Muscle DOES NOT weigh more than FAT

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Replies

  • plyosteph
    plyosteph Posts: 17
    Well good to know why I gain weight from working out...
  • SweetSammie
    SweetSammie Posts: 391 Member
    By volume, it does. 2 square inches of muscle weighs more than 2 square inches of fat. So, when your clothes fit better and you lose inches, not lbs, this is why. That is what people MEAN, even if they don't clarify.
  • renkath
    renkath Posts: 91 Member
    And no one is going to point out that the person who began this thread, who insists that people use language accurately, states that fat can be converted into muscle?
  • FlyeredUp
    FlyeredUp Posts: 632 Member
    Oh f--- not this again!!
    My thoughts exactly.
  • MisterTEZ
    MisterTEZ Posts: 272 Member
    and to add my tuppence worth (as we say in the UK)

    pound per pound muscle and fat weigh the same (no brainer) BUT

    fat takes up more room in the body (like stubborn belly bulge).

    No more threads like this one again please!
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    This is because you are losing the fat and converting it into muscle.


    You've substituted one misunderstanding for another. Fat is not converted into muscle. Fat cells may shrink because of depleted fat stores and muscle may be more noticeable as a result, but they're two different substances.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Please people, learn the phrase PER UNIT VOLUME

    it will make you all agree with each other. Except for the person that said that a cup of lead equals a cup of feathers. I'm hoping that one was sarcasm, because that's not true with any qualifications.
  • donnalemer
    donnalemer Posts: 3
    You are absolutely right 1 pound equals 1 pound.....but it is an optical illusion, similar to 1 pound of feathers vs a1 pound brick. However, 1 pound of muscle is leaner vs bulky, and takes smaller space then 1 pound of fat. Muscle also aides in the burning of calories and excess fat...When one builds muscle they more effectively are able to get rid of the fat.
  • kikih64
    kikih64 Posts: 349 Member
    I really don't understand why people get so worked up about this statement. I understand what people mean when they say it. Sigh.
  • meclight
    meclight Posts: 4 Member
    density = mass / volume or density is the relationship between mass and volume.

    I believe that this all boils down to the volume of your body... Eureka! (in case you don't get the reference, look up Archimedes).

    Weight, by definition, is the measure of the pull of gravity {of earth (or another massive body)} against the thing being weighed. So for your discussion weight ~= mass, okay?

    So as your clothes seem smaller, this means the volume of your body is changing. If indeed you are fortunate enough to be converting 100% of that energy loss burning the fat into muscle (which I doubt) then you are actually using up fat to build some muscle but very unlikely it is equivalent in mass to the fat you lost.

    A plateau in weight while "dieting", no loss, no gain, simply means that your output of energy matches the input you are eating, so neither muscle nor fat is necessarily changing. If you KNOW your upper arms are increasing in girth and your thighs are increasing in girth and your waist is slimming AND you are staying the same weight then you truly are/should be building muscle. BUT this does not mean it is from your existing fat, it could be from your diet and exercise (think of the border case, when you do not have any fat left to burn ;)). If you don't have any fat left to burn, then you will need to eat the right kind of foods BUT you will need to eat more than you burn (calories-wise) because you can not make muscle (or fat) out of nothing. That is, if you eat just enough to keep your body, with all its needs functioning "as is" then there is no way to make mass out of energy ... hehehe.

    So, now that I've embarrassed myself, can someone please tell me what I could/should eat to build muscle? I mean, everything above is from a theoretical physics explanation. I don't know biology or body chemistry. What foods help you put on muscle and what exercises do you need to do while you are trying to build muscle?

    Thanks :)
  • mangosabayon
    mangosabayon Posts: 53
    It's weight per unit volume, muscle is more dense than fat.
  • boggsmeister
    boggsmeister Posts: 292 Member
    I love the fact that you think everyone doesn't already know that 5 pounds is five pounds.
  • skinnylove00
    skinnylove00 Posts: 662 Member
    its like what they say, a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of bricks :glasses:
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
    Everyone who believes that muscle weighs more than fat needs to go back to highschool science class. F that, middle school science class. Whenever you learn what volume, mass and density are, that's where people need to be. It's not that hard to understand that if the density is different, it will take more of one thing to weigh the same as the other. *le sigh*
  • chuckyp
    chuckyp Posts: 693 Member
    Now that we've got that sorted out, should I eat back my exercise calories or not? :wink:
  • illuminatusObservor
    illuminatusObservor Posts: 104
    So by this logic... nothing weighs more than anything? Since 5lbs is 5 lbs?
    Steel doesn't weigh more than feathers. 5lbs =5lbs o.O
  • mangosabayon
    mangosabayon Posts: 53
    Everyone who believes that muscle weighs more than fat needs to go back to highschool science class. F that, middle school science class. Whenever you learn what volume, mass and density are, that's where people need to be. It's not that hard to understand that if the density is different, it will take more of one thing to weigh the same as the other. *le sigh*

    "LIKE" :)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    When we say muscle weighs more than fat, we mean BY VOLUME!

