serious weight question....

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HealthiHannah
HealthiHannah Posts: 182 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am SERIOUSLY confused on one thing.... or a couple of things that all go together... Please help!! :)

We are eating healthy and working out, and the scale stays the same.... why? I have heard a million answers to this, such as muscle weighs more than fat, muscle is more dense than fat, your body is losing inches so the pounds don't matter, etc etc etc.

Now, I understand that a pound is a pound is a pound, so muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Not quite sure what density has to do with it, when it still is the same weight.... but, if you are losing inches, why are you not losing pounds?

2 inches of (skin, fat, muscle, bodily fluids, etc) you would think would weigh SOMETHING... right?

Now, I am not too worried because I know that the inches is the most important, and frankly I'm just starting out and know that I have a long way to go. But I am reading so many questions or comments about inches and no weight, and I just don't understand how that can be. Can someone, anyone explain this to me? =0)

Replies

  • snakegoddess_3
    snakegoddess_3 Posts: 83
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    ok as I understand it and you said it best a pound is a pound either fat or muscle. But you can lose fat, gain muscle and not lose weight because it's displaced. You will however still lose inches because you've lost fat. Is that still confusing because it makes sense to me
  • SarahWrittenThin
    SarahWrittenThin Posts: 595 Member
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    its more that you would be losing fat, and REPLACING it with muscle on your body which takes up like 5 times less room than the equivelant weight of fat.
  • sh0ck
    sh0ck Posts: 168 Member
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    Sure, a pound of fat and a pound of muscle BOTH weight 1 pound but the space that they take up is different (hence the mention of density). I don't know the exact measurements but a pound of fat is "bigger in size/volume" than a pound of muscle.

    Picture a POUND of feathers. It would probably take a HUGE bag to get 1 pound of feathers. Now picture a POUND of brick. The space that the 1 pound of brick takes up is much smaller than the space that 1 pound of feathers takes up. Now think about the feathers as FAT and the brick as MUSCLE.

    If you are replacing 1 pound of fat with 1 pound of muscle you will WEIGH the same but your overall volume will be smaller (hence the losing of inches).
  • HealthiHannah
    HealthiHannah Posts: 182 Member
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    Ok, let me see if I understand...

    one pound of FAT is lost, and one pound of MUSCLE is gained, therefore no WEIGHT is lost, but since fat is BIGGER (?) than muscle, the inches go down?
  • Aetarac
    Aetarac Posts: 135 Member
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    it is not that muscle weights more it is just that a pound of muscle is more dense and occupies less space therefore two bodies of same wight but different body fat % will look different. if you google "muscle vs fat" it will show pic of difference in results.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
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    You're right, a pound of fat weight the same as a pound of muscle. whoever said that is wrong.

    Look at it this way, a one inch cube of fat would weight less than a one inch cube of muscle because fat is less dense than muscle. Does that make sense? Just like a pillow case of feathers will weigh less than a pillow case of bricks.
  • TracyOverby
    TracyOverby Posts: 1
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    You have to count calories and be sure you are burning more than you are eating. Your body burns approximately 1200 calories a day without any effort on your part. So, if you are eating more than 1200 without any exercise, you won't lose weight.

    5136504.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Ok, let me see if I understand...

    one pound of FAT is lost, and one pound of MUSCLE is gained, therefore no WEIGHT is lost, but since fat is BIGGER (?) than muscle, the inches go down?

    Yes but very unlikely unless you are lifting heavy weights. There is also water weight to consider.
  • sh0ck
    sh0ck Posts: 168 Member
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    Ok, let me see if I understand...

    one pound of FAT is lost, and one pound of MUSCLE is gained, therefore no WEIGHT is lost, but since fat is BIGGER (?) than muscle, the inches go down?

    Yep. Muscle is more dense than fat so a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat.
  • HealthiHannah
    HealthiHannah Posts: 182 Member
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    Yes but very unlikely unless you are lifting heavy weights. There is also water weight to consider.

