Muscle weighs more than fat

MFPBrandy
MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
edited December 25 in Fitness and Exercise
I've seen a lot of people on these threads get REALLY worked up anytime someone says "muscle weighs more than fat."
I'm curious why people feel so strongly about this -- after all, a chunk of muscle DOES weigh more than an equally-sized chunk of fat. But I keep seeing statements like "Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat!!! A pound of feathers weighs as much as a pound of coal" (frequently followed by an implied "you f'ing idiot), which, while true, doesn't fit the context when people are talking about getting smaller but heavier. Really, if you go off of that argument, NOTHING in the world is heavier than anything else! A pound of anything is always equal in weight to a pound of anything else. So that vehement response every time someone says "muscle weighs more than fat" surprises me. And I'm awake at 5:20 am thinking about it for some reason, so I'm starting this thread to hear back from the "muscle is NOT heavier than fat" crew, so I can finally figure out what you guys are talking about.

Replies

  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    What if the dumbbell was SHAPED like a ream of paper?
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    again? why?

    go workout or something
  • Silverkittycat
    Silverkittycat Posts: 1,997 Member
    What if the dumbbell was SHAPED like a ream of paper?

    Like! :D
  • cartmail
    cartmail Posts: 36 Member
    A pound of anything is a pound regardless of what it is muscle just looks nice than fat and is smaller in mass :)
  • MFPBrandy
    MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
    again? why?

    go workout or something
    If there's a thread that already explains this, feel free to link to it.
  • Dani_wants_to_be_fit
    Dani_wants_to_be_fit Posts: 550 Member
    Yup. 1lb of fat weighs the same as 1lb of muscle. If you go for equal sizes of fat and muscle then the muscle will weigh more. But I do think some people defend this to the end and it causes a lot of disagreements and arguments on the forums =/ I'm not about to argue with someone if they don't agree with me though like a lot of people do.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    I think people are just being pedantic. They know exactly what someone means when they say muscle weighs more than fat even if the statement doesn't make sense.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    deadhorse.jpg
  • CarolynB38
    CarolynB38 Posts: 553 Member
    deadhorse.jpg
    Too funny!
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
    Clearly a lot of people have learned nothing in school as a kid.
  • Generalle
    Generalle Posts: 201 Member
    basically it means someone like me, that weighs 72 kgs (158lbs) with a body fat % of 20 at 5 3" is always going to be regarded as 'overweight' on the BMI spectrum.
    Being in the 'healthy BMI' weight range is NOT my goal
  • noweightfisherj
    noweightfisherj Posts: 220 Member
    Based on volume muscle as well as bone weighs more than fat, and that’s what we really need to look at is the volume. Are bodies are a confined space that with any luck are getting smaller. Which is why sometimes, we gain weigh as we get smaller and why people say that muscle weigh more than fat.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    deadhorse.jpg
    Too funny!

    This. Not again.
  • bubbaflip
    bubbaflip Posts: 14
    here's a website on the subject that might help http://www.livestrong.com/article/438693-a-pound-of-fat-vs-a-pound-of-muscle/
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    Nope I just can't ...again. :ohwell:

    <walks off whistling If I had a Hammer>
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
    Sure, but which one leads to "starvation mode" faster?

    --P
  • Biggipooh
    Biggipooh Posts: 350
    She (or he) must be bored.....:yawn:
  • nicraeinc
    nicraeinc Posts: 2
    I agree people do get needlessly worked up when someone says muscle weighs more than fat. However, its a completely incorrect statement. Weight is just a unit of measurement. So, if you have a pound of fat and a pound of muscle and you place both on a scale they will weigh the same (one pound). A more accurate statement would be that muscle is more dense that fat. Density is a measurement of mass over volume. Muscle is more dense and will therefore take up less space. So, you can have two people that weigh the same but if one has a lot more muscle mass than the other, they will look drastically different. The muscular person will be leaner and appear more hard than the person with more fat.
  • treimnitz
    treimnitz Posts: 51 Member
    It has to do with size!
    One inch of muscle weighs more than one inch of fat! :)
    In high school, I weighed the same as I do now. But, I'm smaller because I'm more muscular.
  • MFPBrandy
    MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
    Sigh. Never mind...same stuff (although more polite, which is nice). Was hoping for some insight into why this is so contentious, but it seems to just come down to some people finding the concept of weight as a measurement system to be invalid. Oh well...
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    What if the dumbbell was SHAPED like a ream of paper?

    Paper shaped dumbbells make me too bulky
  • Rhondavous64
    Rhondavous64 Posts: 21
    Very nicely put! I couldn't have said it better myself. I was a circuit coach at Curves for women and when it came time for their weigh and measure even though they lost several inches they were still obsessed with the number on the scale that wouldn't go down. You can't tell how much a person weigh by the way they look. Your clothes fit better right? Then something is happening!
    I agree people do get needlessly worked up when someone says muscle weighs more than fat. However, its a completely incorrect statement. Weight is just a unit of measurement. So, if you have a pound of fat and a pound of muscle and you place both on a scale they will weigh the same (one pound). A more accurate statement would be that muscle is more dense that fat. Density is a measurement of mass over volume. Muscle is more dense and will therefore take up less space. So, you can have two people that weigh the same but if one has a lot more muscle mass than the other, they will look drastically different. The muscular person will be leaner and appear more hard than the person with more fat.
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
    Muscle is just leaner than fat. That's all. It's just how people choose to view it. It's really a "glass half full/empty" scenario I think. :P
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    The three issues that get people here worked up are the muscle vs. fat weight, the starvation mode and the difference between "loose" and "lose." Now I admit that, as an English teacher, seeing people write about how much fat they are "loosing" by eating more to weigh less, sends me over the edge. But I resist the temptation to comment.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    I think people just need to be given an example. I recently discovered that since I am strength training this time around, my measurements are VERY similar to what they were 8 years ago. Back then I was 174 pounds and in a snug size 14, currently I am 205 and in a snug size 14! By the time I get down to that 174lbs, I might be in a size 10!!
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