A pound is a pound the world around

LethaSue
LethaSue Posts: 285 Member
edited October 7 in Chit-Chat
A pound of muscle weighs the very same as a pound of fat. A pound of any thing is still a pound. A pound of feathers is a pound, just like a pound of gold is a pound. Soooooo why do you hear people saying all the time that they know that muscle weights more than fat?

Replies

  • jayb0ne
    jayb0ne Posts: 644 Member
    This picture:

    http://potentialization.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/fatmuscle.jpg

    They'll weigh the same but the pound of fat will take up more space (volume) because it's less dense than muscle.

    So you could say for the same volume of either, the muscle weighs more. So a cup of muscle would weigh more than a cup of fat.

    Or you could say that muscle is denser than fat.

    A pound of gold could be held in one hand. A pound of feathers probably couldn't - it takes up too much space.

    Make sense?

    Jay
  • sandnessmj
    sandnessmj Posts: 3
    Muscle is more dense than fat. Just like a pound of feathers would look much larger than a pound of lead, this also explains how a 200lb football player can look smaller than a 180lb overweight man, even if they are the same height. People who are hung up on a specific weight in pounds often reason that they are heavier than they look because muscle weighs more than fat.

    Also, isn't the expression "a pint's a pound the world around"?
  • EuroDriver12
    EuroDriver12 Posts: 805 Member
    This picture:

    http://potentialization.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/fatmuscle.jpg

    They'll weigh the same but the pound of fat will take up more space (volume) because it's less dense than muscle.

    So you could say for the same volume of either, the muscle weighs more. So a cup of muscle would weigh more than a cup of fat.

    Or you could say that muscle is denser than fat.

    A pound of gold could be held in one hand. A pound of feathers probably couldn't - it takes up too much space.

    Make sense?

    Jay

    well said brother! saved me the time to type lol
  • LethaSue
    LethaSue Posts: 285 Member
    You are correct on the pint thing, although it really isn't.
  • pdchemist15
    pdchemist15 Posts: 24 Member
    It is the displacement... Think about your statement..... How big of a box would it take to fill with a pound of feathers versus a pound of gold...

    A pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. Therefore a pound of muscle on the body weighs the same as a pound of fat on the body however it looks much smaller because it takes up less space on the body. That is one reason why people say that muscle weighs more than fat.

    Another reason is people want to lie to themselves and think and say they are more muscle than fat.. ;) That is why if one is serious about weight loss it's all about... 1. Measurements 2. How your clothes fit. Weight measurements are good to keep an overall motivation but if you are pounding it out in the gym and building lots of muscle those numbers can be confusing. My opinion is....

    The problem comes in when people are working out in the gym and not having a calorie deficit and actually are eating more than they should; step on the scale and they weigh 2 pounds more this week than they did last week and say well muscle weighs more than fat I must be gaining muscle.. but in reality they just put on more fat than muscle. They justify it with the inaccurate statement "muscle weighs more than fat" Just my opinion
  • LethaSue
    LethaSue Posts: 285 Member
    I understand the concept, but the way people say it really sounds like they beleive that a pound of muscle is going to show up as more weight.
  • LethaSue
    LethaSue Posts: 285 Member
    I agree with that.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    A pound of muscle weighs the very same as a pound of fat. A pound of any thing is still a pound. A pound of feathers is a pound, just like a pound of gold is a pound. Soooooo why do you hear people saying all the time that they know that muscle weights more than fat?
    Because muscle weighs more than fat....BY VOLUME!

    Say it: BY VOLUME!

    In other words, a gallon of muscle weighs more than a gallon of fat.

    This is why you can be gaining weight, thinking you are digressing when in fact you are improving.
    Everybody should be tracking body fat as well as weight. You can do so here:

    Body Fat
    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html
  • kimberly702
    kimberly702 Posts: 369 Member
    When I was in 2nd grade... I did a science project called A Pint is a Pound the World Around. I'm just saying. LOL
  • PoleBoy
    PoleBoy Posts: 255 Member
    it's in exactly the same way as lead weighs more than feathers.
  • suzzee2000
    suzzee2000 Posts: 85 Member
    A pound of muscle weighs the very same as a pound of fat. A pound of any thing is still a pound. A pound of feathers is a pound, just like a pound of gold is a pound. Soooooo why do you hear people saying all the time that they know that muscle weights more than fat?
    Because muscle weighs more than fat....BY VOLUME!

    Say it: BY VOLUME!

    In other words, a gallon of muscle weighs more than a gallon of fat.



    This is why you can be gaining weight, thinking you are digressing when in fact you are improving.
    Everybody should be tracking body fat as well as weight. You can do so here:

    Body Fat
    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

    That is so WELL SAID!!!!
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
    I understand the concept, but the way people say it really sounds like they beleive that a pound of muscle is going to show up as more weight.

