Muscle DOES NOT weigh more than fat and put away the damn sc

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Replies

  • ednabnana
    ednabnana Posts: 304
    Preach on! Great post kinda snarky but I loved it :)
  • dlwyatt82
    dlwyatt82 Posts: 1,077 Member
    I sincerely want to understand this!!

    So do both models weigh the same?
    15-percent-body-fat-female1.jpg

    both have 15% fat

    Assuming they have roughly the same height and frame, the muscular one should weigh a bit more. I'd say by somewhere between 10 and 20 pounds, but that's just a wild guess on my part.
  • PoochPottery
    PoochPottery Posts: 205
    :love:
  • Jenvan78
    Jenvan78 Posts: 50 Member
    NICE...love this!
  • PunkRockDad
    PunkRockDad Posts: 76
    Take measurements and put the scale away. The scale is just one tool out of the toolbox to use to track your progress, but in my opinion is probably the less helpful. The scale has a way of playing mind tricks on you and causing setbacks and hopelessness if you do not hit the number you "think you deserve" from all the exercise you are doing. There are so many factors tied into that number on the scale, that weighing nightly, daily, weekly, every two weeks can play significant emotional mind games with some people. Put the damn thing away and use it monthly to track your progress, if at all, if that number even means anything to you. It doesn't to me.

    I gauge my success off how my clothes are fitting, my energy levels, and my overall outlook on life. Not some 3 digits on a scale.

    I agree with your whole post, but particularly this.^^^ :drinker: I decided at the beginning of the year to switch from a weekly weigh in to monthly (15th of every month). I've found that I am far less discouraged from day to day than I was before. Also, I do measurements and bodyfat % every three months with my wellness coach at my gym. I'm also tracking my RHR (the lower it is, the more fit you are...within reason, of course), my cholesterol/triglycerides, my BP (I have hypertension), etc... I have seen improvements all the way across the board since I started this thing in May 2011. Although I have been at a plateau on the scales since mid-November, being able to see all of the other benefits of a healthy lifestyle has helped me to keep pushing instead of giving up hope and gaining back the 45lbs I worked so hard to lose. I am hoping the scales (and the measuring tape) will start moving again since I have just been medicated for hypothyroidism and insulin resistance, both of which contribute to difficulties in losing weight.

    This is what it is all about. Overall health, not a silly number. You have the right type of mindset to make the necessary changes. You will succeed. Do not give up. You have come so far and you should be really proud of yourself.
  • MyFeistyEvolution
    MyFeistyEvolution Posts: 1,014 Member
    ...I'm so glad this was posted....clearly has never been discussed on mfp before..
  • ednabnana
    ednabnana Posts: 304
    OP are you related to Philip Rivers, SD Chargers QB? Or you're using his smirk face as your profile pic?
  • PunkRockDad
    PunkRockDad Posts: 76
    The only people who rant over and over to "put your scales away" or don't obsess over the numbers, use your clothes or measurements for results....... are usually the ones within 20lbs of their goal, when I am that small I will put my scale away too.

    When you have a lot of weight to lose you do depend on that scale.... you can't be 5"4 and weight 200lbs and say, oh well my clothes are falling off of me.... I must be an acceptable weight now bahahahaha

    On the scale I think I have about 75 more pounds to go. I have no clue where I am at now cause I have not weighed myself in over 2 weeks. My clothes are feeling looser, my energy levels are up, I feel like I can take on anything in life and I am happy. That is all that matters to me.
  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
    OP are you related to Philip Rivers, SD Chargers QB? Or you're using his smirk face as your profile pic?

    ruh roh
  • PunkRockDad
    PunkRockDad Posts: 76
    OP are you related to Philip Rivers, SD Chargers QB? Or you're using his smirk face as your profile pic?

    My abs weren't cut enough to take the typical " I'm standing in the mirror with my shirt raised taking a picture of my abs with my iphone" picture that some of the men put on here.

