Muscle Does Not Weigh More Than Fat, but it's Much Nicer to Look at


5 Lb. Fat vs. 5 Lb. MuscleAs you can see, the 5 lbs. of fat is much bulkier than the 5 lbs. of muscle, but five pounds is still five pounds. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

True... 5 lb is 5 lb, but if you look at it per square inch, muscle does have more density, so a square inch of muscle would weigh more that a square inch of fat. I think that's the point that people are trying to make when they say that.

But, you are right in what you say too. (And great graphic, by the way... just makes you go "eew" ).

__________________
Mada
221.6/193.8 <--- ONEderland! /sz 8

Mada's right, that's what most people mean. If you lose 5 lbs of fat, but gain 5 lbs of muscle, you are going to be smaller, even though you weigh the same. There are even people who have gained quite a bit of muscle mass, weigh a lot more, but are still a lot smaller. Callan Pinckney is a case in point. At 85 lbs she wore a size 8, but at 115 lbs she wears a size 2, merely because she increased her muscles. And she's a whole lot healthier, too!

Great pics, BTW.

__________________
Nita

yes, of course, 5 pounds = 5 pounds. but a square inch of muscle weighs more than a square inch of fat. so saying "muscle weighs more than fat" vs. saying it's "more compact that fat" is semantics. the point is that when people are only using the scale to judge progress, knowing the difference is helpful.

that is a helpful graphic in making the point.

__________________


Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

I agree with you, but it takes a lot of time and hard work to gain a pound of muscle. So if my scale is up a pound or 2 and even if I've been working out hard, it's probably not from additional muscle. From what I've been told, your lucky to add a pound of muscle in month and that's if you're doing a lot of muscle building routines.