Muscle weighs more than fat?

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wilmelenne
wilmelenne Posts: 113
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so we've all heard to get off the scale and gauge your weight loss by how your clothes fit. But what if you're trying to lose more than 20 lbs and like 3 dress sizes smaller? I have always been an active person...i run 3.5 miles 3 times a day in 25 minutes and I dance, but I always ate what i wanted so I wasn't losing any weight. I just started cutting my calories down to 1200 cal/day and I have started to see the scale go down. I also started to incorporate some strengthening into my activities, but now I'm scared that I wont see the scale go down and I'll get frustrated that I am not hitting my weight goals...but I have been feeling pretty good.

My question is if I'm doing the right things with the strengthing + cardio + low calorie diet should I expect the scale to go down?

Replies

  • smuehlbauer
    smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
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    Yes, your scale will go down.
    It will take you a long time before you start building muscle for it to be noticable on the scale.
    I know that I have gained muscle, but in the process of losing the weight it hasn't been noticable on the scale.
  • Tmac125
    Tmac125 Posts: 6 Member
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    Yes, eventually the scale will go down. Muscle does tend to hold on to water to rehydrate itself. Remember a pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh a pound on the scale. Muscle takes up way less space (is more dense) which is why you'll change clothes size faster.
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
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    Trust me! it will go down. But at first it may not, only because your muscles will be sore which makes them retain water, but not for long--Takes your measurements before you begin weights, and you can use that as a guide as well.
  • HeatherShrinking
    HeatherShrinking Posts: 805 Member
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    Muscle is denser than fat. So 5 pounds of muscle takes up less space than 5 pounds of fat does.

    The scale should go down, but also watch your measurements. If you are gaining a lot of muscle and losing fat, your measurements may go down much faster than the scale.
  • cerysrhi
    cerysrhi Posts: 262
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    I had this talk with a very dear friend of mine after we both joined the gym and neither one of us lost any weight in like 3 months so stay with me for a sec; think of a ton of feathers there everywhere right just like the fat on my body now but when you work out that fat becomes muscle you don't necessarily weigh any less but a ton of bricks is more solid its firm and takes up a smaller area thats your muscle. we both realised while we hadn't lost any weight our body fat percentages had come down and our clothes did fit a whole lot better and I did drop a dress size. To answer your final question you should see the scale go down but I would rather go on how I feel about myself and my body than what it says on the scale xx
  • sabrads
    sabrads Posts: 152
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    Muscle weighs the same as fat - because 1lb of fat is the same weight as 1lb of muscle - they are both 1 lb

    The difference is that muscle is more dense than fat - so 1 lb of muscle is about 2-3 times smaller in size than 1 lb of fat. So as you loose weight and exercise you might not loose weight but you can become smaller !
  • hclinton
    hclinton Posts: 4
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    Agree with Tmac I have a trainer twice per week n used to get really frustrated on not getting smaller! But in reality my shape has changed and my fitness has improved dramatically n have only just realized that i needed to eat less to loose weight....

    My favourite saying is "no point toning the mattress when the duvet is still on top" hence joining here!
  • Trovan
    Trovan Posts: 133 Member
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    "no point toning the mattress when the duvet is still on top"

    I have no idea what that means.
  • hclinton
    hclinton Posts: 4
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    Funny I think it might be scottish saying....

    Basically your muscles are the mattress so whilst exercising you tone the muscles but don't see the real results because the fat is covering it all up (fats the duvet)

    So I need to get rid of the duvet so people can see my firm mattress!
  • wilmelenne
    wilmelenne Posts: 113
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    thanks everyone! I love this place. I've had MFP on my phone since november but never realized there was a website with forums! this is awesome...I'm obsessed! lol

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