Skip to main content

Does muscle weigh more than fat? Here’s the truth

Everything you need to know about body recomposition

Muscular man with shirt off flexing muscles
Pikx By Panther / Pexels

Does muscle weigh more than fat? If you’re building muscle, will it make you weigh more? Can you build muscle and lose fat at the same time? These are all questions many people have about their workout routine. In this article, we’ll look at muscle building and the differences between muscles and fat in your body. 

What is the difference between muscle and fat?

Abdominal muscles.
Unsplash

Fat is the body’s way of storing energy, but it also plays a genuine role in the body as part of the endocrine system (which regulates hormones). Fat can help control your insulin sensitivity and immune system, as well as keep you warm in cold temperatures. You need some amount of fat storage for your body to function properly, but most people have too much.

Recommended Videos

Muscles are, of course, what you use to move your body, from your smallest finger to your back and core. Muscle cells require energy just to sustain them, so having a higher muscle mass means you’ll burn more calories, even when you’re not doing anything. 

Does muscle weigh more than fat?

Man on scale.
Pexels

Technically, no — one pound of muscle is equivalent to one pound of fat when it comes to weight. However, muscle takes up less space, as muscle is denser than fat.

This means that a person with 200 pounds of mostly muscle will appear slimmer than a person with 200 pounds of mostly fat. That’s one reason why the BMI, or Body Mass Index, isn’t completely reliable — a bodybuilder with a large amount of muscle gets the same BMI score as an obese person. 

Can muscle and fat look different on people?

Man doing CrossFit outside
SOPA Images / Alamy

Yes, fat and muscle often look different depending on the person. For example, different people usually store more fat in different areas of their body, so one person might have fat appear mostly in their stomach, while another might carry it mostly in their legs. That variation is greater in women than in men. 

The appearance of muscle will vary depending on the person, too. Some people find it easier to gain muscle in their core or arms, and variations in workout habits will also create differences. Full-body workouts are best for a balanced physique, but if you work out each part of the body individually (arm day, leg day, etc.), make sure you keep them balanced and don’t focus too much on any one area. 

What happens if you have too much body fat?

Man holding belly fat
Towfiqu barbhuiya / Unsplash

Too much body fat can cause you to be overweight and obese. Obesity is an epidemic in the United States and in many other parts of the developed world because of the ever-increasing availability of fatty and sugary processed foods. Being overweight or obese, which really means having too much body fat, increases your risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and even complications from COVID-19. 

What are the benefits of having more muscle mass?

Man flexing arms muscles on a dark background in the gym
Pexels

Increased muscle mass reduces your risks of heart disease and diabetes, possibly because higher muscle mass correlates with lower fat levels. As mentioned above, muscle mass also burns more calories than other types of body mass, even at rest. 

Tips for building muscle while losing fat

Man with shirt off in gym lifting one dumbbell
Ronin / Pexels

Watch what you eat

Your diet can make a big difference in your body composition. Eating more protein and less fat can help you gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. This is called body recomposition, which means deliberately changing your body composition. 

Choose the right exercises

Most people choose cardio exercises for weight loss since the activities burn a lot of calories, but strength training is much more effective for building muscle than cardio. You can reduce weight and fat by lifting weights and increase muscle mass while you’re at it. 

Expect slow progress

Trying to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time is harder than trying to do one or the other on its own. You need to consume enough calories so that your muscles can easily grow, but too much will make your body store more fat. The exercises that result in the most weight loss tend not to match the exercises that build the most muscle. It’s possible to do both things at once, but you should expect that your progress will be slower because simultaneously gaining muscle and losing fat is difficult. 

Frequently asked questions

Young strong man posing and flexing his quadriceps legs muscles in a gym blue shorts holding
Adobe Stock

Why am I gaining weight but looking thinner?

It is possible to gain weight but appear thinner if you are losing fat and building muscle at the same time. Since muscle is denser than fat, it can produce more weight in less space, causing you to look thinner while weighing more. 

