Burning desire to lose By Joe Stein Many people do cardio exercise to lose weight, as they labor under the false assumption that one burns most of their calories while exercising. Despite conventional wisdom, you burn between 65 percent and 75 percent of your daily caloric intake when sleeping, eating,working, driving the kids to school - activities of daily living. Only 15 percent to 20 percent or so of one's daily caloric expenditure comes from exercising. It works like this Each pound of weight gain is the result of your metabolism storing 3,500 more calories than it burned.Conversely, when you lose a pound, your metabolism has run a 3,500 calorie deficit.The best way to boost your metabolism, which will increase the amount of calories burned all day and night, is to increase your muscle mass. Strength training will do this for you. More muscles burn more calories According to the March 2003Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, muscle mass decreases about one percent per year after age 45 or so.This is why weight gain creeps up on us slowly, not on our radar screens until it's too late. Each pound of muscle burns between 30 and 50 calories per day - whether you exercise or not. Fifty calories a day is a bite or two of a Snickers bar. So what? Just gaining one extra pound of muscle will cause you to lose over 5 pounds per year- - that equates to losing 25 pounds in five years.During a 12-week strength training program, it is not unusual to gain two to four pounds of muscle and lose four to seven pounds of fat. Losing two to three inches around the waist is not unusual, either. Since extra weight creeps up on us a little at a time, losing it slowly is the proven way to keep it off - permanently. By the way, ladies, you will not "bulk up."Your muscle mass will be lean and smooth. Additional benefits Research indicates there are other good reasons to increase your muscle mass: • improves posture • increases balance and mobility • improves functional fitness • attenuates osteoporosis • helps prevent falls • stimulates bone growth What works best The key to growing muscle is to lift weights heavy enough to be difficult on the last few repetitions while maintaining proper form. Slow, steady,progressive increases in the amount of weight and the number of repetitions are important factors in reaching your goals. Once you're able to successfully lift the same amount of weight for several consecutive workout sessions, it's time to increase the intensity to make the exercise difficult again.This is how muscles grow and get stronger. Time to burn "I don't have time to exercise" is the reason most cited for not beginning or sticking with an exercise program. There is no need to spend hours and hours at the gym.With proper coaching, a complete fitness session can be completed in an hour.Time is muscle, and muscle burns calories.There's a lot of misinformation about fitness out there, so don't go it alone.A certified personal trainer can assess your current condition, set reasonable goals, develop a safe training program, chart your progress, and tell you when it's time to advance to the next level.The trainer help you learn it, so your muscles can help you burn it. Joe Stein, B.S., M.B.A., is a certified personal trainer and owner of Renaissance Fitness &Wellness. Call (732) 345-5151 or e-mail renaissancefitness@ erols.com with questions or to receive a complimentary fitness consultation and session.