Can we talk about muscle weighing more than fat?

One thing though (not completely related) but some people are "denser" than others. My body fat is between 16-18% I'm a size 6 (24in waist) but my BMI is 21-22 (I'm 5"3). Most people of my height and size are a few lbs lighter.

I've seen it SO many times. Someone joins SW or similar for 2 weeks, does a couple of power walks, doesn't watch their intake carefully enough and plateaus/gains. Cue 'Oh well, muscle weighs more than fat. You've probably just gained muscle'. Or my other favourite diet misconception 'You're not eating enough. Your body is in starvation mode. Have a cream bun and you'll start losing again'.

So bloody irritating.

The best lies have an element of truth.

It's true that muscle (and blood, bone, skin, hair and pretty much everything else in body) is more dense than fat. But muscle being heavier than fat is another one of those excuses used by unhealthy overweight people to deny the truth about their unhealthy bodies.

And agree, the vast majority of Olympians are healthy BMI. It's the power lifters and throwers that start to populate the overweight catergory.

My scales tell me I'm 19% body fat. When compared with competition-grade females with clinically-accurate measurements of body fat, I am clearly not 19%.

The amount of muscle a female with typical testosterone levels can build in even a year is radically overestimated. Even heavy lifters can hope for a couple of kilos three at a push), and probably then only in their first year ('newbie gains').

Brownfang sorry about the link not working, the one you found is essentially the same calculator, I got the same bodyfat result, 17%.

I got this calculator to work fine... result seems plausible.

www.calculator.net/body-fat-calculator.html

I can't make that Army calculator work. It keeps coming up with numbers like "-64%".

Fat but fit still poses a higher CVD risk than Lean and Fit.

Of course muscle is denser. In the past I've managed to lose 2 dress sizes without losing weight as such, just by reducing fat and building muscle instead. I'm at the moment a comfortable size 10 - a fit 10, definitely not chubby or pudgy in any way. But overweight according to my BMI.

AdalindSchade

I'm guessing they were looking at other measures like body fat.

I did look at another study (when I was trying to work out where to stop losing weight) that was actually looking at other long terms outcomes like health conditions etc. From memory that came up with stuff like a little bit underweight was a lot worse outcome wise than being obese (although obviously different associated health issues) with a little bit overweight doing aso well as healthy weight. Not sure I could find that one again though.

1lb of me weighs the same as a 1lb of a new born but I can GUARANTEE I weigh more than a new born

Nearly half of those whose BMIs labeled them as overweight were actually healthy, according to data on their other health measures. Fifteen percent of those who were classified as obese were also considered healthy

What does that mean though? I’m in the very overweight category and I am healthy as in I have no health conditions but my weight is an objective health risk for the future so I’m not as healthy as a person of normal weight.

This US army body fat calculator is one of the most accurate on line, not sure if this is the best link, there are others which have been posted. My scales give me a body fat of 14%, this 17% which is probably more accurate.

Mass is a measure of how many particles something is made of. It's measured in kilograms. 1 kg (or pounds if you're imperial) is the same amount of particles whether it is made up of fat, muscle, feathers etc. It is the same measure in any gravitational field.

Weight is measured in newtons. Weight = mass x gravity. Weight can change if gravity changes.

Density is mass divided by volume. It is a measure of how closely packed the particles are. Muscle is denser than fat, so it takes up less physical space for the same mass.

E.g. I am about 73 kg but only a size 10-12 because I'm muscly.

Oh I'd like to see that.

Although really fat but fit is a massive step on from what I was saying which is simply that BMI is a piss poor measure. You need to look at other stuff as well.

'Fat but fit' was debunked recently, toffee.

www.google.co.uk/amp/www.medicaldaily.com/body-mass-index-bmi-calculator-healthy-weight-obesity-372852%3famp=1

This bit in particular

Nearly half of those whose BMIs labeled them as overweight were actually healthy, according to data on their other health measures. Fifteen percent of those who were classified as obese were also considered healthy.

A think to think off in terms of strength training is if your stomach/core muscles are working well it will hold you in tighter. DS has issues with core strength, when it's bad or he's is tired it has a little pot belly that appears. Healthy in proportion weight and height still still his ribs etc. It's just it's not held together so well.

Pilates (no other exercise) made the difference of about a clothes size for me

BUT

There's lots to suggest BMI is a poor predictor of outcomes. I think the argument was that Results tend to lump the "just overweight resuits with obese whereas they may work out healthier than "healthy weight"

I saw this myself when I lost about 4 stone of weight. I reached the just upper end of healthy BMi. I looked gaunt and ill and I was cold constantly. Whilst my BMI was (only just about) healthy, My body fat was right at the lowest end of healthy. Go figure cos I couldn't

Up to about half a stone overweight looks nd feels healthier to me. Body fat is spot on then as well.

BMI really is a bit crap

a pound of muscle has the same mass as a pound of fat, but less volume, or to put it another way a given volume of fat, say one litre will be lighter than a litre of muscle

mr google he say
'Summary: Muscle density is 1.06 g/ml and fat density is (about) 0.9 g/ml. Thus, one liter of muscle would weight 1.06 kg and one liter of fat would weight 0.9 kg. In other words, muscle is about 18% more dense than fat'

@confusedandemployed you need to revisit the definitions of weight and mass.

A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat.

A pound of muscle has more mass than a pound of fat.

Must admit, I get a bit 🙄 at people who dismiss BMI because muscular people fall into the obese category.

Genuinely muscular people probably aren't too worried about their BMI, and if your Dr is telling you that you fall into the obese category, it's probably because you're overweight, not because you're ripped. You'd know if you sporting a 6-pack.

It's somewhat ironic that the quickest to dismiss BMI are generally overweight. It's a blunt tool, but so far, no-one's come up with anything close/better.

Fair enough of you're an All Black and you're contesting it, but most people aren't.

It's why very muscular people often have a BMI in the obese scale even though they're clearly not at all overweight objectively.

There are very, very few people who have a BMI in the obese category (or even the overweight category) who are muscular but not fat. It's often claimed on here that athletes do. They don't.

There are actually very few Olympians that have anything other than a "healthy" BMI, even rowers, swimmers, gymnasts and sprinters. Rugby is another sport where people claim they are superfit but have an overweight BMI, but they rarely do and usually when they do they still have a bit more fat than they "should".

The only sport where the claim is usually valid is those weightlifting bodybuilders.