    What do you mean? I see this all the time that people HAVE lost inches, but no weight.
  • SlimJacqui
    SlimJacqui Posts: 29
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    Sure, a pound of fat and a pound of muscle BOTH weight 1 pound but the space that they take up is different (hence the mention of density). I don't know the exact measurements but a pound of fat is "bigger in size/volume" than a pound of muscle.

    Picture a POUND of feathers. It would probably take a HUGE bag to get 1 pound of feathers. Now picture a POUND of brick. The space that the 1 pound of brick takes up is much smaller than the space that 1 pound of feathers takes up. Now think about the feathers as FAT and the brick as MUSCLE.

    If you are replacing 1 pound of fat with 1 pound of muscle you will WEIGH the same but your overall volume will be smaller (hence the losing of inches).

    What a brilliant way to explain this puzzle. Thank you
  • spalisch
    spalisch Posts: 1 Member
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    Make sure when you are eating healthy that means you are skipping anything with sugar, corn syrup, fructose in it. Also, when I quit eating chips and crackers, even if they were whole grain or said they were "healthy" the weight came off!

    Eat fresh veggies and fruit and lean meat! Skip the processed stuff. Lots of water and exercise everyday (not just twice a week like I was)! I went from not losing anything to dropping 16 pounds in 6 weeks. It was pretty eye opening to me.

    And Yes, a pound of muscle has less volume that a pound of fat! A pound of fat IS bigger than a pound of muscle!
  • jewelzz
    jewelzz Posts: 326 Member
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    Yes what they said,but depending on how long you've been doing this will depend on when the pounds start to come off.if its only aweek then its not uncommon to see no weight loss,but if its longer then you may want to reevaluate your calorie intake and calories out.I don't think you question about if you loose one pound of fat you gain a pound of muscle is correct.I wouldn't think if you lost 100 lbs you gain 100 in muscle.
  • Cegrant1
    Cegrant1 Posts: 3
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    This is an question that requires understanding the type of exercise your doing, the foods your are eating, your stress level, your current weight. There is no one simple answer to provide. All of the above factors into the equation. Unless your are training for a big time event you are not replacing fat with muscle in the amount needed to not have any weight loss.
  • fdgetter
    fdgetter Posts: 8
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    How many calories your body burns to maintain your current weight is different for different people. As you lose weight that will go down. There is also a difference between men and women. My program has me eating over 1700 calories a day, to lose 2 pounds a week. For every additional 500 calories per day per week, is an extra pound. I've been eating 1300-1400 calories a day and have been losing on average of 4 pounds a week. If I exercise more, I lose more. I typically ride a stationary bike or walk 60 to 90 minutes a day. I've lost 71 pounds since January 1st.

    Fred
  • pauljsolie
    pauljsolie Posts: 1,024 Member
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    Yes but very unlikely unless you are lifting heavy weights. There is also water weight to consider.

    What do you mean? I see this all the time that people HAVE lost inches, but no weight.

    A pound of fat takes up more space than a pound of muscle.
  • HealthiHannah
    HealthiHannah Posts: 182 Member
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    I have only been actively using MFP for counting calories for 2 weeks... I have been on here for about 4, but 2 of those were vacation and reckless eating when my sister was in town. I haven't plateaued by any means - just curious because I see people asking about it all the time. And even in the short time that I have been doing this people have asked if I have been losing weight (yes) but also commenting on how "weight doesn't matter, the inches do". I think it is making sense, especially with the feather vs. brick mental picture - but I guess in general is it just hard to understand body comp and how to make big changes.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I got nothin'...but you look gorgous in your new profile pic...just sayin'
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    You have to count calories and be sure you are burning more than you are eating. Your body burns approximately 1200 calories a day without any effort on your part. So, if you are eating more than 1200 without any exercise, you won't lose weight.

    5136504.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

    Everybody is different and it's called Basal Metabolic Rate that determine how many calories you burn in a day.

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