muscle weighs more than fat

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cerysrhi
cerysrhi Posts: 262
in Introduce Yourself
I am getting very annoyed with so many people using the excuse that muscle weighs more than fat as an excuse to why they haven't lost any weight. Can people please get a clue a lb of fat and a lb of muscle still weigh the same they are both a LB!!!!
the real reason you haven't lost weight is you have lost your fat and gained your muscle so you should have lost inches. lets put this in visual terms if you have a ton of feathers they are everywhere just like my fat on my body and if you have a ton of bricks they are well defined and more compact thats muscle which I hope to have more of soon. RANT OVER x

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  • ponygirl518
    ponygirl518 Posts: 9
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    They weigh the same yes, but a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat.
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    Yeah!!!
  • _Bro
    _Bro Posts: 437 Member
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    I am getting very annoyed with so many people using the excuse that muscle weighs more than fat as an excuse to why they haven't lost any weight. Can people please get a clue a lb of fat and a lb of muscle still weigh the same they are both a LB!!!!
    the real reason you haven't lost weight is you have lost your fat and gained your muscle so you should have lost inches. lets put this in visual terms if you have a ton of feathers they are everywhere just like my fat on my body and if you have a ton of bricks they are well defined and more compact thats muscle which I hope to have more of soon. RANT OVER x


    Ummm, I haven't lost any weight in almost 3 weeks but my bf has been dropping and I'm happy about it..


    Really you shouldn't worry about the scales -- yes I get aggravated at them as well. You need to check the weight and the body fat to truly understand your results (and be aware of the natural variations that occur)
  • RushinBruisette
    RushinBruisette Posts: 2,109 Member
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    I see it all the time too.. it's quite annoying. For people to think the 1 lb of muscle weighs more than 1lb of fat is ridiculous... a pound weighs a pound weighs a pound no matter what shape or form it's in. Hopefully people will realize that when they 'gained' weight but lost inches, it could be due to muscle (or a sodium overload)... Muscle is smaller than fat, but they both weigh the same.. Anyway, thanks for the rant ;)
  • cerysrhi
    cerysrhi Posts: 262
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    thats my point if muscle takes up less space that would mean that while you aint losing weight you should be losing inches
  • fergy66
    fergy66 Posts: 13
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    The weight I grew up was that 1pound equaled 1 pound. Yes it may look differently and you may have less inches, but its all still weighs the same.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Also, unless you're eating a ton of protein and more calories than you need, chances are you haven't gained that much muscle. It's not easy to build muscle, you have to work at it in terms of both weight training and eating.
  • justann
    justann Posts: 276 Member
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    I agree with you completely and have had the same frustrations. :mad: However, that being said I have also come to believe that most people understand the concept. At least I certainly hope they do! :laugh: It is just a lot easier to say 'muscle weights more than fat' than to go into the long description that basically explains that gaining the muscle and losing the fat will slim down the inches because a pound of muscle 'takes up less room'. Don't you think? :smile:
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    By volume, muscle does indeed weigh more than fat. If you take a certain amount of muscle and an equal amount of fat, the muscle will weigh more. What people need to get a clue about is that scale weight doesn't mean that much in the grander scheme of things.
  • RushinBruisette
    RushinBruisette Posts: 2,109 Member
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    .
  • papastu
    papastu Posts: 737 Member
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    good rant, thats why i prefer a tape measure over the scales at the moment :)
  • JillyCornwall
    JillyCornwall Posts: 376 Member
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    Also, unless you're eating a ton of protein and more calories than you need, chances are you haven't gained that much muscle. It's not easy to build muscle, you have to work at it in terms of both weight training and eating.

    So very true, you may tone your muscles by working out, but for women in particular..its very very difficult to actually increase muscle mass...so unless you are pumping weights in the gym 3 or 4 hours a day..forget the muscle excuse LOL!!
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    :drinker: Thank you. I get tired of hearing the same thing. People totally take this "fact" out of context.
  • cerysrhi
    cerysrhi Posts: 262
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    By volume, muscle does indeed weigh more than fat. If you take a certain amount of muscle and an equal amount of fat, the muscle will weigh more. What people need to get a clue about is that scale weight doesn't mean that much in the grander scheme of things.
    too true my goal weight is what I think it should be to fit into a UK size 14 or at least its the weight I remember being when I was a 14, and your right with regard to the volume I didn't think of it in those terms xx
  • mbrotnitsky
    mbrotnitsky Posts: 44 Member
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    I was getting frustrated because I started exercising and watching my calorie intake on January 10. I have only lost 5 pounds. Seems a bit discouraging but my husband keeps telling me like you- "babe your losing inches and gaining muscle so don't worry it will come off". My metabolism has been dormant for so long it needs a jump start? Anyway he is right I tried on a couple of blouses this morning and a pair of jeans I could not wear a month ago and guess what - THEY looked great on me. Victory for me. Thanks for the reminder that yes we can lose inches without losing weight.
  • daffysbird
    daffysbird Posts: 42
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    well said huni - you always manage to put it into terminology (big word for me even if it is probably spelt wrong!) that I understand!
  • kao708
    kao708 Posts: 813 Member
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    I am getting very annoyed with so many people using the excuse that muscle weighs more than fat as an excuse to why they haven't lost any weight. Can people please get a clue a lb of fat and a lb of muscle still weigh the same they are both a LB!!!!
    the real reason you haven't lost weight is you have lost your fat and gained your muscle so you should have lost inches. lets put this in visual terms if you have a ton of feathers they are everywhere just like my fat on my body and if you have a ton of bricks they are well defined and more compact thats muscle which I hope to have more of soon. RANT OVER x
    I agree, see my ticker picture as example. I had to blog a rant about this last week because I'm tired of hearing this as well. :grumble:
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
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    I am getting very annoyed with so many people using the excuse that muscle weighs more than fat as an excuse to why they haven't lost any weight. Can people please get a clue a lb of fat and a lb of muscle still weigh the same they are both a LB!!!!
    the real reason you haven't lost weight is you have lost your fat and gained your muscle so you should have lost inches. lets put this in visual terms if you have a ton of feathers they are everywhere just like my fat on my body and if you have a ton of bricks they are well defined and more compact thats muscle which I hope to have more of soon. RANT OVER x


    Huh? So when someone writes that you shouldn't fixate on pounds lost, or you should believe your tape measure rather than your scale, or you should go by the way your clothes fit because "muscle weighs more than fat" you assume they mean that two things of the same weight have different weights? How odd. Unless they explicitly claim that a pound of this weighs more than a pound of that (and who around here has done that?), why would you assume that's what they mean? Why would you assume that your fellow MFP members are that dumb?

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