Question:
What is the weight ratio of muscle vs fat?

Can anyone tell me what the muscle pound ratio to fat pound is? I am working out faithfully, cardio and light weights lots of reps. I am getting firm strong and look great. But the one thing that is driving me crazy is the scale has basicly stopped moving and the inches have slowed down. I had open RNY almost 6 months ago and have lost a total of 83 pounds and 102 inches over my entire body.However I am still about 45 pounds from my goal weight. Please help me understand the muscle weight to fat.And if you have any other info on excercise. Thanks Louise Hanback [email protected]    — Louise H. (posted on March 2, 2001)

March 2, 2001
Muscle weighs about 3 times as much as fat. Think of a pound of very lean hamburger vs. about 1/2 large can of Crisco--they do weigh about the same. Good luck.--Jesse
   — Jesse M.

March 3, 2001
A pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh exactly the same amount -- one pound! However, muscle takes up considerably less space than fat, so your body will get smaller without losing weight when you're adding muscle. If you want to know how your body composition is changing, I suggest using scales made by Tanita. These measure your weight (as usual), but also calculate your percentage of body fat. If your fat percentage is 35% (for example), multiply your weight (say 200 lbs) by .35 to find out how much your fat weighs (eg 200 x .35 = 70 lbs). To find out how much your lean body mass weighs, subtract the fat weight (eg 70 lbs) from your total weight (200 - 70 = 130 lbs). With these scales, you can find out not only how much you are losing, but how much OF WHAT! These let us know we're still losing fat even when our total weight stands still. In my 2nd post-op month, I only lost 6 lbs. This type of scale -- at my doctor's office -- showed me I had lost 26 lbs of fat and gained 20 lbs of lean body mass, which is just what I needed to do for for optimum health. Now I'm just keeping records of my fat loss. My scale cost $79.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond. Other sources are listed at Tanita's website (www.tanita.com). (PS - If you're getting firm and strong and looking great, who cares what the number on the scale is anyway?)
   — Linda B.