Muscle weighs more than fat.

RachVR6 · February 2009

You hear this being said a lot here on MFP and I just thought I'd post this article to clarify for folks...

http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html

"As you can see, the 5 lbs. of fat is much bulkier than the 5 lbs. of muscle, but five pounds is still five pounds. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

Fat is bulky and lumpy so if you carry an extra five pounds of fat, you'll be lumpier than with five pounds more muscle. A five pound pile of fat will take up more space (volume) than a five pound pile of muscle; but five pounds is still five pounds, so for those of you that don't "get" English, you cannot say one thing weighing a certain weight weighs more than another thing at that same weight. It's a common joke to play on an 8-year old. The correct way to state the muscle weighs more than fat scenario is, "Muscle is heavier by volume than fat."

A woman weighing 150 pounds with 19% fat will look much smaller (and be much healthier) than a woman at 150 pounds with 35% fat. They weigh the same, yet the composition is different. Because muscle is more dense than fat the person with less fat and more muscle will look smaller.

Stop being so obsessed with body weight and start paying attention to body composition. How much body fat do you have compared to muscle? Simply seeing how much you weigh isn't very helpful."

:flowerforyou:

RachVR6 · February 2009

You hear this being said a lot here on MFP and I just thought I'd post this article to clarify for folks...

http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html

"As you can see, the 5 lbs. of fat is much bulkier than the 5 lbs. of muscle, but five pounds is still five pounds. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

Fat is bulky and lumpy so if you carry an extra five pounds of fat, you'll be lumpier than with five pounds more muscle. A five pound pile of fat will take up more space (volume) than a five pound pile of muscle; but five pounds is still five pounds, so for those of you that don't "get" English, you cannot say one thing weighing a certain weight weighs more than another thing at that same weight. It's a common joke to play on an 8-year old. The correct way to state the muscle weighs more than fat scenario is, "Muscle is heavier by volume than fat."

A woman weighing 150 pounds with 19% fat will look much smaller (and be much healthier) than a woman at 150 pounds with 35% fat. They weigh the same, yet the composition is different. Because muscle is more dense than fat the person with less fat and more muscle will look smaller.

Stop being so obsessed with body weight and start paying attention to body composition. How much body fat do you have compared to muscle? Simply seeing how much you weigh isn't very helpful."

:flowerforyou:

emikarls · February 2009

AMEN!:flowerforyou:

Poison5119 · February 2009

Thank you, AGAIN, for posting that. To say muscle weighs more than fat is a play on words. It weighs the SAME, except that it takes up less space, so muscle mass, and strength training is mucho importante!!

Thanks! j

jessmomof3 · February 2009

Thank you!! It drives me nuts when people say that! I'll take my muscle over fat any day! :bigsmile:

whitlocd · February 2009

My mom always told me this growing up, she also used to say I was big boned! Thanks mom!

If anyone watched biggest loser last night, Jillian also dispelled the myth that muscle weighs more than fat. Thanks for posting this article!!!!

TamTastic · February 2009

Exxxxaccerrrryyyyy!!!!!!:flowerforyou:

chrispchef1 · February 2009

great post - and visual - thanks

"inches" are the new "pounds" in my book! :drinker:

BEFORE · February 2009

AMEN!:flowerforyou:

pdxmomof2 · February 2009

:drinker:

smontoya1 · February 2009

I watched the Biggest Loser last night. When I heard Jillian say that "muscle weighs more than fat" is just another excuse on why the scale doesn't drop...I was suprised...she's right, that is what all the trainers usually say when you haven't lost any weight!

I know it's nutrition and cardio, along with strength training...hard stuff but totally worth it!

chipper15173 · February 2009

agree

yellow_pepper · February 2009

Obviously, a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. The point is that a cubic inch of muscle weighs more than a a cubic inch of fat. So a size 4 woman could weigh 115 if she has lower muscle mass or 135 if she has higher muscle mass.

My understanding is that most weight loss is a combination of fat and muscle. What really happens when you do strength-training as you lose weight is that your body will preserve more muscle in net than it would if you just cut calories. But if you cut calories (i.e. impose a net deficit), you should lose weight, whether or not you do strength-training. It's very hard to gain muscle mass in net (i.e. build more than you burn) when you're on a calorie deficit.

Jennnnnnnny · February 2009

wow. that was very educational!! thanks for posting that!!

1Corinthians13 · February 2009

I just have to say I never thought about it. I mean, I knew what was MEANT when someone said muscle weighs more than fat....but I never thought about the fact that they were wrong! haha

SHBoss1673 · February 2009

LOL, its funny that this conversation is happening again.

We all had this EXACT same post like 8 or 9 months ago. Even the same picture. Who else remembers?

AmandaJ · February 2009

I had to laugh when I heard Jillian give her little talk on fat and muscle.

Thank you for posting this!

Thamber · February 2009

Well I would't remember it since Ive only been here slightly over a month and I bet lots of other people are new. I think this is a very good visual for everyone. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

joonieB · February 2009

Of course that is correct.....however. For me it is simply a short cut to say "muscle weighs more than fat". What I, and anyone over 8, means is that muscle takes up less room that fat, that it is more dense and more attractive--less lumpy.

(I just had a similiar discussion the other day with my 7 year old twins about the increasing amounts of daylight in a day after the first day of winter in December. It is common to hear people say the first day of summer in June is the longest day of the year. Of course we all know a day is 24 hours and what we really mean is the sun is up the longest on that day!)

I think this type of argument, while true, can be a bit nit-picky. Let's not assume that because someone says something like, say, "PIN number" that they don't know what they are talking about. Most people just want to get their point across and aren't worried about semantics.

It's no fun to be new in town and feel stupid just because we haven't figured out the lingo of the "locals" yet. Remember, we all were new once!

SHBoss1673 · February 2009

Check it out.

I did a quick search, and there it was.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10273-muscle-does-not-weigh-more-than-fat

Amazing how everyone has similar thought processes in this, isn't it? I thing it's pretty cool. The people may change, but we all start out with the same problems. :happy:

LuckyLeprechaun · February 2009

wow great visual!! I'm new too so I never saw the post that Banks was referring to.

I too am a stickler for inaccurate language, (English teacher)

they should say, "muscle is denser than fat"

or "the same volume of muscle will weigh more than the same volume of fat"

Muscle weighs more than fat.

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