Eli5 How did the morbidly obese guy(Angus Barbieri) who fasted for one year not lose all of his lean body mass(muscles)? Does the body actually work to preserve muscle mass and not break it down when fasting as a morbidly obese person?

Question

Eli5 How did the morbidly obese guy(Angus Barbieri) who fasted for one year not lose all of his lean body mass(muscles)? Does the body actually work to preserve muscle mass and not break it down when fasting as a morbidly obese person?

In: 41

Answer 1

Fat is where extra energy is stored. The more fat you have, the more likely you’ll lose fat rapidly rather than muscle, as that’s what the body goes for first. The body tries to get rid of the problem (the excess fat that hurts it) rather than make another problem (consuming glycogen from liver and muscles) in most cases.