    So your going to have to deal with the "smirk"....:wink:
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Goodness, I have NEVER seen this posted here! People know that per volume, muscle is heavier than fat, that is what they mean. Anyone wanting to argue with people who say this are just looking for an arguement. A scale is a way to measure progress. Most people don't have access to a way to get an accurate BF%. Through the online BF% calculators - using the same measurements I either have 37% BF or I have 65% BF. I can't easily track my progress this way. It takes me 2 seconds to get on my scale and about 5 minutes to take my measurements.
  • kellyisloved
    kellyisloved Posts: 434 Member
    Fat is bulky and lumpy so if you carry an extra five pounds of fat, you'll be lumpier than with five pounds more muscle. A five pound pile of fat will take up more space (volume) than a five pound pile of muscle; but five pounds is still five pounds, so for those of you that don't "get it", you cannot say one thing weighing a certain weight weighs more than another thing at that same weight. It's a common joke to play on an 8-year old. The correct way to state the muscle weighs more than fat scenario is, "Muscle is heavier by volume than fat."

    Don't get me wrong, I get what you're saying, and I'm not saying you're wrong, so I hope this doesn't come across that way. I just think this is missing the 'point.'

    You are correct that 1 pound of fat weighs the same as 1 pound of muscle. True. But I will also say that I never see anyone saying "one pound of muscle weighs more than one pound of fat." Never do I ever see that. I've never heard a single person make that claim.

    What people are getting across is exactly what you're saying above (in terms that most people are unlikely to ever pick up because it sounds too scientific or too difficult to get an easy grasp on), which is that "Muscle is heavier by volume than fat." While it's true that one pound of feathers weighs the same as one pound of rocks, I don't think anyone's going to have a problem with me saying that rocks weigh more than feathers. The concept isn't pound per pound. The concept is that the same amount of feathers will weigh less than the same amount of rocks. So on a person, the idea is that yes, your weight may not have changed because you gained muscle to replace the fat, but don't worry, because you'll still be smaller.

    I don't see anything wrong with encouraging someone in that logic. Most people don't need to adopt a 'fancier' or more accurate way of saying something when the general population understands what's being said. Rocks weigh more than feathers. Bricks weigh more than pillows. Muscles weigh more than fat. It's not fact in terms of pound per pound, but people get it, it's easy, and it's encouraging.

    And those are my thoughts. :)
  • BreAnn
    BreAnn Posts: 35
    Exactly right! I couldn't agree more!
  • Sarahmeridith
    Sarahmeridith Posts: 298 Member
    I didnt read all the replys to this so maybe its been said BUT

    the difference btw muscle and fat is muscle holds more water which is also why men (in general) and muscular women must drink more water than non muscular people.
  • ganesha303
    ganesha303 Posts: 257 Member
    When people say that muscle weighs more than fat, they mean per unit volume. No one thinks 5lbs. of anything does not weigh 5 lbs.

    Agreed. You are hung up on semantics.
  • louisey112
    louisey112 Posts: 573 Member
    My thoughts exactly!!!!!
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    you-weigh-less.png

    There you go. loose weight once a month.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    When people say that muscle weighs more than fat, they mean per unit volume. No one thinks 5lbs. of anything does not weigh 5 lbs.

    Agreed. You are hung up on semantics.

    This is wrong. a pound of fat is way heavier than a pillow for instance. It would take 6 100 pound girls to equal just ONE! 600 pound person.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
    You all seem pretty smart so I'll ask my question.

    Does a pound of feathers weigh more than a pound of rocks....Laddyboy turns tail and runs like hell for the exit door. LOL :blushing:

    I just couldn't help myself.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    When people say that muscle weighs more than fat, they mean per unit volume. No one thinks 5lbs. of anything does not weigh 5 lbs.

    Agreed. You are hung up on semantics.

    This is wrong. a pound of fat is way heavier than a pillow for instance. It would take 6 100 pound girls to equal just ONE! 600 pound person.

