Muscle weighing more than Fat
MThurs
Posts: 42 Member
I hear people say this all the time and want to hear your thoughts.
"Muscle weighs more than fat" - is often times the excuse people have when starting to workout regularly and the scale not responding.
My thought is this - it's like the old joke, "What weighs more a lb. of feathers or a lb. of rocks - they weigh the same a lb.".
Although the feathers take up more space than the rocks they both weigh the same - 1 lb.
The statistic I like is that a lb. of fat only burns about 10 calories and a lb. of muscle burns about 50 calories.
"Muscle weighs more than fat" - is often times the excuse people have when starting to workout regularly and the scale not responding.
My thought is this - it's like the old joke, "What weighs more a lb. of feathers or a lb. of rocks - they weigh the same a lb.".
Although the feathers take up more space than the rocks they both weigh the same - 1 lb.
The statistic I like is that a lb. of fat only burns about 10 calories and a lb. of muscle burns about 50 calories.
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Replies
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This is more semantics then anything. Muscle is more DENSE then fat, so if you had the same volume of each, the muscle would weigh more.
It is true that if you burn the same VOLUME of fat as you gain in muscle, the scale will read more.0 -
The old joke, is just that. No one seriously believes 1 lb of anything weighs anything other than a lb.
But if you are the same *size* and have more muscle mass and less body fat, you will weigh more. All other things being equal.0 -
Most people just leave out "by volume". Muscle weighs more than fat by volume. Or "muscle is more dense than fat" or "one pound of muscle takes up less space than one pound of fat". Whichever works for you.0
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50 lbs of muscles weighs more than 50 lbs of fat...
...the same way that...
50 lbs. of bricks weighs more than 50 lbs. of feathers.0 -
Also, women are not (usually) genetically equipped to pack on a significant amount of weight due to muscle in the first few weeks of working out.
Usually an initial weight gain seen after a newbie starts working out is due to muscles holding onto water in order to repair themselves.0 -
This is more semantics then anything. Muscle is more DENSE then fat, so if you had the same volume of each, the muscle would weigh more.
It is true that if you burn the same VOLUME of fat as you gain in muscle, the scale will read more.
That is exactly my point - but I do laugh when I hear people who begin workout programs then comment on how they've "gained weight because muscle weighs more than fat".
I am a firm believer in measuring your body in addition to monitoring your progress by a scale. I have a personal training client that is visibly smaller but her scale still reads the same - she would feel more successful if she had her measurements to see her progress.0 -
50 lbs of muscles weighs more than 50 lbs of fat...
...the same way that...
50 lbs. of bricks weighs more than 50 lbs. of feathers.
50lbs is 50lbs - equal - volume/mass are different but 50lbs is 50lbs.0 -
Most people just leave out "by volume". Muscle weighs more than fat by volume. Or "muscle is more dense than fat" or "one pound of muscle takes up less space than one pound of fat". Whichever works for you.
Like :-)0 -
LOL 50 pounds is 50 pounds. Fat or muscle. IT'S 50 POUNDS.
If you weigh 200 pounds but are more muscle than fat, you'd be *thinner* than a 200 pound person who's more fat than muscle, cause muscle is more compact than fat.
Fat is BIG muscle is SLIM.
BUT YOU'D STILL BOTH WEIGH 200 POUNDS REGARDLESS.0 -
I've heard that 1lb of rice weighs more than 1lb of feathers and a 10lb ream of paper weighs less than a 10lb dumbell....but that could be because a ream of paper is usually 5lbs....0
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It's too bad people don't see how much more relevant density and volume are than weight.
Here's a hint; if you aren't becoming less 'volumous' over time as you eat right and exercise, you're doing it wrong.0 -
What is worth more, 1 single $100 bill, or 100 $1 bills?0
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What is worth more, 1 single $100 bill, or 100 $1 bills?
The 100 $1's because you get 100 of them instead of just 1. Duh!0 -
By volume....
Five cups of Marshmallow Fluff is about one pound.
Five cups of water weighs a little over 2.5 pounds.
Five cups of mercury would weigh about 35 pounds.0 -
I hear people say this all the time and want to hear your thoughts.
"Muscle weighs more than fat" - is often times the excuse people have when starting to workout regularly and the scale not responding.
