Does muscle really weigh more than fat?
SillyCat1975
Posts: 328 Member
Also, if you have the calories left and lets say you are hungry at 11:30 at night, do you think that it's just wrong to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich especially if you are only using have of the portions, I'm really struggling here.. I'm frustrated and I am pissed at myself.. Would you have that sandwich that late at night or would you just say screw it, I'm just going to bed? I'm also running 4-5 days a week and not eating those calories as well
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Replies
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Muscle weighs more than fat per unit volume, but 1lb of muscle still equals 1lb of fat. The amount of space they take up is different.
Cue the fighting now...0 -
Yes, muscles weighs more than fat if they are the same volume.
If you have the calories and are hungry, eat. Times don't matter.0 -
I don't think eating a sandwich is ever "wrong." There are choices that fit our goals and choices that don't. If you have the calories left, why would you NOT eat a sandwich?
Why aren't you eating your exercise calories back?0 -
1 cubic inch of muscle weighs more than 1 cubic inch of fat, as sliced off the body and not compressed beyond its natural state. Here's a better visual:
You can eat your calories no matter what time of day it is. As long as you can sleep after eating, go for it.
And MFP's goal is set up in a way that you are supposed to eat your exercise calories. The exercise calorie values in the database may or may not be accurate but I'd eat at least 50% of the calories earned by running.0 -
Muscle is denser than fat. Which means that if you're comparing equal volumes, yes, the muscle will weigh more. On the flip side, if you're comparing equal weights then the muscle will be smaller.
As for the sandwich, if it fits into your calorie and nutrition goals and won't cause you any sleeping problems, then I don't see a problem. Eating late at night shouldn't hurt your weight loss, so it's really a matter of personal preference.0 -
Seconded: Why wouldn't you have the sandwich? Do you think there's something wrong with eating at that time at night? What are you angry about?0
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lisacarroll18 wrote: »Also, if you have the calories left and lets say you are hungry at 11:30 at night, do you think that it's just wrong to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich especially if you are only using have of the portions, I'm really struggling here.. I'm frustrated and I am pissed at myself.. Would you have that sandwich that late at night or would you just say screw it, I'm just going to bed? I'm also running 4-5 days a week and not eating those calories as well
You're making it too hard on yourself, no wonder you're frustrated and pissed! I wouldn't go to bed hungry really ever, it would make me sleep poorly and I hate being tired. Thinking that the less you can eat the better you'll do is flawed specifically because it will make you miserable.
Please, please, eat a sandwich.
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I wouldn't think twice about eating the sandwich.0
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sgthaggard wrote: »I wouldn't think twice about eating the sandwich.
I wouldn't think once. Sandwich to mouth is just a reflex for me. Lol.
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I ate the sandwich lol, I'm frustrated because no matter what I don't see that damn scale moving, I know I need to get rid of that scale. I don't eat the calories that I earned from exercise is because I feel like I've undone everything that I've worked for by exercising. I'm afraid of late night eating, it's what has gotten me here now, but granted I would eat a ton of sugar,not do anything during the day and at bedtime eat some more, I mean excessive. I know this isn't an easy road to travel and it won't come off over night, I just don't like on weigh in day seeing a 2 pound increase on the scale as opposed to a loss, I would settle for like a 3 oz loss, something...
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It looks like you're getting good answers here, but I want to add another piece of information that you didn't ask about specifically. The muscle vs. fat thing usually comes up when people have started exercising and have seen a small increase in weight that comes along with it. Muscle is pretty hard to build and it's slow to increase. Most people don't put on significant amounts of muscle accidentally. There may be some newbie gains, but they aren't pounds and pounds of muscle overnight. I don't know your circumstance or why you're asking, but it's really common for people to retain water in their muscles after they start exercising to help cushion and repair those sore muscles. This can cause a slight bump up on the scale and give the muscles a "pumped" look that some people mistake for new muscle gain. Just posting this in case it's useful for someone.0
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1 cubic inch of muscle weighs more than 1 cubic inch of fat, as sliced off the body and not compressed beyond its natural state. Here's a better visual:
You can eat your calories no matter what time of day it is. As long as you can sleep after eating, go for it.
And MFP's goal is set up in a way that you are supposed to eat your exercise calories. The exercise calorie values in the database may or may not be accurate but I'd eat at least 50% of the calories earned by running.
