A Question about muscle weighing more than fat...

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FLCullen
FLCullen Posts: 49 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Around this time last year I had my body fat percentage taken, and it was 44%. I had it taken again recently and the reading was 35.6%, however I am a good 7lb heavier than I was last year (but still wearing the same clothes). I have heard and read that muscle weighs more than fat, and that a person who is doing a fair bit of strength training may gain weight. Is there anyone on MVP who is in the know and can shed any light on whether an 8% fat drop and 7lb gain is about right?

My muscle reading this year was 59%, but I don't know what it was last year. And I don't know if that matters (?!)

Replies

  • suprfast
    suprfast Posts: 49
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    Your muscle will be the opposite of fat. Also depends on how the fat/muscle was measured. Calipers are inaccurate. Bod pod is the most accurate way to determine fat%.

    Again, if you were 20% fat then you would be 80% muscle. Bod pods to not account for water.
  • Colli78
    Colli78 Posts: 135
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    Muscle does not weight more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat. A pound of muscle however, is smaller and more compact than a pound of fat. So, while strength training, it is entirely possible to gain weight, but lose inches. If you are 7 pounds heavier than you were last year and your clothes aren't tighter, then it could very well be muscle weight. However, clothes lose their shape the more you launder them. A true test would be to go grab your size in a store and try it on. If it's too tight, more than likely, you have gained fat. If it is a little more loose than you expected, you probably gained muscle.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
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    Around this time last year I had my body fat percentage taken, and it was 44%. I had it taken again recently and the reading was 35.6%, however I am a good 7lb heavier than I was last year (but still wearing the same clothes). I have heard and read that muscle weighs more than fat, and that a person who is doing a fair bit of strength training may gain weight. Is there anyone on MVP who is in the know and can shed any light on whether an 8% fat drop and 7lb gain is about right?

    My muscle reading this year was 59%, but I don't know what it was last year. And I don't know if that matters (?!)

    I just need to clarify this, for the sake of physics, and the universe, and sanity. Muscle does not *weigh* more than fat. It is simply more dense, and therefore takes up less space, giving you a "tighter" or more "tucked in" appearance. So yes, you may have reduced bodyfat over the past year, and put on some muscle (if you were eating higher than maintenance calories and weight training) which would account for the change in BF% and increase in weight.

    Bodyfat measurements in general are a little bit iffy though, because there's so much variability in what's being measured. Even with something like a BodPod or DEXA scan, you will find a significant margin of error over time. The key is to measure BF% the same way each time you measure and look at the trend over time, in conjunction with your workout habits, your eating habits and your overall lifestyle.

    Hope that helps.
  • Polly758
    Polly758 Posts: 623 Member
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    A pound of muscle however, is smaller and more compact than a pound of fat.

    So, you're saying muscle weighs more than fat?
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
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    A pound of muscle however, is smaller and more compact than a pound of fat.

    So, you're saying muscle weighs more than fat?

    No, she is saying it takes up less physical space.

    ETA: the correct case.
  • Colli78
    Colli78 Posts: 135
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    A pound of muscle however, is smaller and more compact than a pound of fat.

    So, you're saying muscle weighs more than fat?

    No, I'm saying it takes up less physical space.

    Exactly. They weigh the exact same, but you get a smaller amount for the weight. Which would you have more of if you were to put on a scale - a pound of lead or a pound of feathers? Same general concept.
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    Bloody hell, whenever someone says muscle weighs more than fat, obviously they're implying "by volume."

    As to the OPs question, my intuition tells me we'd need more information about how much you're eating and how hard you're training. Were you cutting and bulking, etc? I really don't know how it works for women, but if you were strength training in a caloric deficit for a year, I imagine you lost fat (due to your diet) and perhaps gained some newbie gains of muscle, but not much. I don't doubt you may have gained some weight, and it may not have been fat, but I question whether or not (or how much of) it was muscle.
  • FLCullen
    FLCullen Posts: 49 Member
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    I just 'lol'ed at myself. Yes, sorry, I phrased that in a way that doesn't really make sense. I guess my question was 'can I have gone down in body fat and still have gained weight, and if so, can I maybe account some of that weight gain for muscle?'.

    Thanks for the comments, very helpful!!!
  • FLCullen
    FLCullen Posts: 49 Member
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    <--- Also, I just presumed that my face would show here. This was not on purpose. I promise I am not a d!!!head. I'll find another, more appropriate, less knobbish photo.
  • outlaw5353
    outlaw5353 Posts: 50
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    that saying is so over used no matter how u look at it a pound is a pound 1000 pounds of feathers is bigger but weights the same as a 1000 pounds of metal take thtat into consideration a person who is burning fat but gaining muscle its really hard to tell by the scale but if see more definaton or just use a measuring tape and see the inches change
  • LindsayHowlett
    LindsayHowlett Posts: 44
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    <--- Also, I just presumed that my face would show here. This was not on purpose. I promise I am not a d!!!head. I'll find another, more appropriate, less knobbish photo.

    Haha! Gotta love it when that happens ;-)
  • Dan112358
    Dan112358 Posts: 525 Member
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    Hey, a few things.

    First of all, if you're 20% fat, you're not 80% muscle. You're 80% "lean body mass" which includes muscle but also bone, water, what you ate for lunch, etc.

    Without giving your weight numbers, it's hard to say exactly whether or not the %s are accurate but a natural male body builder would do very well to add 24 lbs of muscle mass over the course of a year & that's assuming that their diet & exercise are spot on. For females, that number is closer to 12 lbs/year.

    Looking at a female weighing 150 lbs with say 30% body fat, they would have 45 pounds of fat & 105 pounds of LBM. If the gained 10 pounds of muscle & lost 20 lbs of fat, they would weigh 140 lbs with about 18% (25/140) bf%.

    ETA:
    Here's a site with some great information:
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/

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