Your basic metabolic rate is the number of calories per day your body requires doing nothing. Loss of muscle mass will cause your basic metabolic rate to drop.
Example from Tom Venuto's ebook:
if man weighs 176 pounds with a body fat of 19%, his lean body
mass is 142.6 pounds and his basal metabolic rate is 1770 calories per day. Suppose he drops his body fat to 9%, and then he builds back up to 176 pounds, while maintaining his bodyfat at only 9%. His lean body mass is now 160 pounds with a basal metabolic rate of 1940 calories per day.
That's a 170 calorie/day difference. That's 17 lbs gained in a year if the 19% body fat man eats the same calories that a 9% body fat man eats, even though they are at the same weight.
Your weight isn't anywhere near as important as your body fat percentage. Increase your muscle mass and you will increase the number of calories you can eat each day without gaining weight. Just look at Michael Phelps.
Example from Tom Venuto's ebook:
if man weighs 176 pounds with a body fat of 19%, his lean body
mass is 142.6 pounds and his basal metabolic rate is 1770 calories per day. Suppose he drops his body fat to 9%, and then he builds back up to 176 pounds, while maintaining his bodyfat at only 9%. His lean body mass is now 160 pounds with a basal metabolic rate of 1940 calories per day.
That's a 170 calorie/day difference. That's 17 lbs gained in a year if the 19% body fat man eats the same calories that a 9% body fat man eats, even though they are at the same weight.
Your weight isn't anywhere near as important as your body fat percentage. Increase your muscle mass and you will increase the number of calories you can eat each day without gaining weight. Just look at Michael Phelps.