How to tell if you’re gaining muscle or fat when gaining weight?

It can sometimes be hard to tell, but the best way is just to look in a mirror. If it looks like your muscles are gaining definition, you’re probably gaining muscle, but if some areas are starting to look soft or to sag, you might be gaining fat instead. 

Do you weigh more if you are muscular?

Generally speaking, yes. If you take two people who are the same height and the same fat percentage, but one has more muscle, the one with more muscle will weigh more. However, your weight depends on many other factors as well.

Christine VanDoren
Christine is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist with an undergraduate degree from Missouri State University. Her…
Here’s how many days it took this ultra-runner to run 1,000 miles for charity
This incredible athlete went from electrician to extreme ultra-runner to raise funds for homelessness
Nedd Brockmann ultra runner for charity

Feeling the breeze on your face as you set off into the distance is exhilarating and beneficial for your wellness. You release feel-good endorphins, exercise your muscles, increase your blood circulation, and more. Ultra-runner Nedd Brockmann didn’t just go running for his own benefit; he ran 1,000 miles for charity in what’s now being called ‘Nedd’s uncomfortable challenge.’ Here are the details of what this incredible athlete accomplished.
The challenge for charity

Nedd Brockmann is a young 25-year-old electrician from New South Wales, Australia, who transformed into an extreme-ultrarunner. He decided to run 1,000 miles or 1,609.3km in just 10 consecutive days around a single 400m running track in Sydney Olympic Park. His goal was to raise funds to support Australians dealing with homelessness and to attempt to smash a new world record. The current record for the fastest time for running 1,000 miles is 10 days, 10 hours, 30 minutes, and 36 seconds, accomplished by ultrarunner Yiannis Kouros. Kouros took this title in New York in 1988.
Defeating the odds

Read more
How to master the close-grip lat pulldown for more defined back muscles
The close-grip lat pulldown is the one exercise you should try if you're looking for more definition in your back muscles
Man doing lat pulldowns black and white close grip

Your latissimus dorsi muscle, or "lats," is the widest muscle in the human body. The lats are a large, triangular-shaped muscle that runs across your lower-mid back and helps stabilize your back while you are extending your shoulders as you would do in moves like the lat pulldown and the pull-up. The close-grip lat pulldown is one of the most rewarding exercises for carving strong, defined back muscles and targeting those lats. So, if you're hoping to achieve a more defined look in your back muscles, you should dive into the benefits of the close-grip lat pulldown. Keep reading to learn more about this exercise, including common mistakes to avoid, variations, and more.
What is the close-grip lat pulldown?

With the wide-grip lat pulldown, your hands are gripping the bar a little wider than shoulder distance apart. The close-grip lat pulldown is a variation of the lateral pulldown exercise where your hands are closer together when you’re gripping the bar. There are also other types of handles that you can hold and pull down with your hands closer together in front of you.
What muscles does the close grip lat pulldown target?

Read more
Low-intensity zone 2 cardio is gaining traction — here’s why you should try it
From improving cardiovascular health to burning calories, there are plenty of reasons to try zone 2 cardio
man cycling through France on road blue sky in background

You don’t always have to complete a high-intensity workout to get results. Low-intensity cardio can also help you build fitness and stamina. When you’re trying to incorporate more cardio into your training schedule, you might be looking for more interesting and different ways to workout. Low-intensity zone 2 cardio is gaining traction in the fitness world, and it turns out there are evidence-based reasons to give it a try. 
What is low-intensity exercise?

Low-intensity exercise refers to physical activity performed at a steady heart rate. You might also have heard this type of exercise referred to as steady-state training or long, slow-distance training. The American College of Sports Medicine reports that low-intensity training involves using 57-63% of your maximum heart rate for about 30 minutes or longer. At this point you’ll be working in the ‘low-intensity steady state’ or LISS as it’s called in sports medicine. 

Read more