Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

[C P]

I was just wondering. There are often replies to threads on here saying about muscle weighing more that fat - and that means that sometimes the scales may not show a loss, but your inches will, or you'll be looking leaner. How quickly does this happen?

Reason being - I sneaked a look at the scales on Wednesday - my 'real' weigh day is Sunday (yeah, yeah, I know, but I have got my scales habit down from 3 times a day!) They showed a gain of almost a pound. Now I know there are plenty of other potential reasons for this - and I'm not worried by it, but the same morning my DH remarked that my thighs weren't as wobbly as usual (he does have such a way with words!!) I started on induction on January 31st and moved onto Owl rung one on the third week. I wasn't exercising at all for the first week, but since then I have been using my exercise bike, and doing upper body small weights - getting in 5 sessions on the bike and 3 on the weights per week.

It just got me thinking - how quickly does this 'muscle weighing more than fat' come into play? Obviously it will differ from person to person, and will depend on how much exercise you were getting previously - but is it feasible for there to be an effect after only two weeks?

Whatever the answer - having to keep hitching up my trousers all day, so something good is happening!

CP

[pipee_pl]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

yes. i am exactly the same way. i have been training hard for 3 weeks. i run 3 times a week and weight train 2 times. my scale is only showing a loss of 3 kilos- but my body is definately starting to shrink. my pants are definately looser around the waist and bum and my face is slimming down- but seriously the scale business is totally frustrating. i do know that once the muscle mass increases it helps to burn the fat.

[Tawsif]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

since your face is shrinking and ur trouser's getting loose.. its definitely good news

i'd say three weeks is good enough for some muscle building, especially since u are working out, having food that has a lot of protein (atkins has more protein than any low cal diet and i always thut that as a good point for me), and u are taking enough vitamin supplements and water.. and if u are putting on muscle, its a really good thing... i had a friend whose father was in the army and he worked out in the military gym.. when i was at 65 k.g. my all time fittest.. he had the same built as mine.. but he weighed 75 kilos.. all muscle..

which means.. with atkins burning more fat than muscle.. the goal weight might actually be a lot less than we think.. so keep putting the muscles on

[mostlycarbfree]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

Hey that's awesome, that you have to hitch up your trousers. I especially like the name you gave this thread. I believe the fat does turn into muscle. Our excess weight can give us more muscle in our lower extremities, but I sincerely believe that as we burn fat, and our upper body becomes more lean, that the muscles increase in mass as well. Moreover, studies show that the age of our brain improves as our circulation increases, and improved range of motion provides much need nerve input between our brains and our bodies. Here's to the optimum you.

[C P]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

Woo-hoo - I could do with a 'younger brain' sometimes! Seriously though, this whole way of life - is there anything it doesn't do?

CP, on the sofa, after a big bowl of home-made chilli!

[julirama723]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

Two small corrections:

Muscle does not weigh more than fat. That's like saying a pound of gold is heavier than a pound of feathers. A pound is equal to a pound. Muscle is more dense than fat, meaning it takes up less space on your body. 3 pounds of muscle takes up less space than 3 pounds of fat. Even if the scale does not register a change in weight, the tape measure will show inches lost because you have burned fat but gained muscle.

Fat does not turn into muscle. Fat and muscle are two very different tissues. As we lose fat, the cells shrink, but do not disappear completely. (The cruddy part is that we can always GAIN fat cells, but the only way to eliminate them is by a procedure like liposuction.) If we consume protein and perform strength training or muscle-building exercises, muscle tissue will grow. This gives the appearance of fat turning into muscle, but this is physiologically impossible. That's like an apple turning into an orange.

So CP, you didn't turn fat into muscle, but you did indeed lose fat and gain muscle! CONGRATULATIONS! This is the goal of Atkins, to burn fat and replace it with sleek, strong muscle. Keep up the great work! Pretty soon you'll need smaller pants.

[C P]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

Hi Julirama

Yes, you're right of course - I remember an old trick question from science classes 'Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of lead?'

(Can't have an apple turning into an orange yet though - not 'til I reach that rung - I'll have to go for a tomato turning into an onion! )

CP

[SunnySmile501]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

In addition to what Julirama said, it takes a very long time to build a pound of muscle. It does not happen after three weeks of exercise. Professional body builders only build five to eight pounds of muscle in a year.

When someone that is exercising heavily and staying on plan, but shows a gain of a couple of pounds, people always jump in and tell them it is because "muscle weighs more than fat" so they have built a couple of pounds of muscle. (I've seen people say that a poster could build a pound of muscle after one week of exercise. Not true.) For that to be true, it would have to be more than a couple of pounds to take into consideration the pounds also lost from fat burning.

What really happens is that when doing considerable exercise, especially when out of shape at the start, you put tears in the muscle tissue. That is why we get sore. The muscle tissue has to surround and bathe the torn tissue with fluid to heal the tears. This causes you to retain some fluid. That is how we strengthen and build muscle--from the tearing down and rebuilding and healing the tears.

