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Does muscle weigh more than fat?
Does muscle weigh more than fat? One kilogram of fat is the same as one kilogram of muscle. The difference lies in the density of these tissues. Muscle tissue is more dense than that of fat, so therefore the volume or size of one kilogram of bulky, lumpy fat is much larger than one kilogram of muscle tissue. Weighing yourself on a scale isn't a great way to measure improvement in health and fitness levels. Often, people will be depressed by the fact that they weigh the same as they did when they started exercising. What this does not tell you is that while you might weigh the same, your body fat to lean muscle mass ratio has probably changed, which is why you may have dropped a few inches around the waist, chest and legs but your weight remains the same.
Take this for example. A female weighs 65 kilograms when first starting an exercise routine. She has 20 percent body fat (13kgs). After six weeks of weight training, she weighs herself and still weighs 65 kilograms, but now she has 17 percent body fat (11.05) and has lost five centimetres off her waist measurement. So she has actually lost 1.95 kilograms in body fat but has put on 1.95 kilograms in lean muscle mass.
It is important you know that measuring your weight on the scales is not a true indication or good measure for improvement. Other tests commonly used to measure baseline fitness and health levels include skin fold measurements, size measurements of body parts (i.e. waist, trunk, thighs etc), V02 max testing and carrying out an initial screening of abilities (strength and endurance are probably better methods to adopt). By adopting a variety of baseline tests, you will be able to measure your improvements in a variety of different ways.
Eating at night
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is should you eat less at night (e.g.) after 6pm? The simple answer is no, you shouldn't. Just make sure you don't overeat. Over consumption of carbohydrate or any food late in the day is the likely cause of weight gain related to night time eating. Its hard to find any conclusive metabolic evidence that food eaten at night is more likely to be stored as body fat. Metabolism drops when you are sleeping, but that simply lowers your daily energy expenditure (energy in versus energy out) that really matters for weight gain or weight loss
