"Muscle Weighs More Than Fat"

Chagama

I love the fact the by the logic, nothing actually weighs more than anything cos a "pound is a pound"

1000 pounds of elephants weighs the same as 1000 pounds of mice! Yes, but I am pretty sure I can say that elephants weigh more than mice!!!

Yup! Muscle is denser than fat. But if you convert a pound of fat to muscle, you get a pound of muscle. You can't create mass from nothing.

auticus

Muscle has more density than fat. Which means if you fill a cube with muscle and then fill an equally sized cube with fat, the cube with muscle will weigh more.

So "muscle weighs more than fat" is not inaccurate. Saying "a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat" is of course wrong, because a pound equals a pound. But a pound of muscle will take up less space than the pound of fat does.

A 230 pound muscular man with 14% body fat takes up less space than a 230 pound man with 33% body fat, even though they weigh the same.

littlemsmuffet

Oh **** can we just let this DIE!!!

No, it is infinite and accelerating. Like the universe.

littlemsmuffet

Back in the 1600s they would throw women who were accused of being witches into a lake. If they sank, they were innocent. If they floated, they were a witch. I think they all sank. Fat is all about witchcraft and evil.

:bigsmile:

recriger

Oh, this is my #1 pet peeve!

Better yet was the thread (I can't remember where it was, it was a week or so ago) where the poster had PROOF that muscle weighed more than fat because (wait for it people......).........if you put 1lb of meat in water it will sink but 1lb of fat will float.

Seriously! I was laughing so hard that I think I got an ab workout in.

Wow, i have never heard this comparison before. So i guess you could really screw with this person by pointing out that the same volume of steel will weigh more than muscle. Then ask him how all those giant "Steel" battle ships and aircraft carriers float on top while that chunk of muscle sinks to the bottom...

bcattoes

A 230 pound muscular man with 14% body fat takes up less space than a 230 pound man with 33% body fat, even though they weigh the same.

A muscular man the same size as a man with high body fat will weigh more than the fat man. Why? Because muscle weighs more than fat.

ChristineMarie89

people arguing makes me giggle xD

littlemsmuffet

This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2_lJ2bGltE


I am having way too much fun with this thread.

auticus

A 230 pound muscular man with 14% body fat takes up less space than a 230 pound man with 33% body fat, even though they weigh the same.

A muscular man the same size as a man with high body fat will weigh more than the fat man. Why? Because muscle weighs more than fat.

So just to be clear... you are saying a 230 lb man with 14% body fat weighs more than the 230 lb man with 33% body fat...

o.O

bcattoes

A 230 pound muscular man with 14% body fat takes up less space than a 230 pound man with 33% body fat, even though they weigh the same.

A muscular man the same size as a man with high body fat will weigh more than the fat man. Why? Because muscle weighs more than fat.

So just to be clear... you are saying a 230 lb man with 14% body fat weighs more than the 230 lb man with 33% body fat...

o.O

I'm not sure why clarity was an issue, but what I said was: A muscular man the same size as a man with high body fat will weigh more than the fat man. Why? Because muscle weighs more than fat.

To elaborate: If muscle did not weigh more than fat, the 2 men of the same size would weigh the same (or very close) regardless of muscle mass.

pdworkman

What??? How about if you convert lead into gold, what does it weigh then?

Yup! Muscle is denser than fat. But if you convert a pound of fat to muscle, you get a pound of muscle. You can't create mass from nothing.

Fit_Canuck

I love the fact the by the logic, nothing actually weighs more than anything cos a "pound is a pound"

1000 pounds of elephants weighs the same as 1000 pounds of mice! Yes, but I am pretty sure I can say that elephants weigh more than mice!!!

Yup! Muscle is denser than fat. But if you convert a pound of fat to muscle, you get a pound of muscle. You can't create mass from nothing.

Please tell me your joking, you can't transform fat into muscle, they are two different types of tissue. You burn fat tissue and you build muscle tissue.

porffor

This is all that should ever have to be said on this topic.

Loving this image!! Thank you!

And the comment in the OP about 'having a lot to lose' resulting in weight loss as well as muscle gain - I'm hoping at 182lb I still apply here.. as I'm only 5'3" - I'm even more determined to find out now!

Thanks for a great thread!

littlemsmuffet

[/quote]
Yup! Muscle is denser than fat. But if you convert a pound of fat to muscle, you get a pound of muscle. You can't create mass from nothing.
[/quote]

Please tell me your joking, you can't transform fat into muscle, they are two different types of tissue. You burn fat tissue and you build muscle tissue.
[/quote]

Yeah, that's right, but the raw materials from fat catabolism can be used to build muscle (fat = C, H, O and muscle = C, H, O, N). All you need is more protein. Free fatty acids are readily used by muscles as well as the liver So if you are in an energy deficit, weight lifting, and you are in a positive-nitrogen balance, you can convert the energy from adipose-tissue to the energy needed for muscle gain and repair.

Bikini27

This is all that should ever have to be said on this topic.

Loving this image!! Thank you!

And the comment in the OP about 'having a lot to lose' resulting in weight loss as well as muscle gain - I'm hoping at 182lb I still apply here.. as I'm only 5'3" - I'm even more determined to find out now!

Thanks for a great thread!

:flowerforyou:

70davis

bump

Picola1984

Just reading a Closer magazine on my lunch break and theres an article on Kelly Holmes (Olympic runner) who says "I'm actually lighter than when I was competing because muscle weighs more than fat"

Di3012

OK, I am sure this has been posted before and has been a pet peeve of many. So, I post this article to help out a little....Fav part? A pound is a pound is a pound.
Enjoy! :flowerforyou:

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=8311

Ask the Personal Trainer: Does Muscle Weigh More Than Fat?
We resolve the controversy once and for all.
Article By: William R. Sukala, MS, CS
Q:Does muscle really weigh more than fat?



Muscle does not weigh more than fat, any more than lead weighs more than feathers. A pound is a pound is a pound. Where the misunderstanding often comes in is that muscle is much more dense than fat, so that, by volume, it seems to weigh more. That is, a pound of muscle occupies less space than a pound of fat. In addition, because a pound of muscle burns more fat than a pound of fat, even at rest, by increasing your lean muscle tissue mass, you're helping your body burn more calories.

But back to your question. If you only have a small amount of weight to lose, then you may feel like the weight training is not helping you move down on the scale. In fact, the number may even go up, but you will look thinner. This is due to an increase in lean body mass (muscle, bone, blood volume) and a decrease in body fat. In other words, even if the scale doesn't change much, you will probably see a difference in how your clothes fit.

On the other hand, if you have a lot of weight to lose, you will also experience an increase in lean body mass and loss of body fat. But the results on the scale will probably be more dramatic.


In this Q&A series, William Sukala, MS, CSCS, answers questions about fitness and exercise. Read more articles from our personal trainer.

Yes a pound is a pound.

But muscle will weigh more than fat if both a piece of fat and a piece of muscle are exactly the same size.

If both pieces are say one square inch in size, the muscle piece will weight more. THIS is what people mean when they say muscle weighs more than fat.