    Yes, I originally though this as well, not even thinking about what I was saying. I continued to strength train and made my diet better and the weight, number on the scale goes down. That excuse of "muscle weighs more than fat" was my way of saying "I ate crap and the scale went up"
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    thumbsUp.jpg
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    When people say "muscle weighs more than fat", it means that a given volume of muscle weighs more than the same volume of fat. It's really sad that it has to be spelled out this way. No one on this bleeding Earth would ever say that a pound of one thing weighs more than a pound of something else, but some people choose to be obtuse and interpret it that way.
  • nkziv
    nkziv Posts: 161 Member
    Because a pound of muscle is LESS DENSE than a pound of fat. A pound of fat TAKES UP MORE SPACE than a pound of muscle. Therefore, a cubic inch of muscle does weigh more than a cubic inch of fat.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    A pound of muscle weighs the very same as a pound of fat. A pound of any thing is still a pound. A pound of feathers is a pound, just like a pound of gold is a pound. Soooooo why do you hear people saying all the time that they know that muscle weights more than fat?
    Because muscle weighs more than fat....BY VOLUME!

    Say it: BY VOLUME!

    In other words, a gallon of muscle weighs more than a gallon of fat.



    This is why you can be gaining weight, thinking you are digressing when in fact you are improving.
    Everybody should be tracking body fat as well as weight. You can do so here:

    Body Fat
    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

    That is so WELL SAID!!!!
    Thanks.
    I do not understand why people keep making an issue of this like they've suddenly discovered a myth to crusade against.
    It's effort misdirected.
    All that energy would be better spend in the gym peddling a bike or dancing Zumba!
  • dakitten2
    dakitten2 Posts: 888 Member
    Didnt we just have this ton of feathers equals ton of steel debate a few days ago? LOL

    I dont mean to be rude but seems like a thousand threads on this. Muscle is denser than fat. A pound is a pound. But your body will be more toned. I'm sorry I cant do this one again. Ya'll have fun.
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
    Because a pound of muscle is LESS DENSE than a pound of fat. A pound of fat TAKES UP MORE SPACE than a pound of muscle. Therefore, a cubic inch of muscle does weigh more than a cubic inch of fat.

    It's called "Relative density" (or "Specific Gravity").

    Muscle = 1.06kg/l
    Fat = 0.91kg/l

    A pound of anything will always weigh the same as a pound of something else. Unless they have the same relative density, then one will always occupy a larger space than the other.

    confetti.gif
    This is the 10,000,000 thread on this subject. You just won one years free membership of MFP. :laugh:
  • goodasgoldilox165
    goodasgoldilox165 Posts: 333 Member
    A pound of fat is BIGGER than a pound of muscle... So if you weigh yourself but find that you haven't lost any weight but measure yourself and find that you are smaller : this is the reason!:smile:
  • albinogorilla
    albinogorilla Posts: 1,056 Member
    Its a volume issue, as previously stated, not sure why it bothers people so much. Obviously a pound of anything equals a pound of anything else. Muscle weighs more than fat BY VOLUME. I guess we will have to add that for those slow studies on here...........maybe a definition of VOLUME would also be in order, as well as a helmet.
  • Kimbie500
    Kimbie500 Posts: 388 Member
    confetti.gif
    This is the 10,000,000 thread on this subject. You just won one years free membership of MFP. :laugh:

    LOL!! :drinker:
  • therebeccajones
    therebeccajones Posts: 12
    I think you are all making valid points - it is about mass not weight. And well done to all of you for having the scientific understanding of an 8 year-old. However, the tone and rudeness I have seen in this thread towards someone wanting to engage with a group of people that are supposed to support and help each other is disgusting.

    Less of the LOLs in someones face - trust me, it's not funny.

    Remember when you were the fat kid being bullied. Now you are bullying.

    END OF.
  • jayb0ne
    jayb0ne Posts: 644 Member
    I think I've figured out my definitive answer to the "a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of lead" statement...

    If you had a feather sculpted out of lead in one hand and a feather in the other, which would weigh more?
  • ReverendJim
    ReverendJim Posts: 260 Member
    A pound of muscle weighs the very same as a pound of fat. A pound of any thing is still a pound. A pound of feathers is a pound, just like a pound of gold is a pound. Soooooo why do you hear people saying all the time that they know that muscle weights more than fat?
    Because muscle weighs more than fat....BY VOLUME!

    Say it: BY VOLUME!

    In other words, a gallon of muscle weighs more than a gallon of fat.

    This is why you can be gaining weight, thinking you are digressing when in fact you are improving.
    Everybody should be tracking body fat as well as weight. You can do so here:

    Body Fat
    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

    Right on.
  • Helice
    Helice Posts: 1,075 Member
    Its not that a pound of muscle is a different weight to a pound of fat..
    Its that in a pile of a pound of muscle and a pound of fat, the muscle pile would be smaller...

    Baisically a pound of muslce is a different size or volume or whatever, than a pound of fat is..
    So if you had like 5cubic metres of muscle and 5 cubic metres of fat, the muscle would weigh more..
  • Mardill
    Mardill Posts: 140 Member
    And don't forget there are newbies always, always starting up & may have the same question! My mom always said, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". :love:
  • vsmurrow
    vsmurrow Posts: 145
    Physics 101: volume, density, mass.
    Oy oy oy...
  • akjmart2002
    akjmart2002 Posts: 263 Member
    Density. Folks don't understand it so they substitute "pound". Muscle tissue is more dense than fat, and therefore the same volume of tissue will weigh more.
This discussion has been closed.

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