The Slimming Pool Weight Loss Blog: Hey, I was Eating That!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Muscle Does Not Weigh More Than Fat Ad Nauseum
Man, I still get e-mails like this:
"Umm, so I stumbled on your site, and found you had written something on muscle weighing more than fat being a myth. To quote "As 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.". When people say 'muscle weighs more than fat' they don't mean that 5lbs of muscle weighs more than 5lbs of fat. That would just stupid. Look at the picture you have, the fat is much larger than the muscle. If the muscle was the same size as the fat, it would weigh more, understand? What you're doing is the same as saying "hey, metal doesn't weigh more than cotton! To prove it, I have this bucket full of metal, and nine buckets of cotton. Guess what, they weigh the same!" Seriously, I suggest you remove or revise that article to avoid looking like an idiot."
Thanks for your insightful message. I think in second grade we were given the test: What weighs more: a pound of feathers or a pound of lead, and everyone said, "lead!" Most of learned than density counts.
The fact is, muscle does not weigh more than fat. Not now, not ever.
Muscle is denser than fat. Density is not the same as weight. The argument you make is that since people make an obvious mistake, that somehow makes it correct? Now who looks like an idiot?
Saying something incorrectly does not make it correct and muscle does not weigh more than fat. Not now, not ever. There's no reason people can't learn this simple concept. Density vs. weight. Just basic science really.
Then perhaps people will start to say, "If you have more muscle, you may weigh more than if you had more fat."
A person who is 120 pounds but 20% fat will not weigh more than a person who is 120 pounds but 15% fat, right? No, of course not. So, why persist that muscle weighs more than fat? It does not. It is more dense, more compact.
Sorry, I'm standing fast. A pound of muscle does not weigh more than a pound of fat. If you want to talk density, there is a difference but that's not what's said when someone says, "muscle weighs more than fat."
Sheesh. And, really. It's easier to read your messages if you put a paragraph break in now and then.
