muscle DOES NOT weigh more than fat!!!!

chridow
chridow Posts: 178
edited September 28 in Health and Weight Loss
i don't rant often, but this is just IRKING MY NERVES!!! UGH!!!

if i read the statement "muscle weighs more than fat" ONE.MORE.TIME i will probably scream!!! is anyone else miffed about this widespread misrepresentation for weightloss? i mean WTH?!? A POUND IS A FREAKING POUND. the actual difference is in the volume, or space, muscle and fat occupy. fat takes up more space than muscle. so you could have two ppl with the EXACT SAME weight, but one look much trimmer simply because they have LESS fat.

please baby, please baby, baby, baby PLEASE spread the word! correct your friends and help end the spread of this myth.

only YOU can help prevent the spread of fitness myths!
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Replies

  • ampharos
    ampharos Posts: 5
    But it does. Say you have a cubic foot of muscle and a cubic foot of fat. The muscle will weigh more.
  • pghfan
    pghfan Posts: 119
    i don't rant often, but this is just IRKING MY NERVES!!! UGH!!!

    if i read the statement "muscle weighs more than fat" ONE.MORE.TIME i will probably scream!!! is anyone else miffed about this widespread misrepresentation for weightloss? i mean WTH?!? A POUND IS A FREAKING POUND. the actual difference is in the volume, or space, muscle and fat occupy. fat takes up more space than muscle. so you could have two ppl with the EXACT SAME weight, but one look much trimmer simply because they have LESS fat.

    please baby, please baby, baby, baby PLEASE spread the word! correct your friends and help end the spread of this myth.

    only YOU can help prevent the spread of fitness myths!


    Amen! And while we're at it QUIT USING THE WORD LOOSE FOR LOSE, and QUIT INSISTING THAT YOUR BODY WILL GO INTO "STARVATION MODE" if you don't eat back your exercise calories! Do what works for you, come here for motivation and support and the tools this site provides, but don't think any one way is THE way! Thanks, rant over.
  • Dizzle_65
    Dizzle_65 Posts: 249 Member
    Semantics
  • o0IrishEyes0o
    o0IrishEyes0o Posts: 82 Member
    Amen! And while we're at it QUIT USING THE WORD LOOSE FOR LOSE, and QUIT INSISTING THAT YOUR BODY WILL GO INTO "STARVATION MODE" if you don't eat back your exercise calories! Do what works for you, come here for motivation and support and the tools this site provides, but don't think any one way is THE way! Thanks, rant over.

    Nicely said.
  • 1FitMomof4Girls
    1FitMomof4Girls Posts: 202 Member
    Preach it!! :wink:
  • MrsRobertson1005
    MrsRobertson1005 Posts: 552 Member
    But it does. Say you have a cubic foot of muscle and a cubic foot of fat. The muscle will weigh more.

    exactly, this is what people mean. A pound of muscle is the same as a pound of fat but when people say muscle weighs more than fat then mean if you replace the space the fat was taking up with muscle it would weigh more
  • Angela4Health
    Angela4Health Posts: 1,319 Member
    But it does. Say you have a cubic foot of muscle and a cubic foot of fat. The muscle will weigh more.

    This is true but people misinterpret it and somehow believe that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat. People use it out of context ALL the time.
  • rainbowbuggy
    rainbowbuggy Posts: 320
    *bump*
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    I'm so glad you posted this. I've written it in here on the forums many many times. It's a myth that muscle weighs more--a pound is a pound! Fat just takes up more space. :)
  • fredd500
    fredd500 Posts: 106 Member
    Question. What weighs more, a tonne (or ton for you US types) of feathers or a tonne (ton) of bricks?
  • bella8282
    bella8282 Posts: 188 Member
    But it does. Say you have a cubic foot of muscle and a cubic foot of fat. The muscle will weigh more.

    a cubic foot is a measurment of area.... not a measurement of weight.

    A pound will always weigh a pound! if you have a pound of apples and a pound of rocks... they both still weigh the same A POUND!

    If you fill an area the size of a cubic foot with apples and the area of a cubic foot with rocks... sure they may weigh different... because the space they occupy is different! it may take more apples to fill that area ... or more rocks.

