I took a Core Fusion class last night and after someone asked me “How much weight have you lost while doing Core Fusion?” I explained to her that I haven’t lost much weight but I have lost 4 inches on each thigh and a couple inches everywhere else. Not only did I lose inches but I am much toner than I used to be and my clothes fit better. Core Fusion helps you gain lean muscle mass which is better for your body. I told her muscle weighs more than fat and after I said that I started to wonder if that was actually true…
I have always been an advocate of measuring yourself rather than weighing yourself. Losing inches to me is more important than losing weight. I always used the saying muscle weighs more than fat, and guess what I found out… muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. 1 pound of muscle weighs 1 pound and 1 pound of fat weighs 1 pound. A pound is a pound. Here is the difference between muscle and fat, a pound of fat is much more bulky and take up more room than a pound of muscle. Muscle is leaner and does not take up as much room. So in terms of volume fat will take up more room and will make you look more bulky. 
The next thing I learned is fat does not turn into muscle. You can lose fat and gain muscle but fat can not just turn into muscle. Now the reason why I think that measuring yourself makes more sense than weighing yourself is because “the scale only tells you your entire body weight. It does not tell you the composition of that weight. And it is body composition that really matters.” says William R. Sukala, MS, CS, a personal trainer. He also said “Because a pound of muscle burns more fat than a pound of fat, even at rest, by increasing your lean muscle tissue mass, you’re helping your body burn more calories. If you only have a small amount of weight to lose, then you may feel like the weight training is not helping you move down on the scale. In fact, the number may even go up, but you will look thinner. This is due to an increase in lean body mass (muscle, bone, blood volume) and a decrease in body fat. In other words, even if the scale doesn’t change much, you will probably see a difference in how your clothes fit.”
If you have never taken a body composition you should see if you gym offers body composition testing, to get an idea of where your body is. This will not only help you understand your body better but help you choose workouts that will work for you. Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness says “If someone is working out and not losing weight, or not losing as much as they want—or if they’re actually gaining weight—the first place to look is the type and amount of exercise. Weight loss boils down to burning more calories than you normally use in a day. Cardio exercise burns more calories than muscle-toning or the average resistance-training workout. So dialing down the stretching and core work to just once or twice a week, and replacing it with more cardio should produce more weight loss. And the more minutes the better when it comes to weight loss.”
So now you know, muscle does not weigh more than fat and if you already knew thanks for reading my blog!
Images from Mad Brew Labs and Cambridge Charlie.
Filed under: Nutrition/Restaurants | Tagged: Cardio, Core Fusion, Exhale Spa, Fat, lean muscle, MSN Health and Fitness, Muscle, pounds, Weight Loss | 10 Comments »
Hello! My name is Kristine and I live and work in New York City. Since I have been here I have realized how hard it is to maintain a healthy balance while living in the City. Work starts to consume your life and you can get lost in everything around you.
