Does muscle weigh more than fat and is there such a thing as big boned??

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Help!!

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  • h1udd
    h1udd Posts: 623 Member
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    1lb of muscle weighs the same as 1lb of fat ..... but muscle is more dense so the 1lb if fat will occupy more space

    And a 6’2” man will have bigger bones than a 4’8” girl
  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,245 Member
    edited February 2018
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    What @h1udd said about the weight. A pound is a pound is a pound, but lean muscle takes up less space than fluffy fat.

    Re: being "big boned". Yes, people can be big boned. People can have small, medium or large frames. There's a test that measures your wrist size in conjunction with your height to determine which body frame category you fall into. Here's one site:

    https://medlineplus.gov/ency/imagepages/17182.htm
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited February 2018
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    Yes, and to a certain extent.

    Why do you ask?
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    Lb for lb no...and possibly but it's usually an excuse.

    Lb for lb.... No? A lb of muscle weighs a lb. A lb of fat weighs a lb. They take up different amounts of space, but they're both still a lb.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,863 Member
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    Frame size matters in determining one's desirable weight range (but mostly not literally because of having "big bones"). There are other factors, too, such as breast size for women, or muscularity.

    What matters most is the parts of bodies that can account for more body volume when at a healthy weight. Unfortunately, some of these can be difficult to recognize or measure when over-fat.

    For example, a 6 foot man who is of narrow, linear build will look best at a lighter weight than a 6 foot man with broad shoulders and a big ribcage, even if they're similarly muscular. A 5'6" woman with a wider pelvis and large breasts will look better at bit higher weight than a woman with small breasts and narrow hips.

    It's not the weight of the bones per se making most of the difference: It's mostly the geometrically greater volume of skin, muscle, and other connective tissue that's needed to envelop (say) wider vs. narrower pelvis.

    Personally, I'm not a fan of the calculators that estimate frame size from elbow or wrist bones. I have silly-big arms and hands, but very narrow hips. The latter have a much bigger impact on how much I ought to weigh. My wrist size, per the calculators, says "large frame", but I'm overfat until I get to the low end of the normal BMI range, which implies small frame.

    It's kind of hard to tell where you belong weight-wise until you start getting close. Fortunately, the weight loss process is exactly the same whether you have an accurate goal weight or not, until it's time to stop . . . and by then, you'll know. ;)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,704 Member
    edited February 2018
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    If you're talking scientifically, muscle weighs more than fat based on density. When you compare two materials against each other you weight equal VOLUMES to determine density. So a liter of muscle DEFINITELY weighs more than a liter of fat.
    As for "big boned", there's definitely people who have larger frames than others, but IMO many people say this when they aren't very tall and are just wide from being overweight/obese. I will say that they have DENSER bones though from all the weight they are carrying.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    When I was overweight, my wrist size said I was large boned, but when I got to a normal weight, I have normal wrist size.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
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    One pound is a pound, that is what something weighs.
    The space that the pound takes up, the density of the item and the volumn can be a lot different.