Muscle DOES NOT weigh more than FAT

EddieG77
EddieG77 Posts: 185 Member
edited October 7 in Health and Weight Loss
I keep seeing responses to posts that muscle weighs more than fat when in fact this is an old myth. When you take 5lbs of muscle and weigh it against 5lbs of fat, according to my math, 5lbs is 5lbs. Fat is much thicker than muscle, so by going by the scale if you are working out and you are not losing weight, you are simply replacing the fat with muscle. You could go months without losing weight, but your clothes are getting bigger and bigger on you. This is because you are losing the fat and converting it into muscle.

Please read here if you could: http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html

Let's stop this myth for everyone's sake and don't always go by what the scale says but what you see in the mirror or how your clothes fit!!

Hope this helps!!
Cheers
Ed
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Replies

  • LoreleiWalks
    LoreleiWalks Posts: 143 Member
    Thank you. I JUST read a post stating the old muscle weighs more than fat nonsense. Makes me cringe. UGHHHHH!!!!
  • NicNac86
    NicNac86 Posts: 130
    I keep seeing responses to posts that muscle weighs more than fat when in fact this is an old myth. When you take 5lbs of muscle and weigh it against 5lbs of fat, according to my math, 5lbs is 5lbs. Fat is much thicker than muscle, so by going by the scale if you are working out and you are not losing weight, you are simply replacing the fat with muscle. You could go months without losing weight, but your clothes are getting bigger and bigger on you. This is because you are losing the fat and converting it into muscle.

    Please read here if you could: http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html

    Let's stop this myth for everyone's sake and don't always go by what the scale says but what you see in the mirror or how your clothes fit!!

    Hope this helps!!
    Cheers
    Ed

    Surely going by your own story, muscle weights more than fat.

    If your weight is staying the same, but your clothes are getting bigger on you (ie you're getting smaller), then your frame is smaller but you still weigh the same.

    I don't think it's about 5lbs = 5lbs at all. Of course it does. I think it's in relation to say 1 inch on your body. 1 inch of muscle could weigh more than 1 inch of fat.
  • imjessly
    imjessly Posts: 140 Member
    I always assume when someone says muscle weighs more than fat, they mean that of the same volume (area) of fat vs muscle, the muscle is heavier as its more dense than fat.

    Obviously 5 pounds of muscle weighs the same as 5 pounds of fat weighs the same as 5 pounds of feathers and so on...
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
    Oh f--- not this again!!
  • shanighias
    shanighias Posts: 169 Member
    totally agree with imjessly ........sports man weigh more than 180 pounds at 5 8 and they seem very lean!
  • EddieG77
    EddieG77 Posts: 185 Member
    Sorry man!! HAHA
  • acruz049
    acruz049 Posts: 20 Member
    Oh f--- not this again!!

    Lmfao!!! that was cute you sound so bummed about it:explode: :bigsmile:
  • karensoxfan
    karensoxfan Posts: 902 Member
    I keep seeing responses to posts that muscle weighs more than fat when in fact this is an old myth. When you take 5lbs of muscle and weigh it against 5lbs of fat, according to my math, 5lbs is 5lbs.

    Let's stop this myth for everyone's sake

    What most people mean when they say muscle weighs more is thatby VOLUME (ex: 1 sq. Inch) muscle does weigh more than fat because the mass of muscle is more dense than thesame size of fat. Like a grocery bag of bricks weighs more than a grocery bag of feathers.
  • Booboo78
    Booboo78 Posts: 169
    fat-v-muscle.jpg
  • uboom
    uboom Posts: 69 Member
    That is because when someone makes the statement that "muscle weighs more than fat". Then weight is the variable in the equation and your suppose to make the conclusion on your own that with equal volume of muscle and fat. Muscle will weight more.

    So in your example if you make weight a constant and you take 5lbs of muscle and 5lbs of fat. You will have more volume of muscle.