We do tighten up and make the muscles sleeker pretty quickly, giving the appearance of a smaller body. That, along with bulky fat loss makes us lose inches, even when the scale says we have gained weight.

The good news is after we are have become more accustomed to vigorous exercise and are more fit overall, we won't be tearing the muscles as much and we won't retain fluid to heal. Then you won't be seeing those pesky pounds on the scale.

[C P]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

Thanks for that SunnySmile. That makes perfect sense. It thought it was unlikely that a couple of weeks exercise would build much muscle, although I didn't realise it took body builders that long to bulk up!

It's interesting you mention the tears/soreness in the muscles. Only this afternoon I was thinking that any stiffness I had when I started the exercise had gone more quickly than in the past, when I have exercised whilst on a low fat diet. Perhaps the protein/fat intake on this way of eating might help the muscles mend more quickly? Or is that a leap too far - have I made 2 and 2 = 5?

CP

[SunnySmile501]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

Thanks for that SunnySmile. That makes perfect sense. It thought it was unlikley that a couple of weeks exercise would build much muscle, although I didn't realise it took body builders that long to bulk up!

It's interesting you mention the tears/soreness in the muscles. Only this afternoon I was thinking that any stiffness I had when I started the exercise had gone more quickly than in the past, when I have exercised whilst on a low fat diet. Perhaps the protein/fat intake on this way of eating might help the muscles mend more quickly? Or is that a leap too far - have I made 2 and 2 = 5?

CP

I think that is a reasonable conclusion. When you eat low fat and low calorie, that also means low protein. You lose muscle mass as well as fat when you diet that way. You need protein to build or repair muscle, which is in good supply on Atkins. Your body does not need to catabolize muscle to get the protein for repair (or energy). Also, you are providing plenty of fat for energy.

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

Thanks for that SunnySmile. That makes perfect sense. It thought it was unlikely that a couple of weeks exercise would build much muscle, although I didn't realise it took body builders that long to bulk up!

It's interesting you mention the tears/soreness in the muscles. Only this afternoon I was thinking that any stiffness I had when I started the exercise had gone more quickly than in the past, when I have exercised whilst on a low fat diet. Perhaps the protein/fat intake on this way of eating might help the muscles mend more quickly? Or is that a leap too far - have I made 2 and 2 = 5?

CP

first off, THANK YOU for everyone who posted about muscle NOT weighing more than fat (as far as 1 pound = 1 pound)...as well as most "normal" people NOT gaining muscle from working out for 1 or 2 weeks. These two things are such a pet peeve of mine.

now - saying that, here's my $.02 - obviously once you have more muscle and you've lost the fat, then you could weigh more mainly because when people say "muscle weighs more than fat" - it's exactly like saying 1 brick weighs more than 1 feather - and like Julirama said, it's all about density.
But, like sunny said, it's impossible to gain that much muscle unless you are a body builder.

Here are some sites I googled that has some visual interpretations for you:
Blog about fat/muscle

another blog about fat/muscle

now - something else that may be of interest for you, if you are working out a lot...look into adding some L-Glutamine into your diet. It helps with those tears you get from exercising. and it helps your muscles recover faster and your workout actually "mean" something.
here's the link/post for it:
L-Glutamine

L-Glutamine Basics

goood luck!!

[Tawsif]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

When someone that is exercising heavily and staying on plan, but shows a gain of a couple of pounds, people always jump in and tell them it is because "muscle weighs more than fat" so they have built a couple of pounds of muscle.
What really happens is that when doing considerable exercise, especially when out of shape at the start, you put tears in the muscle tissue. That is why we get sore. The muscle tissue has to surround and bathe the torn tissue with fluid to heal the tears. This causes you to retain some fluid. That is how we strengthen and build muscle--from the tearing down and rebuilding and healing the tears.

We do tighten up and make the muscles sleeker pretty quickly, giving the appearance of a smaller body. That, along with bulky fat loss makes us lose inches, even when the scale says we have gained weight.

wow.. learnt a lot of new info.. thankx

[C P]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

now - something else that may be of interest for you, if you are working out a lot...look into adding some L-Glutamine into your diet. It helps with those tears you get from exercising. and it helps your muscles recover faster and your workout actually "mean" something.
here's the link/post for it:
L-Glutamine

L-Glutamine Basics

Thanks for the links Keriann - I'll have a good look over the next few days. Although I wouldn't say I fall into the 'exercising a lot' category yet, I am building it up over the weeks, so it will be good to have a look at that.

CP

[Koober101]

Re: Abracadabra - and the fat turns into muscle!

Two small corrections:

Muscle does not weigh more than fat. That's like saying a pound of gold is heavier than a pound of feathers. A pound is equal to a pound

I am going to disagree, I think Muscle does weigh more then fat.

I know 1 pound of muscle is the same weight as 1 pound of fat,

But, if you have a 12 inch x 12 inch box and you fill one with fat
and the other with muscle... which one is heavier ?

I would say the box filled with muscle.

In this theory its by volume, not pound for pound.

But I could easily be wrong...