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

Do yourself a favor: Take the time to count your calories. This web site makes it easy. Doing it in your head just doesn't work. After a couple of weeks, if you're still gaining (which I predict you won't be if you follow the guidelines on this site), you can look back and see where you possibly went wrong. Think of yourself as a computer. If things aren't working quite right, it helps to have solid data to review in order to determine what's wrong.

Do yourself a favor: Take the time to count your calories. This web site makes it easy. Doing it in your head just doesn't work. After a couple of weeks, if you're still gaining (which I predict you won't be if you follow the guidelines on this site), you can look back and see where you possibly went wrong. Think of yourself as a computer. If things aren't working quite right, it helps to have solid data to review in order to determine what's wrong.

I agree wholeheartedly. It's hard to know which adjustments to make if you don't know exactly what you're adjusting. You may be eating too little, but what if you're eating too much? It doesn't sound like you are, but you're better off knowing than guessing. If what you were doing was working, I'd say keep doing what you're doing. But it isn't.

Semantics are confusing us here, it comes up a lot.

1 pound equals 1 pound.
1 pound of muscle weighs 1 pound - hence the name.
1 pound of fat weigh one pound, again, hence the name.

Density is another issue, and yes, fat is slightly less dense than lean muscle. But both kinds of tissue are mostly water and the diff is pretty subtle. This is not a case of "1 pound of muscle fills a bean can - 1 pound of fat fills a breadbox".
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I strongly doubt that she's gained muscle while eating 1200 cals a day and exercising like a demon. And even if she is,,, Arnold S on full 'roids never gained 3 pounds in a week. It just doesn't work.

To gain muscle mass your body must have excess material to make the muscle out of, most protein. If you're in a 1500 calorie a day deficit then you don't have the excess material (and your size, with your exercise routine, and not eating your exercise calories - I'm sure you're in at least that much deficit).

SO - you're probably in starv mode. Your abused body has grabbed 3 pints of water in self defense. I don't blame it, I would too.

So,,, what'cha gonna do?

Muscle has a density of 1.1 g/cc compared to fat, which has a density of 0.9007 g/cc. So essentially a pound of fat will take up roughly 20% more space than a pound of muscle.

Getting back to the topic, Yes I agree that there's no way that someone would gain anywhere near that much muscle mass, especially when they are barely eating. Put in ideal situations with a perfect diet and exercise routine, you may see 2lbs per month of lean muscle mass.

No, it is safe to say lead is more dense than feathers. It would be safe to say that 1 cubic inch of lead weighs more than 1 cubic inch of feathers. But "weighs more"? - no,,, a pound is a pound.

Where have you been?

I'm confused because the personal trainer always said that a pound is a pound.

Kind of like, if you have a pound of butter and a pound of sugar..it's still a pound.

So how exactly does muscle weigh *more* than fat?

If anyone can explain that, I'd love to know!! lol

Just to add (although i already mentioned this above.)

We also all know that a pound of feathers is the same exact weight as a pound of lead. But isn't it safe to say that lead weighs more than feathers?

No, it is safe to say lead is more dense than feathers. It would be safe to say that 1 cubic inch of lead weighs more than 1 cubic inch of feathers. But "weighs more"? - no,,, a pound is a pound.

That's what I was saying...lol

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.

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

"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.

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