    BUT a pound will always be a pound. a Kilogram will always be a kilogram..... no matter what.
  • NeverStopRunning
    NeverStopRunning Posts: 36
    That’s ridiculous. Nobody thinks a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat. Surely not? Inch per inch, muscle does weigh more. I think that is what people mean when they say that.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    But it does. Say you have a cubic foot of muscle and a cubic foot of fat. The muscle will weigh more.

    This is true but people misinterpret it and somehow believe that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat. People use it out of context ALL the time.

    Agreed. But I must admit that I am guilty of it myself. I know what it means, but I suppose not everyone does.

    The thing that irks me about these boards is when people ask for medical advice. "I'm having this symptom, this symptom, and this symptom. What do you think?" WHY are you asking me? You should be consulting with a doctor!!!!
  • imnotyourpal
    imnotyourpal Posts: 162 Member
    Semantics

    Yep. And based on size, it does.
  • AlwaysWanderer
    AlwaysWanderer Posts: 641 Member
    Honestly? Do you need a whole thread to tell people that pound is a pound? When people say that muscle weighs more than fat they mean by volume. Anyone who is able to use this website will know that a pound is a pound. So are you saying that steel weighs the same as fethers? and water same as air? and everything in the world weighs the same, just have a different size? And you weigh the same as me, as pound of you = a pound of me? MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT BY VOLUME. thats what people mean. Dont insult anyones intelligence.
  • fredd500
    fredd500 Posts: 106 Member
    This is of course the reason why most heavy weight boxers are technically obese. But I dare any one of you to call them fat (and not get knocked out)... This is why BMI only really works for average people of average build and really should not be considered if you do a lot of strength training.
  • soxmandan
    soxmandan Posts: 26
    I think for the most part we all understand that a pound is a pound, but muscle weighs more as in it takes less space but is more dense than fat.
  • bella8282
    bella8282 Posts: 188 Member
    Amen! And while we're at it QUIT USING THE WORD LOOSE FOR LOSE, and QUIT INSISTING THAT YOUR BODY WILL GO INTO "STARVATION MODE" if you don't eat back your exercise calories! Do what works for you, come here for motivation and support and the tools this site provides, but don't think any one way is THE way! Thanks, rant over.
    [/quote]

    Agree... I hate how much "starvation mode" keep getting thrown around. It seems people thin they can go into starvation mode after 3 days of not eating their ...lets say "1500cal" I Know what starvation is... Ive been in hospital for it... and still being treated. and it took me longer than 3 days to get there!!

    My Rant over too... lol
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    But muscle takes up less space than fat, so by volume muscle does weigh more than fat. If you filled a gallon bucket with fat and weighed it, then filled the same bucket with muscle and weighed it - the muscle bucket would weigh more.

    I don't think anyone is saying that a pound ever weighs anything different than 16 ounces.
  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
    Seriously, does anyone really believe 1lb of something doesn't weigh the same as 1lb of something else? Honestly, I get as annoyed seeing people arguing over the semantics and posting threads like this as you clearly do about people mis-using a word.

    So someone is using the word weight instead of the word density? I find it hard to believe that the majority of people who write "muscle weighs more than fat" misunderstand weights and volumes, they are just misusing a word.

    If someone is genuinely going to misunderstand the phrase "muscle weighs more than fat" and seriously believe that 1lb of muscles weighs more than 1lb of fat, they sure as hell aren't going to be any clearer on the facts than if I said "muscle is denser than fat".
  • chridow
    chridow Posts: 178
    But it does. Say you have a cubic foot of muscle and a cubic foot of fat. The muscle will weigh more.

