Muscle weighs more than fat

[NeedAHoliday2021]

I’ve always heard this but seen the theory rubbished too. However, I’m wondering if there’s some truth.

I’m currently the weight I was in 2018 - I lost weight (1st 7lbs) but over lockdowns put it back on to the point that I’m currently at my heaviest weight ever. I know what the scales say but, I’ve been going to the gym, having pt sessions, weight classes etc. So although I the scales say what they say, I’ve not gone up a dress size and am much more toned. I would like to lose half a stone just to stop the creep but it’s made me wonder if the muscle is making me weigh more? Or I’m carrying the weight differently but I still have an hour glass figure.

1lb of muscle has a smaller mass than 1lb of fat.

Colloquially we would refer to this as 'muscle weighing more than fat', but I guarantee that people thinking they are really clever will come on to point out that 1lb of muscle weighs the same as 1lb of fat!

thank you @Antarcticant i feel a bit deluded as the scales say one thing but mirror and clothes say another.

@Antarcticant I think you mean smaller volume, not mass. Basically gram for gram muscle takes up less space than fat.

I lost weight in hospital all muscle and it's so hard to rebuild and regain shape

Yes antarticant has explained it well. When I was applying for cabin crew I needed to lose half a stone. I was a life guard, swam regularly, cycled a lot, was really fit and toned but just couldn’t shift it. Two weeks prior to the interview I stopped all exercise. The weight fell off. I felt wobblier but I weighed less!

Try not to focus on the scales. Your measurements will give you a good indication that you’re doing well too.

Muscle is denser than fat so if two women are the same height and weight the one who has a higher fat percentage will be larger than the one who has a higher muscle percentage.

"Muscle weighs more than fat" is a perfectly reasonable colloquial way of saying that muscle is denser than fat, and people who insist on "correcting" posters who say it get on my nerves. Nobody would correct you for saying that "steel weighs more than titanium" outside of the context of an exam, and even then you'd get half marks for being correct in essence.

Sorry to focus on the arsey aspect of this, but when you say muscle weighs more than fat you're absolutely right. It really is not a counter argument to say: aha, a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat

Diamonds are more expensive than coal. No one says, aha, a £50,000 diamond costs exactly the same as £50,000 worth of coal (unless they are perhaps six years old). Houses cost more in London than in Wales. No one says: aha, a £1m house costs the same in both.

Anyway, arsey people annoy me! And yes, if you swap fat for muscle you can still weigh the same but look less bulky, more toned and generally be healthier.

Incidentally, another bonus, muscle burns calories just by existing. In other words it increases your daily energy requirement. That's one of the reasons why men need more calories than women.

I don't lose weight anymore ever. I'm getting ever so slightly heavier over the years but toning in slightly every year. I do a lot of exercise and activity so gotta be muscle building