    Maybe the saying should change and should be "Muscle weights more then fat per volume" Then we won't have these pointless debates, when all of us are trying to get more muscle and less fat on our bodies.
  • timheywood
    timheywood Posts: 18
    Here is the precise and complete truth:

    Muscle is denser than fat.
  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
    It's denser than fat. So for example if you burn off cubic inch of fat and replace it with one cubic inch of muscle your total weight will go up. So some people may not seen a size change on the tape but will see a weight gain on the scale.

    So yes most people relate that to the saying muscle weights more than fat because they don't want to get into the nitty gritty details of muscle tissue density vs adipose fat tissue density. To expand on that, if you took 1 liter of muscle tissue and put it on a scale with 1 liter of fat tissue, then yes the muscle would weight more than fat.
  • NicNac86
    NicNac86 Posts: 130
    fat-v-muscle.jpg

    Haha, exactly! so 1 sq inch of muscle would weigh more than 1 sq inch of fat, thanks!
    So in your example if you make weight a constant and you take 5lbs of muscle and 5lbs of fat. You will have more volume of muscle.

    As above, more volume of fat, less volume of muscle.

    Edit: as muscle's denser (as above), that makes complete sense!
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    I keep seeing responses to posts that muscle weighs more than fat when in fact this is an old myth.
    Come on!
    When we say muscle weighs more than fat, we mean BY VOLUME!
    FACT: Muscle weighs more than fat ....BY VOLUME!

    A gallon of muscle weighs more than a gallon of fat.

    That's what we mean.
  • sweetsarahj
    sweetsarahj Posts: 701 Member
    Here is the precise and complete truth:

    Muscle is denser than fat.

    ^^^ exactly what I was going to say :smile:
  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
    I keep seeing responses to posts that muscle weighs more than fat when in fact this is an old myth.
    Come on!
    When we say muscle weighs more than fat, we mean BY VOLUME!
    FACT: Muscle weighs more than fat ....BY VOLUME!

    A gallon of muscle weighs more than a gallon of fat.

    That's what we mean.

    We were on the same wavelength, just wasn't typing fast enough to beat you to it ;)
  • krkavanagh
    krkavanagh Posts: 4
    Excellent visual, thank you
  • KitTheRoadie
    KitTheRoadie Posts: 641 Member
    I always assume when someone says muscle weighs more than fat, they mean that of the same volume (area) of fat vs muscle, the muscle is heavier as its more dense than fat.

    Obviously 5 pounds of muscle weighs the same as 5 pounds of fat weighs the same as 5 pounds of feathers and so on...

    Exactly!

    If you have 10cm3 of fat and 10cm3 of muscle, the 10cm3 of muscle is heavier because it is more dense than fat...

    When will it end??!!
  • Jen_ht
    Jen_ht Posts: 99 Member
    Brilliant visual, well done. This argument is so old and only caused be people misunderstanding the saying - its completely density/volume - you take 5lb of anything and 5 lb of anything else OF COURSE they're going to weight the same!!!
  • Purpleflipflops
    Purpleflipflops Posts: 563 Member
    Joker_popcorn.gif
  • EddieG77
    EddieG77 Posts: 185 Member
    Thank you all for the responses!! Greatly appreciate it!!! I was just doing the math and after reviewing sites on the topic!!
  • PoshTaush
    PoshTaush Posts: 1,247
    A pound is a pound!! AMEN!
  • MinnesotaManimal
    MinnesotaManimal Posts: 642 Member
    Dead horse + baseball bat= this thread
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    I keep seeing responses to posts that muscle weighs more than fat when in fact this is an old myth. When you take 5lbs of muscle and weigh it against 5lbs of fat, according to my math, 5lbs is 5lbs. Fat is much thicker than muscle, so by going by the scale if you are working out and you are not losing weight, you are simply replacing the fat with muscle. You could go months without losing weight, but your clothes are getting bigger and bigger on you. This is because you are losing the fat and converting it into muscle.

    Please read here if you could: http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html

    Let's stop this myth for everyone's sake and don't always go by what the scale says but what you see in the mirror or how your clothes fit!!

    Hope this helps!!
    Cheers
    Ed

    Surely going by your own story, muscle weights more than fat.