    what you are talking about is VOLUME, which is different from weight. weight has to do with the force of gravity on an object, while volume has to do with the amount of space occupied by an object. it's why something that weighs 20lbs on Earth may weigh more or less on another planet. If nothing about the object has changed the only difference would be the force of gravity on the object, thus affecting it's WEIGHT. People often use weight and volume interchangeably, though they are different. In your example the ONLY reason a cubic foot of muscle may weigh more than a cubic foot of fat is because there is MORE MUSCLE within the same space the fat has. HOWEVER a pound is a pound. if i had a ton of bricks and a ton of feathers and put them on a balancing scale the scale would be EVEN. the amount of space each occupies would be drastically different, but just as a pound is a pound, a ton is a ton
  • TXHunny84
    TXHunny84 Posts: 503 Member
    Exactly.....Muscle is just more dense than fat. So the volumes of each substance weigh differently..... Like a cup of marshmallows will not weigh the same as a cup of sand.... That's VOLUME.... And a POUND of marshmellows will take up much more space than a pound of sand.....Density..... :flowerforyou:
  • bunchesonothing
    bunchesonothing Posts: 1,015 Member
    Yesterday, there was a thread where people talked about things people say that irked them, phrases. This time it's a lack of precision with language that technically does mean something. If you've ever been irked by something about a way someone said something, and I know many people have, this thread makes sense.
    .
  • bella8282
    bella8282 Posts: 188 Member
    Honestly? Do you need a whole thread to tell people that pound is a pound? When people say that muscle weighs more than fat they mean by volume. Anyone who is able to use this website will know that a pound is a pound. So are you saying that steel weighs the same as fethers? and water same as air? and everything in the world weighs the same, just have a different size? And you weigh the same as me, as pound of you = a pound of me? MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT BY VOLUME. thats what people mean. Dont insult anyones intelligence.

    I dont think he was meaning to insult anyone's Inteligence.
    I know of people who actually think and believe that muscle weigh's more than fat. seriously!! and i'm not talking about uneducated or "slow" individuals... I'm taling about just normal everyday people who have heard the saying and think that it's true, and dont get the volume thing at all! :)
  • freerange
    freerange Posts: 1,722 Member
    You know what makes me wants to scream? People that think people don’t know this, AUGGG. Everyone knows a freaking pound is a pound, when people say muscle weighs more than fat they are not saying a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat, GODD GREEF CHARLIE BROWN, they are saying a gallon of muscle weighs more than a gallon of fat. GET OVER IT!
  • rmsrws
    rmsrws Posts: 639 Member
    Honestly? Do you need a whole thread to tell people that pound is a pound? When people say that muscle weighs more than fat they mean by volume. Anyone who is able to use this website will know that a pound is a pound. So are you saying that steel weighs the same as fethers? and water same as air? and everything in the world weighs the same, just have a different size? And you weigh the same as me, as pound of you = a pound of me? MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT BY VOLUME. thats what people mean. Dont insult anyones intelligence.

    Nicely said!!!!

    My Doctor told me muscle weighs more than FAT! If you are eating healthy, and working out and not seeing a response on the scale it is probably due to muscle gain. Because muscle weighs more than fat!
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    "I dont think he was meaning to insult anyone's Inteligence.
    I know of people who actually think and believe that muscle weigh's more than fat. seriously!! and i'm not talking about uneducated or "slow" individuals... I'm taling about just normal everyday people who have heard the saying and think that it's true, and dont get the volume thing at all! :)"

    Quoted from previous poster, not sure why the quote didn't take.


    Muscle does weigh more than fat due to density. Just because the statement "muscle weighs more than fat" does not include clarification of the properties of the two does not change the fact.
  • ampharos
    ampharos Posts: 5
    In your example the ONLY reason a cubic foot of muscle may weigh more than a cubic foot of fat is because there is MORE MUSCLE within the same space the fat has.
    Which is exactly what the statement "muscle weighs more than fat" means, yeah.
  • bunchesonothing
    bunchesonothing Posts: 1,015 Member
    I have a co-worker who is CONSTANTLY using words in improper context or using words completely outside any meaning they could possibly have. It grates on me. I try not to let it. It's the inanity of someone who keeps using words incorrectly. Not just once in a day, but pretty much all day. After so many times, it can start to get to someone.
  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
    sorry to burst your bubble but people are still going to say this whether or not you ***** about it. Get over it. If you dont like what someone says, ignore, move on. Ha, maybe i should take my own advice :wink:
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