    But what if the pillow is muscular?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Did you know that the OP and I weigh the same because 1lb of him weighs the same as 1 lb of me?
  • OnWisconsin84
    OnWisconsin84 Posts: 409 Member
    Stop being so obsessed with body weight and start paying attention to body composition. How much body fat do you have compared to muscle? Simply seeing how much you weigh isn't very helpful.

    Now onto the scale and how much you weigh:

    Take measurements and put the scale away. The scale is just one tool out of the toolbox to use to track your progress, but in my opinion is probably the less helpful. The scale has a way of playing mind tricks on you and causing setbacks and hopelessness if you do not hit the number you "think you deserve" from all the exercise you are doing. There are so many factors tied into that number on the scale, that weighing nightly, daily, weekly, every two weeks can play significant emotional mind games with some people. Put the damn thing away and use it monthly to track your progress, if at all, if that number even means anything to you. It doesn't to me.

    I gauge my success off how my clothes are fitting, my energy levels, and my overall outlook on life. Not some 3 digits on a scale.

    ^^^ Needed this reminder today :ohwell:
  • kellyisloved
    kellyisloved Posts: 434 Member
    Did you know that the OP and I weigh the same because 1lb of him weighs the same as 1 lb of me?

    LOL
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    I understand what you're trying to say... I've tried to explain it before when I started out here too. But now, I just put it this way...

    Pound for pound: Muscles weighs the same as fat.
    Volume for volume: Muscle weighs more than fat.

    - If you are gaining weight, but not losing inches... you are not gaining muscle.
    - If you did Zumba for two weeks and you're not losing weight... you are not gaining muscle.
    - If you are not doing some serious weight training (and I mean heavy weights, lots of reps and lots of sets) over the course of a few months... you most definitely did not gain a pound of muscle. Edit to add: Just ask any bodybuilder how much dedication, time and hard work goes in to gaining 1 pound of muscle. :)

    (Oddly enough, I had Jeff Foxworthy's voice in my head as I read those back to myself. HA!)

    The threads that I usually see the "muscles weighs more than fat" comments in are from people trying to explain why "Jane Doe" isn't losing weight even though she says she's eating right and exercising (walking, elliptical, DVD workout, etc.) a couple times a week. I'm sorry Jane... but you need to be more honest about your food diary. Not all calories are created equal. :)
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    you-weigh-less.png

    There you go. loose weight once a month.

    And it's also the reason why my broom can stand up all by itself today! True story! :)
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    And don't get me started on the whole Lose vs. Loose thing! LMBO!!!!!!!!
  • burg1801
    burg1801 Posts: 124
    Well said.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Thanks for saying this. I hope it will help some people to understand mass vs. weight.

    That said, people with a significant amount of weight to lose are probably fine focusing on the scale as a measure of how they are progressing. When you're 70lbs overweight, losing weight on the scale means you are losing fat. It's a lot more straightforward than if you think you have 10-15lbs of fat to lose, at which point it makes a lot more sense to look at body fat percentage.
  • jcstanton
    jcstanton Posts: 1,849 Member
    OP are you related to Philip Rivers, SD Chargers QB? Or you're using his smirk face as your profile pic?

    My abs weren't cut enough to take the typical " I'm standing in the mirror with my shirt raised taking a picture of my abs with my iphone" picture that some of the men put on here.

    So your going to have to deal with the "smirk"....:wink:

    Personally, I prefer the Philip Rivers "smirk" to the ab photos. It's cute, it seems less conceited than an ab shot, and I happen to like Philip Rivers. :bigsmile: :wink: And I could be mistaken, but it seems like I remember the person who asked you this question commenting in another thread that she is a Charger's fan, so I don't think she meant it as a jibe.
  • NayaP
    NayaP Posts: 46
    Thx for breaking it down! Nothing would please me more than to throw out the scale!! - But probably won't lol!
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