Muscle weighs more than fat...

Hi everyone,

This is my first forum thread so I wanted to say hello!

I started Calorie Count some time ago but I started hitting the gym seriously about 4 weeks ago. I go to the gym 5 days a week, doing 30-60 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of weight training.

Three weeks later, my body *feels* more fit, I'm fitting into things a little better and there is most definitely a difference. But the scale doesn't really reflect it. I'm starting to get discouraged because as the days go by, my CalorieCount "day I'll reach my goal weight" keeps moving further and further away,... even though I feel better and better. 

So is it true? Does muscle weigh more than fat? Am I trading some light, flabby tummy area for heavy, better looking muscle? What gives?

Yes by volume, if you take a cubic measurement of fat and one of muscle you will see two things.

First, the muscle will be physically smaller than the fat. This is how you can loose size but not weight.

Second, put them on a scale and the muscle will weigh more, in fact 10 times more, than the fat. This is how you can loose size and gain weight (yup, that can happen sometimes).

This is why it's important to stay tuned to how you look, feel and how your clothes fit as well as the numbers on the scale. The numbers on the scale can be very deceptive because they don't give you the full picture of your health and progress. 

Don't worry though if you want those numbers to go down. Gaining muscle is great, not only will it make you slimmer, it will also help you loose fat as well. Muscle actually burns fat. Think of it as a two for one deal. When you exercised not only did you loose some fat and gain some muscle, but as you get more muscular your muscles will drain your fat for energy!

I agree with supersized. I've read that muscle actually burns 50 calories per pound just for being muscle! So its good to build muscle :)

Muscle is more dense than fat but it doesn't weigh more.  A 1/2 lb pack of butter is a bigger article than a 1/2lb fillet steak but they both weigh the same.  If you'd prefer to slim down than bulk up, maybe ease back on the weight-training and try to do some light exercise every day (such as a brisk walk), not just when you're at the gym.  And then watch your intake.... the usual reason for not losing weight.

Take a look at this picture to see the difference between 5lbs of fat and 5 lbs of muscle.

Now, which one would you rather have? 

Thought so :)

 A pound of muscle at rest only burns somewhere between 8-12 calories a day; still better than the 1-2 for a pound of fat and over the course of a year a pound of muscle will burn a pound of fat for fuel. Ao while the effect is small, it still helps.

 And of course the thing abot working out is that the "at rest" figure tends to not apply to you ;)

Also, keep in mind that while you'll see fairly rapid muscle gain and increased water retention for the first 6-8 weeks of any training program until your body adapts, that process will (probably) be over in another 3-5 weeks if you're not born with exceptional genetics. And most of what you're experiencing now is your body retaining extra water to store more glycogen and repairing your muscles; actual muscle gain tends to be on the order of 1-2lbs for the whole newbie gains period. Once your newbie gains are done, your body will release the extra water again.

 So if you stick it out you'll see more rapid weight loss later on as your training program lets you maintain your BMR in the face of a calorie deficit, not a given with diet alone.

 The key to weight loss is controlling your calorie intake though; there's nothing you can do to out-train your diet. So giving your calories another once-over is probably a good idea - had to do that myself just recently ;)

Gi-jane - no one was saying that 1/2 lb of muscle weighs more than 1/2 lb of fat.  That would be like the trick question: Which weighs more - 1 pound of feathers or 1 pound of bricks?  They weigh the same...it's the volume that changes.

 

What Supersized was saying is that if you took equal volume of each that you would find that muscle weighs more.  That is why you can become smaller yet weigh more.

Thanks for the link Melkor, very informative.

Chaotickitty, you're quite right but Supersized contradicted themselves in the original post.  Started out referring to the 'cubic measurement' ... at which point it was all going quite well...  but then said the muscle would be 'physically smaller'.... which wouldn't be true if the cubic volume was the same, would it?  The muscle would be physically heavier... not smaller.

But no-one likes a smart-arse.... :-)

Original Post by gi-jane:

Chaotickitty, you're quite right but Supersized contradicted themselves in the original post.  Started out referring to the 'cubic measurement' ... at which point it was all going quite well...  but then said the muscle would be 'physically smaller'.... which wouldn't be true if the cubic volume was the same, would it?  The muscle would be physically heavier... not smaller.

But no-one likes a smart-arse.... :-)

Uhhh, not to be a smart arse :) but, a cubic is a volume measurement. So if you take two equal volume measurements (i.e. fat and muscle see the picture melkor posted) and then measured the mass of each then the cubic measurement of fat would weigh in at less than the cubic measurement of muscle. This is best illustrated by the picture showing both a pound of muscle and a pound of fat you can clearly see that the pound of fat takes up more room and is less dense than the pound of muscle. 

Heheheheh okay shoot!

exhibit A:

I have a friend who is the exact same height as me.  We wear the same pant size, heck same shoe size!  We figured out that I'm about 10 pounds heavier than her-I've been working out and lifting weights for 3 years and eat well constantly whereas she skips breakfast and never works out.  She always called me the skinny one and couldn't believe I was heavier than her!

I gained 5 pounds after Christmas and Thanksgiving... go figure... and since the new year started lifting weights 3x a week and haven't lost 1 pound... but went down a size :) now I'm a 4-6 instead of a 6-8... and my fat is just m e l t i n g off... Just over the past week or so I noticed that my back love handles (lol) were getting less noticeable.. and I do a "pinch test" on my stomach and there are WAY less pinchables on me now... :P

I ♥ weights :)