My thought is this - it's like the old joke, "What weighs more a lb. of feathers or a lb. of rocks - they weigh the same a lb.".
Although the feathers take up more space than the rocks they both weigh the same - 1 lb.
The statistic I like is that a lb. of fat only burns about 10 calories and a lb. of muscle burns about 50 calories.
Yeah I like ths statistic too "a lb. of fat only burns about 10 calories and a lb. of muscle burns about 50 calories"
Too bad this is NOT TRUE. I wish. Muscle does burn more calories than fat ....... but 50 is a gross exaggeration.0 -
*headdesk headdesk0
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What is worth more, 1 single $100 bill, or 100 $1 bills?
The 100 $1's because you get 100 of them instead of just 1. Duh!
That's SO funny - my grandson thinks like that - he's 4! He got a $50 bill from his great-grandma for his birthday but the 4 $1 bills that he got from his great-grandpa was BETTER because there were 4 of them!! :-)0 -
I hear people say this all the time and want to hear your thoughts.
"Muscle weighs more than fat" - is often times the excuse people have when starting to workout regularly and the scale not responding.
My thought is this - it's like the old joke, "What weighs more a lb. of feathers or a lb. of rocks - they weigh the same a lb.".
Although the feathers take up more space than the rocks they both weigh the same - 1 lb.
The statistic I like is that a lb. of fat only burns about 10 calories and a lb. of muscle burns about 50 calories.
Yeah I like ths statistic too "a lb. of fat only burns about 10 calories and a lb. of muscle burns about 50 calories"
Too bad this is NOT TRUE. I wish. Muscle does burn more calories than fat ....... but 50 is a gross exaggeration.
It was the stat I googled from Bodybuilding.com0 -
I hear people say this all the time and want to hear your thoughts.
"Muscle weighs more than fat" - is often times the excuse people have when starting to workout regularly and the scale not responding.
My thought is this - it's like the old joke, "What weighs more a lb. of feathers or a lb. of rocks - they weigh the same a lb.".
Although the feathers take up more space than the rocks they both weigh the same - 1 lb.
The statistic I like is that a lb. of fat only burns about 10 calories and a lb. of muscle burns about 50 calories.
Yeah I like ths statistic too "a lb. of fat only burns about 10 calories and a lb. of muscle burns about 50 calories"
Too bad this is NOT TRUE. I wish. Muscle does burn more calories than fat ....... but 50 is a gross exaggeration.
It was the stat I googled from Bodybuilding.com
Single digits are more likely
http://fitnessblackbook.com/muscle_tone_strategies_/gaining-muscle-doesnt-increase-the-metabolic-rate-a-significant-amount/
http://weightology.net/?p=192
http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/cals.htm0 -
Muscle is more DENSE than fat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0
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From what I've read, 1 lb. of fat burns about 2-3 kcal/day, while 1 lb. of muscle burns about 5-7kcal/day assuming you're at rest.0
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What is worth more, 1 single $100 bill, or 100 $1 bills?
The 100 $1's because you get 100 of them instead of just 1. Duh!
That's SO funny - my grandson thinks like that - he's 4! He got a $50 bill from his great-grandma for his birthday but the 4 $1 bills that he got from his great-grandpa was BETTER because there were 4 of them!! :-)
I once asked my 5 year old niece to trade me her single $20 bill for 5 of my $1 bills to see what she'd say.0 -
50 lbs of muscles weighs more than 50 lbs of fat...
...the same way that...
50 lbs. of bricks weighs more than 50 lbs. of feathers.
I think you actually mean something like 50 quarts/liters of muscle weighs more than 50 quarts/liters of fat (or any other measure of volume).0 -
You need to be a little careful in thinking that resistance training (generally weights) helps you lose weight. The American College of Sports Medicine concluded in 2009 that: "Resistance training will not promote clinically significant weight loss." (http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2009/02000/Appropriate_Physical_Activity_Intervention.26.aspx.)
None of this is intended to discourage you from engaging in resistance training. Although it probably won't help you lose weight, resistance training will make you healthier. Simply by cutting calories enough to lose weight, even if you do so in reasonable manner, you're probably going to cause yourself to lose some muscle. Resistance training will help prevent this and may make you stronger that you were before.0
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