Muscle weighs more than fat (?!!!)

WhoTheHellIsBen

Time out for Meat and BACON!!!!



hot dogs + sharp cheddar + lean hamburg + Thick cut hickory bacon + Sweet Baby rays bbq sauce + TURTLE BURGERS!



made mac n cheese with bacon bits stuffed jalapeno meatloaf wrapped in apple cider cured BACON!! It...was...epic!!!!

WannaBLoser2013

If I had to put on 10 pounds I would rather it be muscle. Fat would look different. The scales have nothing to do with my jeans.

I agree. 10 pounds of lean meat may weigh the same than 10 pounds of jello but they don't look nor feel the same. I want muscles.

nomeejerome

bump

jilliew

Read the post again...... humans are not assessed through 'weight by volume'..... only on the scales.

Read posts more carefully before making stupid replies.

I'm going to assume this was in response to my "stupid reply." Which wasn't "stupid" actually. As I stated, muscle DOES weigh more than fat. Lead DOES weight more than feathers. This is not a debatable hypothesis. It's science. It's logic. It's common sense.

I realize that human beings are not measured by volume, but this doesn't make your assertion any less true. I'm not arguing the point that if you want to be healthy and LOSE WEIGHT, you should lose fat. But it doesn't really matter if the fat is lighter than muscle, or heavier than air. It's unhealthy, it makes you look lumpy, and one should work to make it go away.

I must admit, i didn't read the rest of your post the first time because I couldn't get past the blatant misinformation. I have read it now, and I must say (although I fear I'm terribly biased in my opinion here), that my post was not, actually, the "stupid" one here.

Thomasm198

This is why, at Olympic Games level, no afro-carribeans win medals at swimming. Their greater body density means that they sink further into the water an create greater 'drag', so can't reach the speeds of the other swimmers.

NOTE: This isn't 'racist'.... it's a simple matter of human physiology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cullen_Jones

edge_dragoncaller

This is how I feel...whenever I read a thread like this....

imtrinat

Great job, professionally-qualified-exercise-physiologist-and-weight-management-consultant person, you managed to make a DUH statement complicated. Way to Go! That's what we have you guys and gals around here for. Keep up the good work!

bcattoes

The only real argument is, what do you naturally assume about others. When you hear/read "muscle weighs more than fat", do you assume the person who says it is talking about the same weight of each? Or do you assume that they mean the same volume of each? Because in one instance they are incorrect and indeed attempting to say that 1 lb =/= 1 lb. And in the other they are correct and pointing out that muscle is heavier than, denser than, and takes up less space than the same amount (volume) of fat.

IMO, which of those you assume speaks volumes of how you perceive yourself and others.

Venomous_Duck

Walruses are good swimmers and they are fat.

and they can go underwater, therefore I like ice cream.

HopefulLeigh

This topic comes up often.

Of all the myths and misunderstandings about exercise and weight loss , this is the daftest and most stupid of all!

One pound of muscle = one pound of fat.
One kilogram of muscle = one kilogram of fat.

No_Finish_Line

i'm glad i'm not the only one that was more then a little put off but this *kitten* hats racial comments, lose grasp of science, and complete lack of common sense.

totally scratching my heads how some people zeroed in on his Olympic comment and seem to agree with him

VorJoshigan

Read the post again...... humans are not assessed through 'weight by volume'..... only on the scales.

Read posts more carefully before making stupid replies.

Which post does this refer to? Please use quote button for clarity.

As for how humans are assessed... um... YOU may assess humans on the scales, but I assess them by different means entirely. The people I respect the most have little regard for scales.

A person talking about how muscle weighs more than fat (per unit volume is generally understood but unstated) is usually talking about body composition. A person reiterating ad nauseum that muscle and fat weigh the same who ignores any talk about density or body composition is focused on numbers that have little bearing on the health of the person.*

*caveat here: weight is a pretty good number to look at for obese persons like myself, but once you get down around overweight/normal (in BMI terms) body composition beats weight every time.

HopefulLeigh

Also,


And

Judas_Queen

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Insert cartoon gunshot to the face gif here.....

Venomous_Duck

Does a pound of brain cells weigh more than a pound of "OMG NOT AGAIN!"

rduhlir

Oh please keep going...this is giving me a good ab workout...just from the sheer volume of laughing I am doing.

Thomasm198

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Insert cartoon gunshot to the face gif here.....

<--- Like that?

vim_n_vigor

This weekend I am taking my kids to the water park. Due to my bf%, I have no worries about staying afloat. Because of their very low bf%, they will be wearing life vests to stay afloat.

**This is due to the overall mass per volume of our bodies, not our weights....

Macstraw

Wrong. Muscle DOES weigh more than fat. 1 cubic inch of muscle WEIGHS MORE than 1 cubic inch of fat. Period.

A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat which weighs the same as a pound of feathers and all those weigh the same as a pound of gold. However, they all have different densities so those four substances will take up much different volumes of space.

