Mass.
WHAT IS LBM?
Lean Body Mass is the amount of weight you carry on your body that isn’t fat. In simple terms, it is everything in your body besides fat. The goal of any bodybuilder or fitness enthusiast is to drop weight while keeping your lean body mass the same. Hopefully after reading this article, you will know what are the benefits of LBM and how it can aid you in your fitness journey.
SCIENCE FACT:
Lean Body Mass does not necessarily indicate fat free mass. Lean Body Mass contains a small percentage of fat (roughly 3%) within the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), marrow of bones, and internal organs. It is measured in terms of density but you don’t have to worry about that!! Now that you know what is LBM you would be wondering how it is going to benefit me in my weight loss journey.
Here are some reasons why knowing your LBM would be beneficial:
LEAN BODY MASS COMBATS OBESITY
In a world where 11 per cent of Singaporean adults aged between 18 and 69 are obese, it is not easy to avoid messages and emails advertising that you can lose weight in x amount of weeks.
However, this shortcut approaches are all not sustainable and fail to address the main problem of weight gain: which is Calories In vs Calories Out.
The development of obesity results from an Energy Imbalance over a prolonged period of time. An effect on energy balance can be therefore be achieved by altering either calorie intake or energy expenditure — AJCN: “The Underappreciated Role of Muscle in Health and Disease
Energy imbalance occurs when you consume either fewer or more calories than you need daily and can result in weight loss or weight gain
Calorie intake refers to how many calories you take in by eating and drinking, in other words, your diet. However, through energy expenditure, you can burn more calories.
Thus, Lean Body Mass is associated with your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the amount of calories you burn at rest. The greater amount of Lean Body Mass you have, the greater your BMR will be. This means that people with greater amounts of Lean Body Mass will have a greater energy expenditure while doing nothing, helping to avoid calorie imbalances, and ultimately, obesity.
LEAN BODY MASS HELPS BATTLE SICKNESS
When you become sick and your body becomes stressed, your body’s immune system gets kicked into high gear. When that occurs, your body’s nutritional demands change. In order to support the immune system and contribute towards recovery, your body requires protein — and a lot of it!! Diet alone won’t supply the amount of protein required to defend against illness. Where will your body find protein reserves? Your Lean Body Mass.
A quick example would be if you’re a cancer patient, especially those with sarcopenia obesity, are at increased risk for treatment-related toxicities from chemotherapy and increased overall mortality. Therefore, leading to more muscle breakdown. Those whose overall body protein decreases due to cancer and cancer therapy, the rate of reoccurrence of cancer increases.
SIMPLY, Lean Body Mass can act as protein reserves that your body can draw off of when the immune system is triggered. If you have sufficient Lean Body Mass, your body will have a much easier time fighting off infection because it will have enough protein in reserve to power the demands caused by the immune system.
Lean Body Mass Can Protect Against Insulin Resistance
What is insulin resistance?
It means your body can’t respond properly to the insulin it makes. Over time, this sends your blood sugar levels up. That can set you up for type 2 diabetes, as well as heart disease, but it doesn’t have to. Exercise and a good diet can help you stay healthy.
Developing sufficient amounts of Lean Body Mass can help prevent the onset of insulin resistance/Type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance/Type 2 diabetes can strike anyone at any age, ensuring that your Lean Body Mass levels are sufficient while keeping your Fat Mass low is very important for everyone
Lean Body Mass also has the added benefit of increasing your BMR, which will increase your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) all on its own, which, when combined with proper diet and nutrition, causes Fat Mass reduction. Now not only can you protect against Diabetes but you can also lose more weight with more LBM.
BUT WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO LOOK LIKE A BODYBUILDER?
Building Lean Body Mass isn’t that bodybuilders only do, increasing your Lean Body Mass can help you in the long run from a health standpoint.
Building Lean Body Mass is an investment in your future. When you’re healthy, you don’t worry about being sick; when you’re younger, you would likely have more time to develop your body and your Lean Body Mass than someone who is older. With that said, don’t use age an excuse. Just go for it! To me age is just a number. If you don’t start working on building yourself a healthy body while you are still healthy, you’ll wish you had later on. You can not only combat obesity and protect yourself against Insulin Resistance but you can kick your sickness away and live a longer, healthier life! Don’t hesitate to lift some weights and if you are still unsure where to start, here’s 1 big tip for you:
JUST START!!!
and come back here and tell us about the before-and-after. I bet you’ll have something to say!
If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Thank you!
Also, don’t forget to check out how I lost 90 pounds in 365 Days in my post on Medium!
