I did my first push-ups after failing for months

[vanztyn]

@nataliem True and the mentality I shared with the example of the fat vs muscle in terms of space it takes up helps stop the demoralizing feeling of weighing and expecting a bs number to show a lower bs number. Both are true: you aren't always putting on muscle AND muscle takes up less space than equivalent weight of fat. It takes time to put on weight and takes time to take off weight. 15% can be a lot of change in how clothing fits and how a person feels. It's better to measure the progress in terms of how one feels and how clothing fit changes than it is to step on a scale. I used a picture and simplistic math to help the person have a foundational understanding of "muscle takes up way less space than fat". Simple concepts followed by increasingly complex concepts make understanding easier.

 

[nataliem]

@vanztyn Yes, 15% can make a big difference, but 15% of what? If that’s 15% of 1 pound, I don’t think it’s even noticeable. Even 15% of 5 pound won’t make that much of a difference.

The only reason I emphasize that difference is not that big and it takes a lot of time to build muscles, so that people don’t think that 1 month of exercise will replace all fat with muscles. The difference is negligible. You still have to weight yourself to track changes. That’s why many who lost extra weight say that’s losing weight is 80% about diet and only 20% about exercise.

 

[kyleeak]

@nataliem The same cup that’s filled with flour will not be as heavy as when it holds dough. The dough, made with that flour , is denser because it also contains water and whatever else you put in it. There’s simply more “stuff” in the cup.

Fat and muscle are similar- the “stuff” that makes up fat is less dense than that which makes muscle.

 

[nataliem]

@kyleeak So how much would weight a cup of fat in comparison to cup of meat? I asked about numbers, but all people only give me explanation how density works. I remember my school physics.

 

[kyleeak]

@nataliem Www.google.com

 

[nataliem]

@kyleeak I’ve done my googling. Unlike you guys

 

[kyleeak]

@nataliem And what have you found?

Edit: No you haven’t, because two of the first three links described exactly what you’re looking for.

 

[nataliem]

@kyleeak Which first 3 links? Did any of them contain comparison between flour and dough in extrapolation to fat/muscle? Because that’s what you told me. And let me be honest that’s a BS comparison.

 

[kyleeak]

@nataliem Holy fuck the only BS is your learned helplessness.

Here’s a link: livestrong.com

 

[nataliem]

@kyleeak “Does Muscle Really Burn More Calories Than Fat?” That’s your link. How is that connected to our discussion?

 

[thomm]

@nataliem It's about density. Like I said:

if you're comparing 1 pound of muscle to 1 pound of fat? The muscle takes up way less space than the fat despite the weight being the same.

The same weight of fat and muscle occupies a very different amount of volume/space when you look at it because they have very different densities

 

[nataliem]

@thomm So what is the density of fat in your opinion? How much volume does 1kg of fat occupies in comparison to 1 kg of meat?

 

[thomm]

@nataliem Let me google it for you, wikipedia says:

Adipose tissue has a density of ~0.9 g/ml. Thus, a person with more adipose tissue will float more easily than a person of the same weight with more muscular tissue, since muscular tissue has a density of 1.06 g/ml.

Looks like you can do the math yourself with that. Or just google image search "pound of fat vs muscle" and get a visual yourself

 

[nataliem]

@thomm So looks like your statement “the muscle takes up way less space than fat” is exaggerated? 15% is not “way less”. What do you think?

 

[thomm]

@nataliem I think you're a dipshit who is downvoting all my comments and wants me to google shit for you. To use a different source:

A pound of fat is roughly the size of a small grapefruit; whereas one pound of muscle is about the size of a tangerine.

So for a 168 lb adult like OP who likely has a body fat percentage ~30% replacing even 5-10 lbs of that fat with the equivalent weight of muscle would have a pretty dang drastic impact on their appearance given the volume differences

 

[nataliem]

@thomm Whoa, did your squirrels bite you?

I want YOU to google shit FOR YOU instead of making claims you don’t have proof for.

Again, I don’t know how big your tangerine and how small your grapefruit are from example, but 15% is not “way less”.

I think OP has more than 30% body fat, but that goes beyond our discussion. Also, for female to build 5 pounds of lean muscle would take at least 5 months, and I don’t know whether it’s even possible on low calorie intake.