What is going on with me?!?!? HELP!!!

samseed101

maybe it's just me, but I thought it was pretty obvious that when people say that muscle weighs more than fat, they are talking about a given volume or space. That just seems like plain common sense. It's no different than anything else in life and as far as I thought, such comparisons made the assumption of volume based on common sense.

Of course if you want to take semantics, you can say that a pound is a pound. Well no kidding, but I don't know of many situations where people actually do that in reality. In the common english language, they are almost always talking about density. if you said that steel is heavier than wood, I would think that it's safe to say that most people would not argue that they are the same. Most people know that you are talking about density, or comparing something of the same volume. otherwise, everything would weigh the same.

But if people want to get REALLY technical and scientific, and if somebody really want's to compare the two, then compare them on a cellular level or even a molecular level. That's no more absurd than comparing it strictly based on weight and completely ignoring volume.

It's like I explained before. in a given volume, the muscle will have more weight than the fat. It will typically be a 20% difference. So in plain, common English, most would say that muscle weighs more than fat. And most people would understand exactly what that means. People can ignore that if they choose, or pretend that there is no difference. But when it comes to something like a human's weight and size, there is a difference and it's a pretty big difference.

Look at someone that is 200lbs and 20% body fat. Compare them to someone who is 200lbs and 8% body fat. The difference in density is quite obvious. And when people are trying to get in shape, that is usually what they are trying to do. they are trying to look better.

Mommy08

Read this link (and many others on here) about eating back exercise calories.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions?page=1

How do you know your meals are under 400 calories if you are not counting calories? Are they prepackaged meals? Maybe you are taking in a lot of salt from those meals and retaining water.

I am about the same BMI as you, just under 25. I am on about 1200 calories a day to lose 1.5 pounds/week. I exercise about 6 days a week (walking, running, biking, swimming, strength training or combo). I usually don't eat back all of my exercise calories (sometimes 800/day) but I try to eat back most of them.

I would strongly suggest filling out your goals and then track your calories and exercise. MFP will tell you how many calories you should have/day.

Well Like I said I know roughly how many calories are in what I'm eating but I'm not one of those people with a calorie book counting to the 0.009 of calorie you know? Also I'm not eating prepackaged foods and am very aware of what sodium can do to your body. Thanks for the thoughts and advice though!

CasperO

maybe it's just me, but I thought it was pretty obvious that when people say that muscle weighs more than fat, they are talking about a given volume or space. <<snip>>

It's just you.

Words have meanings, they mean things. "weight", "density", "mass", "volume",,, these are all real terms with real defined meanings. ""Muscle is heavier than fat" is a demonstrably untrue statement, and some technical minded people will choke on it.

Sorry,,

Now, back to our regularly scheduled dissection of this gal's starvation, already in progress

samseed101

Now, back to our regularly scheduled dissection of this gal's starvation, already in progress

I think that's one thing that everyone here agrees on.

PJilly

"Muscle is heavier than fat" is a demonstrably untrue statement, and some technical minded people will choke on it.

I beg to differ, but then again, I'm a brat. "Muscle" and "fat" in the above statement are not specific enough to say the statement is either true or untrue. A pile of muscle is heavier than an equal-sized pile of fat. However, a pound of muscle is not heavier than a pound of fat.

chefstef612

Do you eat all fresh/frozen produce & cook your meat or do you use precooked, canned or frozen dinners (ex: Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones)? If any of the latter, you could be getting too much sodium & retaining a few lbs in water weight, regardless of how much you are or are not driking. Also, if your exercise routine is new, it could be temporary as well. in my history, i normally gain 5-6 lbs when I start exercising again & gaining muscle but after about a week it starts coming back off because more lean muscle burns more fat in the long run. When it comes down to it, every body is different and the same things don't work for everyone, but so far i've picked up some good tips here. Good luck!

DeeDeeLHF

I know it seems counter productive and it is scary. No, it is down right TERRIFYING, but increase your calories. :noway: What is the worst that can happen? that you gain a pound? Well you are already doing that! Purchase a heart rate monitor, fill in the excercise tab, eat those calories like it says. You may wish to increase your basic calories up by 50-100 per day. See what happens...you really may be pleasantly surprised. Every person I have spoken to and myself included when they did these things started seeing weight loss. Keep us posted over the next couple of weeks.

DD

lisawest

Here's a thought, and it may be a clue, it may have nothing to do with this, but are you close to TOM? Since you are a woman, I am going to assume that you still have one. (If not, I apologize for assuming:blushing: ) MOST (not all) retain water before and possibly during TOM. I gained FIVE pounds in one week a couple months ago!:noway: :grumble: Fortunately, I lost it just as quickly afterwards. So that may account for the actual weight gain.

That being said, (so I don't get jumped on by everyone ) I, too, think you may have seriously slowed down your metabolism by eating too few calories. I read, in one of the stuck posts for newbies, that you should slowly begin adding calories so that your body doesn't freak out and store all the additional calories as fat. I believe that it said to start with adding 50-100 a day for a week and then up it again the next week, etc until you've reached the appropriate amount. I don't personally know much about the adding calories thing, so don't take my word for it, go research and read some more. Perhaps someone else will answer who knows more about that.

Good luck on finding the balance that works for you!