    It is always simpler and clearer to say what you mean, rather than say something else and hope that the listener will come to the same understanding as you.

    "Muscle is more dense than fat" isn't exactly a linguistic challenge, so say what you mean !
  • Unknown
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  • MrJase
    MrJase Posts: 88 Member
    This is because you are losing the fat and converting it into muscle.
    #

    Fat does not convert into Muscle, they are two different things.

    You lose fat and build muscle
  • xcrunnergirl13
    xcrunnergirl13 Posts: 67 Member
    I HATE when people say that muscle does not weigh more than fat because 1 pound is 1 pound. In terms of comparative volume muscle DOES weigh more than fat. 1 cubic inch vs. 1 cubic inch. Also, a pound of muscle is less calorie dense than a pound of fat.
  • anu_6986
    anu_6986 Posts: 702 Member
    Its funny that this topic keeps coming up again and again! :)

    People will learn the difference when they want to.. It doesn't make any difference even if we keep shouting at the top of our lungs! :):heart:
  • krowy3g
    krowy3g Posts: 4
    Muscle does weigh more than fat. The analogy that 5 lbs of muscle is the same as 5 lbs is an incorrect way of making the point. Muscle is more dense than fat, therefore if you have the same volume of muscle and fat, say 5 cubic inches, then the muscle would have a larger mass (weight). The density of muscle is around 1.06 g/ml, just above water (~1.0 g/ml), and fat is around .9 g/ml. It really isn't a significant difference, but muscle does weigh more.
  • chrishgt4
    chrishgt4 Posts: 1,222 Member
    How has this reached 6 pages?!

    If you think someone is wrong when they say that muscle weighs more than fat then you are an idiot.

    If you need it to be specified that they are talking about a comparative volume then you are either intentionally misunderstanding or are too stupid and shouldn't be allowed to comment...
  • widetobride
    widetobride Posts: 47 Member
    Oh f--- not this again!!

    Hahahaha!!! Ditto!!!

    Folks, a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of lead. It weighs a pound!!! But the feathers are of course lighter. Hence why three bags of feathers weighs the same as one lead pipe!!

    The point is that if you work out for two hours a day, you burn off calories, and also convert the fat to muscle. So a size six muscly woman may weigh more than an out of shape size eight. An inch of muscle weighs more than an inch of muscle, because the muscle is more dense and compact. Muscle does weigh more, and you can shrink and stay the same weight.

    Case closed?
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I really don't understand why people get so worked up about this statement. I understand what people mean when they say it. Sigh.

    I think it's because when someone says "muscle weighs more than fat" and then someone responds with "no it doesn't, a pound is a pound" it's insulting because the responder has obviously assumed the OP is so stupid that they think if you have the same weight of 2 things they could weigh differently. It's rude not to assume that the OP is of at least average intelligence and is talking about the same size portion of muscle of fat.
  • DeniseB0711
    DeniseB0711 Posts: 294 Member
    But 500lbs of Lead weights more than 500lbs of Feathers.


    I kid I kid. I see this all over the web. There's a difference between Weight and Density and apparently many people missed out on that in 6th grade science class.
  • ba1031
    ba1031 Posts: 18 Member
    Very logical....Great Post!
  • muchadoaboutme2000
    muchadoaboutme2000 Posts: 86 Member
    But the real question is, if I climb to the roof and drop a hunk of fat and a hunk of muscle, which one will land first? Also, if 2 cars leave the house traveling at 50mph in opposite directions, what color hat did the monkey wear Tuesday?
  • muchadoaboutme2000
    muchadoaboutme2000 Posts: 86 Member
    Oh f--- not this again!!

    Hahahaha!!! Ditto!!!

    Folks, a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of lead. It weighs a pound!!! But the feathers are of course lighter. Hence why three bags of feathers weighs the same as one lead pipe!!

    The point is that if you work out for two hours a day, you burn off calories, and also convert the fat to muscle. So a size six muscly woman may weigh more than an out of shape size eight. An inch of muscle weighs more than an inch of muscle, because the muscle is more dense and compact. Muscle does weigh more, and you can shrink and stay the same weight.

    Case closed?

    Why does everyone seem to have pounds of feathers laying around? Sounds like one H*** of a mess....
This discussion has been closed.

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