    If your weight is staying the same, but your clothes are getting bigger on you (ie you're getting smaller), then your frame is smaller but you still weigh the same.

    I don't think it's about 5lbs = 5lbs at all. Of course it does. I think it's in relation to say 1 inch on your body. 1 inch of muscle could weigh more than 1 inch of fat.

    I think you don't understand what he means. Simply goes like this: Muscle is denser than fat & therefore takes less space on your body but it DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT. One pound is one pound & the reason why you are getting smaller without losing weight is that you are losing fat while at the same time gaining muscle.
  • stayxtrue
    stayxtrue Posts: 1,186 Member
    I think it comes down to people not wording it correctly...

    But I think we have all come to a conclusion on this topic
  • Nitachi
    Nitachi Posts: 142
    I keep seeing responses to posts that muscle weighs more than fat when in fact this is an old myth. When you take 5lbs of muscle and weigh it against 5lbs of fat, according to my math, 5lbs is 5lbs. Fat is much thicker than muscle, so by going by the scale if you are working out and you are not losing weight, you are simply replacing the fat with muscle. You could go months without losing weight, but your clothes are getting bigger and bigger on you. This is because you are losing the fat and converting it into muscle.

    Please read here if you could: http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html

    Let's stop this myth for everyone's sake and don't always go by what the scale says but what you see in the mirror or how your clothes fit!!

    Hope this helps!!
    Cheers
    Ed

    Actually muscle is denser than fat...just so you know
  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
    I keep seeing responses to posts that muscle weighs more than fat when in fact this is an old myth. When you take 5lbs of muscle and weigh it against 5lbs of fat, according to my math, 5lbs is 5lbs. Fat is much thicker than muscle, so by going by the scale if you are working out and you are not losing weight, you are simply replacing the fat with muscle. You could go months without losing weight, but your clothes are getting bigger and bigger on you. This is because you are losing the fat and converting it into muscle.

    Please read here if you could: http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html

    Let's stop this myth for everyone's sake and don't always go by what the scale says but what you see in the mirror or how your clothes fit!!

    Hope this helps!!
    Cheers
    Ed

    Surely going by your own story, muscle weights more than fat.

    If your weight is staying the same, but your clothes are getting bigger on you (ie you're getting smaller), then your frame is smaller but you still weigh the same.

    I don't think it's about 5lbs = 5lbs at all. Of course it does. I think it's in relation to say 1 inch on your body. 1 inch of muscle could weigh more than 1 inch of fat.

    I think you don't understand what he means. Simply goes like this: Muscle is denser than fat & therefore takes less space on your body but it DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT. One pound is one pound & the reason why you are getting smaller without losing weight is that you are losing fat while at the same time gaining muscle.

    I think we are all not understanding what the original poster had in his head at the time of posting but it does not change the fact that by volume muscle DOES WEIGH MORE THAN FAT (sorry about that caps, but you seemed to enjoy them in your response) . I don't believe there was any mention in the original post about how much room in takes in the body , just a blanket statement that anyone who says muscle weight more than fat is wrong when in fact it is quite true.

    It's just we all use different terminology and I don't think we need to debate mass vs density vs weight vs volume. That ends my rant :)
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    I keep seeing responses to posts that muscle weighs more than fat when in fact this is an old myth.
    Come on!
    When we say muscle weighs more than fat, we mean BY VOLUME!
    FACT: Muscle weighs more than fat ....BY VOLUME!

    A gallon of muscle weighs more than a gallon of fat.

    That's what we mean.

    We were on the same wavelength, just wasn't typing fast enough to beat you to it ;)
    Some things should be no brainers.
    And this subject is beating a dead horse in the extreme.
  • japruzze
    japruzze Posts: 453 Member
    Think golf ball and soft ball...same weight differnt size. One pound of muscle takes up LESS SPACE than one pound of fat.
  • Fellulah
    Fellulah Posts: 3
    Yes, but, which is heavier, a ton of feathers or a ton of coal ?
This discussion has been closed.

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