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Does muscle really weigh more than fat?


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I was pondering this saying last night. Does anyone know if it is true?

 

I have lost quite a bit of weight over the last few months. More recently I have been doing a lot more exercise (cycling and walking) and noticed that my clothes are still getting looser (I've gone down at least 2 dress sizes).

I hadn't weighed myself for a while, but when I did last night I found I have gained about 5lbs, despite the fact that none of my clothes fit, I was a bit confused...

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A given volume of muscle does weigh more than the same volume of fat. Considerably more, in fact.

 

It's not at all unusual for someone who's taken up intensive exercise to lose size, but gain weight. It's also why a lot of professional sportsmen are classed as "morbidly obese" under the body-mass index, which takes no account of whether your mass is muscular or fatty.

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I was pondering this saying last night. Does anyone know if it is true?

 

I have lost quite a bit of weight over the last few months. More recently I have been doing a lot more exercise (cycling and walking) and noticed that my clothes are still getting looser (I've gone down at least 2 dress sizes).

I hadn't weighed myself for a while, but when I did last night I found I have gained about 5lbs, despite the fact that none of my clothes fit, I was a bit confused...

 

Usualy measuring yourself with a measuring tape (the one clothes makers use) tells you that you have lost weight.

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I just know that some of the clothes I bought less than two months ago are literally falling off me now, I expected to have lost even more weight, but its gone the other way slightly.

I've only been cycling for about 4 weeks but it feels like the muscles in my arms and thighs are more toned and a bit more prominent already :D

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"Muscle weighing more than fat" is just an overused phrase that is used to justify a failed workout.

 

I do accept that if you are training to be a powerlifter, or body builder then yes you are likely to put weight on.

 

However, its a phrase you often hear in gyms when the member is actually putting weight on/or not losing weight - they are then told "muscle weighs more than fat" and sadly, many gym members accept this for the reason they are seeing no improvements.

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a lb of fat weighs the same as a lb of muscle but the muscle is more compact so while weight may stay the same the body would become smaller if fat was decreasing and the muscle mass was increasing

 

Or in other words, muscle is denser than fat.

Density of muscle 1.06Kg/L

Density of fat 0.9Kg/L (this is why fat people are better at floating).

 

jb

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