Muscle Versus Fat
Pound-for-pound, muscle takes up less space than fat. Sp, as you gain muscle and lose fat, your scale numbers may not change, but your body sure does. Muscle is composed of healthy, metabolically active tissue that appears lean and smooth. Although fat weighs the same, it takes up more space and gives your body a lumpy appearance. The scale can only tell you if you’ve lost pounds, but not if you've lost fat pounds and replaced them with muscle. That's what happens when you lose inches.
Body Composition
Body composition, or body fat percentage, is the measure of fat tissue versus lean muscle tissue. When you’re trying to lose weight, this may be a better measure of progress than the scale. When you lose pounds through dieting alone, you lose a combination of fat and muscle mass. Losing muscle mass can lower your metabolism and make you into a person who is “skinny fat,” meaning you appear thin but have too high a percentage of fat. A study published in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” in 2012 determined that one in four people are of normal weight, but have too high a percentage of fat, are pre-diabetic and metabolically obese. If you continue to watch your calorie intake and exercise, the scale will eventually show that you’ve lost weight. The process may just take longer if you’re adding muscle as you lose. Ultimately, if you feel healthier, look leaner and have grown stronger – it doesn’t matter what the scale says.
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