Muscle is Denser than Fat … Apparently …
As per my last post (Still Losing Weight & Getting Fit)… I started back at the Gym after reaching my 100 Kg Milestone… Without thinking too much about it, I had anticipated that this would give my weight loss a bit of a boost… I was WRONG !!!
In fact, rather than losing weight (I had pretty much consistently lost 1Kg per week since surgery), I actually started to put it on… and 2 weeks after joining the gym I was up by 1.5Kg…
Muscle vs Fat
I remember people saying “Muscle Weighs more than Fat“, so thought I’d do some research.
Of course 1Kg of Muscle weights exactly the same as 1Kg of fat… but Muscle is actually denser than fat, which means muscle occupies less space (volume) compared to fat.
Muscle has a leaner appearance due to its high density whereas fat occupies more space (volume) in the body. Two people could weight the same but could look very different depending on their body composition – a person with high body-fat percentage versus a person with high lean muscle percentage will probably be in two different sizes of clothes and health risk.
Muscles are made of long fibers tightly woven together. Fat, on the other hand, is composed of different sized droplets and some are more full than others. These droplets stick to each other but leave some empty space in between.
In the image above, one kg of muscle takes up less space than one kg of fat. This is why you might notice a slimmer waistline but no drastic change on the scale as you begin a new workout or meal plan regime – your body is burning light fat, but building heavier muscles.
Weight Loss Graph
Here is my weight loss graph since surgery… for the 1st 4 weeks at the gym (3 or 4 times a week – moderate intensity), I still had a net gain in weight of approx 1.5kgs… however, since then, my body seems to have figured out what’s going on, and my weight is (again) on a downwards path… In the last couple of weeks I have increased number of gym visits and intensity and seen a 3kg drop in just 2 weeks 🙂
Note: Even though I wasn’t actually losing “weight” during the 1st 4 weeks of gym, there was a noticeable change in body shape and toning.