That is true, but it misses the point of the statement that "muscle weighs more than fat". That statement is intended (at least when I use it) to remind people that the # on the scale is not the end all & be all of being healthy. If you're exercising & crerating new muscle you can't be upset when the # on the scale isn't dropping as fast as you like - you are still getting healthier & stronger & THAT should be the ultimate goal. My scale # dropped quickly when I first stated here a month ago but it is levelling off, however I know I'm making progress because I can feel the difference in my clothes & people are starting to ask me if I'm losing weight. I'm swimming 12-15 miles a week & walking a bunch, so I know I'm creating more muscle yet my clothes are much looser. Just relax & stop stressing about the # on the scale, just keep doing things to be healthier......

jilliew

This is why, at Olympic Games level, no afro-carribeans win medals at swimming. Their greater body density means that they sink further into the water an create greater 'drag', so can't reach the speeds of the other swimmers.

NOTE: This isn't 'racist'.... it's a simple matter of human physiology.

I was with you up until this point. This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Athletic swimming has little to nothing to do with the ability to float. :noway: :mad:

Oh yeah, and THIS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cullen_Jones

"Cullen Andrew Jones (born February 29, 1984) is a U.S. competitive swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in freestyle sprint events. As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay (long course). At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won silver medals in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay and the 50-meter freestyle."

AAAAAnd he's black.

jamaicanlady

This is why, at Olympic Games level, no afro-carribeans win medals at swimming. Their greater body density means that they sink further into the water an create greater 'drag', so can't reach the speeds of the other swimmers.

NOTE: This isn't 'racist'.... it's a simple matter of human physiology.

no, pointing out the principals of boyancy is not racist

BUT, assuming that all individuals of a certain race are of a certain body type IS.

Plus your argument is rediculous... Phelps is pretty fat free

Is this the same douche that ran this retarded topic last time, or a different one?

^^^ This!

Judas_Queen

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Insert cartoon gunshot to the face gif here.....

<--- Like that?

Aw man that is ace! I've been here so long and I still cant work an awesome gif or meme into a post!
Note to self: do this!!

maab_connor

This is why, at Olympic Games level, no afro-carribeans win medals at swimming. Their greater body density means that they sink further into the water an create greater 'drag', so can't reach the speeds of the other swimmers.

NOTE: This isn't 'racist'.... it's a simple matter of human physiology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cullen_Jones

1 - thank you Thomas for getting Cullen's pic before i could.

2 - how do you think that essentially saying "black ppl can't swim" is NOT racist?? please, i need this logic explained to me.

3 - i have a high body fat % (this is obvious if you look at the ticker) i can float like a CHAMP, and i'm a decent swimmer (it's something i enjoy doing) but i could never HOPE to keep up w/ olympic level swimmers. your hypothesis is LAUGHABLE.

BeeElMarvin

iAMsmiling

So. if two people of equal weight (on bathroom scales) were assessed by this method, the person with greater muscle mass would appear to weigh more.....under water..... than the person with a higher proportion of body fat. (Body fat means greater buoyancy).

This is why, at Olympic Games level, no afro-carribeans win medals at swimming. Their greater body density means that they sink further into the water an create greater 'drag', so can't reach the speeds of the other swimmers.

NOTE: This isn't 'racist'.... it's a simple matter of human physiology.

I see! I bet this is why "They" are so darn good at basketball!
That clears things up wonderfully!

{for the sarcasm challenged, I'm kidding}

tweak222

By volume is the key here, however given that fact it is still feasible for someone who is undergoing a muscle building training regimen and dieting properly to see the scale move very little as muscle replaces fat. That's why measuring success in inches is better than measuring success in lbs. You are right to say that 1lb of muscle does not weigh more than 1lb of fat. That's like asking which weighs more, a ton of feathers or a ton of bricks? Obviously they both weigh a ton. You'll get no argument from me there. If you managed to gain a lb of muscle (1lb of lean muscle is all that is physiologically possible to gain in a week) and lose a pound of fat per week you would obviously not see a change on the scale (you should see these changes in inches though). It is more realistic that you might gain .5 lb of muscle and lose a pound of fat per week with good dieting and training but on the scale it'd only look like you dropped .5 lbs a week. So you'd lose 1lb every two weeks (painfully slow to some of us).

It is not realistic to step on the scale at home and know how many lbs of muscle you gained and how many lbs of fat you've lost. Just keep working don't stop cause you don't see the scale move a whole lot.

sindikumva

Steps on scale after months of 6-a-week workouts & 500 calorie deficits. Has gained 1lb. Is "toight like a tiger". Reasons - well... I have probably lost some fat (say xlbs) and gained some muscle (say ylbs). Interesting... xlbs of fat and ylbs of muscle take up the same volume so I am not "lighter" or even "smaller" but what used to wobble doesn't any more.

I think what people "really" want to say when they say "muscle weighs more than fat" is "I weigh a bit more now... but I wobble less."

BurtHuttz

Yeah buddy! Hit that strawman! Make it bleed!!

smh.

sullus

Wrong. Muscle DOES weigh more than fat. 1 cubic inch of muscle WEIGHS MORE than 1 cubic inch of fat. Period.

You don't weigh yourself by cubic inches.

No. But. a 200 LB person with 15% body fat is smaller than a 200 LB person with 30% body fat.

It's just semantics.

footiechick82

Muscle is denser then fat... therefore, yes they weigh the same thing - a pound is a pound... however, to look at a pound of muscle vs. a pound of fat, the muscle would appear smaller.