Muscle weighs more than fat myth.

Muscle weighs the same as fat, a pound of rocks weighs the same as a pound of feathers. The key is muscle is more dense, approximately 25 - 33% more dense than fat. This is why it is not uncommon to shape your body and lose a pant, shirt, and dress size and not lose hardly any body weight.

Well yea, a pound IS a pound.  But when people say that muscle weighs more than fat, they are generally speaking of the area of fat.  If you work out one leg and one leg only, that one leg will weigh more than the fatty leg.  Even though the muscley one may appear smaller (or larger depending if you put on bulky or lean muscle) it will still weigh more than its counterpart.

I guess its hard to explain what everyone has been spouting off about.

muscle barely weighs anything more than fat. probably 1% more by volume. really the people who come up with these ideas are just making excuses for why they havent lose weight, or actually put on weight. to make themselves feel better.

truth be told this is a weight loss lifestyle change website, not a body building website. if you not dropping LBs youre doing something wrong.

I wouldn't call it a myth.  Per square inch/ft, muscle takes up less room because it's more dense, making it "weigh" more.

For people who only have 10-12lbs to lose, gaining a pound of muscle every week or 2 can be VERY discouraging and VERY real, especially if all you go by is the scale. 

It isn't nice to lump everyone in the same category of "if you arn't losing LBS, you're doing something wrong".  It's not true for everyone.

I think what we can say here is that one rock weighs more than one feather.

okay, then how do submersion tests work?  if there's little or no difference in density between fat and muscle, why is there a water-displacement difference?

Of course 1lb = 1lb.  But do you remember that old trick question: what weighs more, 1lb of feathers or 1lb of bricks?  That's the same thing with fat loss.  And if you are a person with a crippled metabolism from years of yo-you dieting, then at first you'll probably just lose inches (if you are exercising along with dieting) but not much, if any, weight.  I think most people understand this.  And this whole muscle vs. fat thing is just an easier way for people to think about it if they have been struggling and feel encouraged.  Why disparage people for that?  Weight loss is not easy for anyone.  And it takes some people longer than others to make all the necessary changes, especially the mental change, in order to be successful.

So I think that flinging out a general statement that people are just making excuses for not succeeding at weight loss is not very constructive or helpful to anyone.  I think most of us are on CC to keep motivated and get inspiration.  We've all made excuse after excuse....just because one person suddenly has their act together doesn't mean they're suddenly entitled to think less of other people and how they are dealing with their own struggle.

I am not making excuses for why I am not losing weight. I am losing weight, that is just something my doctor told me when I inquired about it. It makes a lot of sense to me.

I am not convinced if you work out one leg only that leg will weigh more than the other leg. That is a statement that needs backed up in my book.

I was just sharing information I was told by my healthcare provider. I wasn't trying to cause a rucus.

just so you know, Amaryllis...I was mostly responding to Crypto.  It seemed harsh to me.

amaryllis (and crypto, for that matter), i think a lot of people here are overly sensitive and take benign comments as criticism.  i don't think there's anything wrong with a dose of reality once in awhile, but be prepared to get your knuckles rapped for it.

a pound of rocks weighs the same as a pound of feathers

True,  but the Volume of a pound of feathers is greater than the volume of a pound of rocks and  the Volume of a pound of fat is greater than the volume of a pound of muscle. 

So I guess I'm just trying to take up less space!

People with more fat float. XD

I remember my b/f tell me that when he use to swim a lot with his sisters, he could never float on his back.  (he was underweight at the time)  I told him his sisters have more body fat than him, so they float better, it was a light bulb moment for him, so cute <3

You can have two people who weigh the same, but one wears 2 sizes smaller because they have a lower body fat percentage.

Thus, why I said that muscle is more dense than fat (ie: takes up less space). Well, I am done with this thread. Have a good day all. 

a pound of muscle is the same as a pound of fat, but the volume of tissue is different.  A volume of solid muscle weighs more than the same volume of fat.  And there's no way to lose JUST fat sometimes.  It's just a reminder to people that although losing pounds is good, sometimes a gain in muscle is good too.  To prevent people from becoming scale-obessesed.  In the end it's about how you look and feel, not the number on the scale.  

Crypto - I take offense to your comment as well.  From my own personal experience I lost 55 lbs just by eating right and walking.  I maintained for several months quit smoking gained 25 lbs back because I wasn't eating right but I was still doing cardio.  A year ago I started doing weights  My size was a 14 again and my weight was at 165.  Fast foward a year doing weights and cardio I now weigh 175 but wear a size 10.  Sure I want to weigh what I weighed 2 years ago at a size 8 but even with the 30lbs extra I am very happy being able to fit into a 10. 

My cardio teacher used an example once that I liked.  Think of fat as a grapefruit but the same weight of muscle would take up the space of a tangerine.

I don't think saying if we aren't losing lbs we are doing something wrong.  For myself sure if I didn't pig out on weekends I'd probably weigh a lot less but I also like the fact that I "look" alot thinner than the scale says I do.  No one believes I weigh as much as I do. 

Anyone else think of it as grams and calories?

I have eaten on several occations less grams of food for 1800 calories, and more grams at 1300 at the end of the day, based on choices.

The food "weighs" more, but the calories are smaller.

Ok, this is true.  The muscle weighs more than fat thing is a myth because a pound is a pound is a pound if you're going to measure it that way.  I can put a pound of lead on a scale and I can put a pound of marshmallows on a scale and they will both weigh the same, 1 pound.  However, nobody would even question it if I said that lead weighs more than marshmallows because if I put the same volume of lead and marshmallows on a scale the lead would weigh a whole heck of a lot more.

As has been said, it's a question of density.  I think the ratio for fat to muscle is about 3:1.  So a pound of muscle takes up about a third of the space that a pound of fat would.

Also, "the people who come up with these ideas" include my doctor, a few friends who are physical trainers and in fantastic shape and various other health and fitness professionals I know so I'm inclined to take their word on the subject.

And nocturne, I've never thought of it in terms of grams and calories but it makes sense...good thinkin' :)

i dont know why people have such a hard concept of muscle and fat weight. a cubic inch of fat is virtually the same weight as muscle. its true muscle weighs a bit more, but its not a significant ammount.  its actually small but the ammount gets exadurated by people wanting to feel better about their weight loss.  the other thing is that muscle weight changes with water absorbtion so its a variable which is hard to calculate. 

exaduration and dieting often go hand in hand as you all probably know.

Actually, what I was pointing out is that the difference in density and therefore weight between a cubic inch of muscle and a cubic inch of fat is actually pretty significant.

I'm not sure where you're getting your info from but you really may want to do a little more research before coming down on people about how they think about their weight loss.

Incidentally, the original poster also mentioned this, she was completely correct.

Everything that everybody is saying is what the OP is saying! Infuriating!

She says it WEIGHS THE SAME but TAKES UP LESS SPACE. bah.


Crypto - In response to your original comment: The POINT is that I could WEIGH 5lbs more that somebody else, the same age, height and gender, and STILL fit into smaller clothes because their pounds are fat, and my pounds are muscle.

I am not making excuses for not losing weight. This is just a fact, and one that I have proved countless times - even to myself! I fit into my jeans better even though I weigh the same as before - I've just been weight lifting.

And ACTUALLY this is a CALORIE COUNTING website. You don't HAVE to lose weight. You can gain wait calorie counting if you need to. Or maintain. Or just become healthier... HEALTH is what it's about, and you need to build muscle to become the healthiest you can be... in my opinion. Of course if you want to be at your goal weight and flabby, and I want to be above my goal weight and toned, then so be it...

 read this... or more so look at the Picture