While not directly related to fat loss, HMB can be very useful supplement for those looking to cut their body fat %. The process of cutting requires you to be in a state of calorie deficit. When in a calorie deficit your body struggles to find energy to burn. When the need for new energy is enough your body starts to break down its own tissue. To reduce body fat you want your body to choose to break down fats, not muscle. Unfortunately this isn’t the way it always works. Enter HMB. HMB can play a role in dictating what tissues are used to cover the energy demands of the body.
HMB & Fat Metabolism
HMB does not directly increase fat metabolism. But HMB does provide a useful indirect effect. HMB restricts the amount of muscle tissue that can be broken down by the body. This means the body has to get its energy from breaking down other tissue. The next type of tissue to be broken down is fat. So by taking HMB you increase the amount of fat that your body preferentially breaks down for energy.
HMB & Muscle Retention
When you are cutting, decreasing muscle mass can be tough to avoid. A side effect of cutting is muscle loss, due to the reasons explained above. However, HMB ensures that the body prefers to break down fat reserves to fuel its energy demands. Making sure that you keep the muscle that you have built is important during cutting, as without the muscle definition there is little reason to carry out a serious cutting program. Making sure that your muscle is maintained via HMB supplementation also allows you to continue training at a high intensity; increasing the rate at which you are burning calories and further enhancing your cut. Muscle that is not in peak condition is more susceptible to injury, so HMB can also be credited with an indirect effect on injury prevention.
HMB & Protein Use
While trying to reduce body fat you will most likely be controlling your intake of macronutritents. Your protein, fats and carbohydrate intakes will all be correctly calculated to suite your goals and nutritional needs. However during fat loss you will probably have a reduced carbohydrate intake. This means that your body will try to draw on the other food groups to supply energy. HMB makes sure that the protein from the food you are eating is used solely for muscle repair and growth. HMB does this by optimising the efficiency of protein synthesis
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