Thank you, I needed to see that picture! 0 -
diannethegeek wrote: »It looks like you're getting good answers here, but I want to add another piece of information that you didn't ask about specifically. The muscle vs. fat thing usually comes up when people have started exercising and have seen a small increase in weight that comes along with it. Muscle is pretty hard to build and it's slow to increase. Most people don't put on significant amounts of muscle accidentally. There may be some newbie gains, but they aren't pounds and pounds of muscle overnight. I don't know your circumstance or why you're asking, but it's really common for people to retain water in their muscles after they start exercising to help cushion and repair those sore muscles. This can cause a slight bump up on the scale and give the muscles a "pumped" look that some people mistake for new muscle gain. Just posting this in case it's useful for someone.
Very good points. Be sure to read this, OP!0 -
I've been running, I started off slowly but I have been growing in speed over time and my endurance is growing, I guess I just get down on myself when I should look at what I've accomplished in the last 44 days.0
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lisacarroll18 wrote: »Also, if you have the calories left and lets say you are hungry at 11:30 at night, do you think that it's just wrong to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich especially if you are only using have of the portions, I'm really struggling here.. I'm frustrated and I am pissed at myself.. Would you have that sandwich that late at night or would you just say screw it, I'm just going to bed? I'm also running 4-5 days a week and not eating those calories as well
Yes, a pound is a pound no matter how you look at it, it's just that the muscle looks smaller than fat. That's really what people mean when they say muscle weighs more than fat.
If I had calories left from my day and I wanted that peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I would weigh ingredients, log them, and eat that wonderful PB sandwich.
If I didn't have calories left from my day, but had some calories left over from another day during the week, and I wanted that peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I would weigh ingredients, log them, and eat that wonderful PB sandwich.
I might also plan to eat less tomorrow just so I could have that peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
It all depends on how much I want that PB sandwich. 0 -
I never knew that I should eat back 50% of what I had burned, I thought that would throw me over and make me gain the weight, I can't tell you how much I truly appreciate you honest answers. I need to take them and apply them to every day life.0
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lisacarroll18 wrote: »I ate the sandwich lol, I'm frustrated because no matter what I don't see that damn scale moving, I know I need to get rid of that scale. I don't eat the calories that I earned from exercise is because I feel like I've undone everything that I've worked for by exercising. I'm afraid of late night eating, it's what has gotten me here now, but granted I would eat a ton of sugar,not do anything during the day and at bedtime eat some more, I mean excessive. I know this isn't an easy road to travel and it won't come off over night, I just don't like on weigh in day seeing a 2 pound increase on the scale as opposed to a loss, I would settle for like a 3 oz loss, something...
MFP is set up so that you have a deficit built in without any exercise. This deficit will result in weight loss. If you increase the size of the deficit through exercise, then you can eat those calories back -- it leaves your original deficit untouched.
If you are burning a lot of calories and not eating them back, then you can wind up with a net calorie count that is too low (that is, I eat 1,400 calories and then burn 400 through running -- my net calories are now 1,000). You aren't undoing anything by eating exercise calories back. The only thing you need to watch out for is that MFP databases and gym equipment often over-estimate calorie burns -- for this reason, many of us eat back 50-75% of your calories.
If your mood and energy are suffering, this is something you should pay attention to.
Now if you aren't losing weight, you may have a logging issue. I don't know how long it has been since you've seen a loss, but if you open your diary you may get some good advice. It's possible that you are eating more than you think that you are.0 -
Muscle density is 1.06 g/ml and fat density is (about) 0.9
g/ml. Thus, one liter of muscle would weight 1.06 kg and one liter of
fat would weight 0.9 kg. In other words, muscle is about 18% denser
than fat.0 -
lisacarroll18 wrote: »I ate the sandwich lol, I'm frustrated because no matter what I don't see that damn scale moving, I know I need to get rid of that scale. I don't eat the calories that I earned from exercise is because I feel like I've undone everything that I've worked for by exercising. I'm afraid of late night eating, it's what has gotten me here now, but granted I would eat a ton of sugar,not do anything during the day and at bedtime eat some more, I mean excessive. I know this isn't an easy road to travel and it won't come off over night, I just don't like on weigh in day seeing a 2 pound increase on the scale as opposed to a loss, I would settle for like a 3 oz loss, something...
Can you open your diary so we can give you more specific help?0 -
Agreeing with everyone else, muscle is denser and weighs more than fat, but takes up less space. Eat the sandwich; however, watch the carbohydrates and sugars. Your body can store those complex carbs as body fat if you don't use them. Lastly, throw that scale away, just kidding, but in all honesty, weigh yourself at the same time (first thing in the morning) once a week. It's really not about the number on the scale, it's about how your clothes fit and how you see yourself in the mirror. Good luck0
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lisacarroll18 wrote: »I never knew that I should eat back 50% of what I had burned, I thought that would throw me over and make me gain the weight, I can't tell you how much I truly appreciate you honest answers. I need to take them and apply them to every day life.
