muscle gain

[Flybye]

Muscle weighs more than fat.

Okay, someone please explain this to me............

I thought that a pound was a pound - A pound of bricks weighs the same as a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat....................

Are we talking mass?

[Grog]

Okay, someone please explain this to me............

I thought that a pound was a pound - A pound of bricks weighs the same as a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat....................

Are we talking mass?

Yes.

A cubic inch of muscle is heavier than a cubic inch of fat.

[GLC1968]

Okay, someone please explain this to me............

I thought that a pound was a pound - A pound of bricks weighs the same as a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat....................

Are we talking mass?

This is one of my biggest pet-peeves!

Muscle is more dense than fat...and the same weight of muscle takes up less volume than fat...so yes, you can be getting smaller and still weigh the same because a muscular size 8 woman weighs more than a fatty size 8 woman (all other things being equal, of course).

But yes, a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat.

Edited to answer the OP question:
I read somewhere that the average woman can gain about 1/4 lb of muscle in a month. It's very hard to put on actual muscle mass. That said, someone who is new to strength training is going to see faster gains than someone who is experienced. And your muscles can definitely get stronger faster than that 1/4 lb might indicate. If you are feeling better and looking better, isn't that what matters the most?

[bounceswoosh]

I understand that a pound is a pound is a pound, but -- serious question -- is the phrasing "muscle is heavier than fat" misleading or inaccurate? It seems accurate to me -- muscle is more dense; it takes up more space per unit of weight, which is why when you are not losing weight but you are noticing your pants getting looser, it's probably muscle gain and fat loss combined. But if I'm phrasing it in a way that sounds ignorant, I'd like to know!

[pinkychique]

I understand that a pound is a pound is a pound, but -- serious question -- is the phrasing "muscle is heavier than fat" misleading or inaccurate? It seems accurate to me -- muscle is more dense; it takes up more space per unit of weight, which is why when you are not losing weight but you are noticing your pants getting looser, it's probably muscle gain and fat loss combined. But if I'm phrasing it in a way that sounds ignorant, I'd like to know!

Muscle weighs more per unit of volume than fat, which means, that for say someone who is extremely athletic and weighs like 130, with 14% body fat, 18.2 pounds of her weight will be fat, someone of the same weight, but with 30% body fat, she'll have 39 pounds of body fat, and will wear larger clothes than her more athletic counterpart.

"muscle is heavier than fat" is inaccurate, it's more that "muscle is denser than fat" that is the case - so for the same volume, it will weigh much more than fat.

does that make sense?

[bounceswoosh]

"muscle is heavier than fat" is inaccurate, it's more that "muscle is denser than fat" that is the case - so for the same volume, it will weigh much more than fat.

does that make sense?

Yes! Absolutely. I will make an effort to use that phrasing in the future. Much more accurate, just as succinct.

[Veronica]

BMI can be a tricky way to evaluate yourself too. I'm 5'5" and a few years ago I went and had a body fat test done alone at the Davis Sports Medicine Facility. My BF was just under 21% then, but I weighed 152 pounds - just on the edge of being okay with BMI.

V.

[HillSlugger]

I saw it somewhere that a cubic centimeter (cc) of fat weighs 0.9 grams but a cc of lean muscle weighs 1.1 grams. (That's about a 20% difference) So, you can maintain the same weight while decreasing your volume!