Please read this link. If eating back your exercise calories was "undoing" your workout or put you over, why would MFP give them to you?
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1Can you open your diary so we can give you more specific help?
This too.0 -
As far as your weight loss goes: There was a time I was frustrated like you. I was logging my food and exercise intake and I was in a deficit so why wasn't I losing weight?! I would look at my husband who lost weight with no problem, then look at myself in the mirror crying. Then I really (and I mean really) looked at what I was logging and got a HRM to better measure my exercise efforts. It came down to a simple underestimation of calories in and overestimation of calories out. Even though I knew this could happen I didn't think I was doing it wrong, but I was. Now if I don't see the scale move the way I think it should I revisit what I'm doing and it's because I became relaxed with my routine and some adjustments get me back on track. Consistency and patience are what's going to take you to the finish line. Don't give up on yourself!
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I opened up my diary, I typed this out a moment ago and it disappeared, I know I've made awful food choices but I decided that I was going to log anything that I put in my mouth, that I was going to be honest with myself. I'm hoping for insight, I appreciate all of you taking the time out of your day to respond to my post.0
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Easter was rough and I feel like my downfall really started when I ate the Cracker Barrel pancakes.0
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janejellyroll wrote: »lisacarroll18 wrote: »I ate the sandwich lol, I'm frustrated because no matter what I don't see that damn scale moving, I know I need to get rid of that scale. I don't eat the calories that I earned from exercise is because I feel like I've undone everything that I've worked for by exercising. I'm afraid of late night eating, it's what has gotten me here now, but granted I would eat a ton of sugar,not do anything during the day and at bedtime eat some more, I mean excessive. I know this isn't an easy road to travel and it won't come off over night, I just don't like on weigh in day seeing a 2 pound increase on the scale as opposed to a loss, I would settle for like a 3 oz loss, something...
MFP is set up so that you have a deficit built in without any exercise. This deficit will result in weight loss. If you increase the size of the deficit through exercise, then you can eat those calories back -- it leaves your original deficit untouched.
If you are burning a lot of calories and not eating them back, then you can wind up with a net calorie count that is too low (that is, I eat 1,400 calories and then burn 400 through running -- my net calories are now 1,000). You aren't undoing anything by eating exercise calories back. The only thing you need to watch out for is that MFP databases and gym equipment often over-estimate calorie burns -- for this reason, many of us eat back 50-75% of your calories.
If your mood and energy are suffering, this is something you should pay attention to.
Now if you aren't losing weight, you may have a logging issue. I don't know how long it has been since you've seen a loss, but if you open your diary you may get some good advice. It's possible that you are eating more than you think that you are.
This.
If your logging has been pretty accurate, likely it's water weight. Even more likely if you're continually increasing speed and/or distance while running and have a relatively slow rate of loss. I couldn't believe how much water I stored when I was doing the half-marathon training program for the first time. Took a vacation partway through and dropped 4 lbs in 2 days. Weight that didn't come back. Crazy.0 -
Please read this link. If eating back your exercise calories was "undoing" your workout or put you over, why would MFP give them to you?
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
Can you open your diary so we can give you more specific help?
This too.
This article was so helpful, the things is, is that I don't know which one I am using, I only know what MFP tells me I should eat and then the calories that I burn.0 -
Can I add you guys as friends? You seem so helpful to me, the time and energy you have put into just responding to my post means a lot to me.0
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Oh and I also use a fitbit but I don't understand what it means when it's showing the calories burned, I think it's a crazy fitbit, possessed or something..
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One thing I notice in your diary is that your protein is very low. For me, protein is my most satiating macro. Eating 100+ grams a day is specifically what keeps me from being hangry. Since I notice you like stuff like Fiber One bars, what about swapping those out for something like a Quest Bar in Cookie Dough? I think you would probably like them based on the things you seem to like (cause I like those things too), and be swapping a lot of carbs for 21g protein instead.
Some of the items calorie counts look low - like a couple days ago I see "Krystal Hamburger - 3 burger" at 390 calories. Is that a prepackaged item? That seems pretty low to me.
What is your height and weight?
Are you weighing stuff or just guessing? A lot of your stuff is prepackaged, but small errors can still add up to a lot.
Is the 2100ish daily calorie goal from you entering your exercise? Edit: Yes I see you are entering exercise.0
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