Weight lifting and the scale
vinerie
Posts: 234 Member
I started lifting heavy at the beginning of April and I've really stuck with it. I've worked hard at eating well, too, which I do most of the time (although I'm not perfect). Also--I started trying to make changes in my diet last August, but didn't really start the heavy weight lifting until April, although I had been lifting sporadically since August.
AT the same time, I feel like with as much work as I'm putting in at the gym, combined with as much cutbacks I'm doing food-wise (example: I've cut out a ton of alcohol and desserts. Can't remember the last time I ate pasta, I cook fish 1-2 times per week, I've been eating salad with chicken for lunch almost every day, etc.) I should be seeing greater results than the 4-5 pound loss I've seen over 2 months now.
What has others' experiences been like with the scale and weight lifting? Is there something to that "stuck scale" phase in the first month or so of weight lifting that people talk about?
I know I am improving at the gym. For instance, I'm up to 25 lb weights on each side of my bench press bar (I think I started at 17.5 pounds on each side), so the proof of my work is there. But sometimes I would like to see improvement elsewhere (i.e. the scale!)
AT the same time, I feel like with as much work as I'm putting in at the gym, combined with as much cutbacks I'm doing food-wise (example: I've cut out a ton of alcohol and desserts. Can't remember the last time I ate pasta, I cook fish 1-2 times per week, I've been eating salad with chicken for lunch almost every day, etc.) I should be seeing greater results than the 4-5 pound loss I've seen over 2 months now.
What has others' experiences been like with the scale and weight lifting? Is there something to that "stuck scale" phase in the first month or so of weight lifting that people talk about?
I know I am improving at the gym. For instance, I'm up to 25 lb weights on each side of my bench press bar (I think I started at 17.5 pounds on each side), so the proof of my work is there. But sometimes I would like to see improvement elsewhere (i.e. the scale!)
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What about your measurments? The scale is not your friend sometimes when weight lifting...
There is a lot going on in the body, for example water retention, etc.. Plus when loosing weight, you may loose on some weeks and may not the next one or two..0 -
What about your measurments? The scale is not your friend sometimes when weight lifting...
There is a lot going on in the body, for example water retention, etc.. Plus when loosing weight, you may loose on some weeks and may not the next one or two..
Good point. I have lost almost an inch on my quad, so that is good. And I see a difference according to pictures, so that is good, too. I do try to keep those successes in mind, but at some point the scale has to drop, right?0 -
I don't think I'm qualified to give advise about this, since I haven't done it. But I have read a lot of comments that have said that heavy lifting may cause you temporarily to show a weight gain or a least a big slow down in the scale dropping. Ask a trainer where you work out. They would know.0
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The scale is the worst possible measurement of health you could use. Simple example, you could lose eleven pounds instantly, if you just cut off your head. The scale tells you that you’ve lost something, it could be fat, it could be water, it could be muscle, it could be bone or other lean body mass, or any combination of these. Instead, take body measurements (or get your body fat measured in a dexascan). If you measure your neck, chest, upper arms, stomach, waist, hips and upper legs, you can see changes that matter. If you happen to carry fat in your hips and butt, losing size there will tell you you’re on the right track.
Beyond that, you are giving us generalities of what you eat, but I doubt you’re logging. What gets measured gets managed ~ Peter Drucker. Try logging your food so you know whether you’re getting the right calorie and macros to support your lifting and provide a slight deficit to promote fat loss.
And finally, depending on how much you have to lose, 4-5 lbs in two months is not a bad result. Especially in light of getting stronger.
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I've been lifting heavy since January. My weight hasn't changed a great deal, but my body shape has. Eat right and keep lifting; you will see changes in how you look. Weight is just a number.0
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AllanMisner wrote: »
Beyond that, you are giving us generalities of what you eat, but I doubt you’re logging. What gets measured gets managed ~ Peter Drucker. Try logging your food so you know whether you’re getting the right calorie and macros to support your lifting and provide a slight deficit to promote fat loss.
I log every last thing I eat, down to the 10 grams of fresh herbs I put on my salads.0 -
AllanMisner wrote: »The scale is the worst possible measurement of health you could use. Simple example, you could lose eleven pounds instantly, if you just cut off your head. The scale tells you that you’ve lost something, it could be fat, it could be water, it could be muscle, it could be bone or other lean body mass, or any combination of these. Instead, take body measurements (or get your body fat measured in a dexascan). If you measure your neck, chest, upper arms, stomach, waist, hips and upper legs, you can see changes that matter. If you happen to carry fat in your hips and butt, losing size there will tell you you’re on the right track.
This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. No one is cutting off their head to lose weight. It sounds condescending. I'm not an idiot; I'm about 20 pounds overweight. I like weight lifting. I'll keep doing it. But I need to lose some body fat. I've worked VERY hard to do that. Just like your (silly) analogy about cutting off one's head, at some point I am going to burn body fat and that missing fat will have to be accounted for on the scale. I'm just wondering about others' experiences in seeing that happen.0 -
Don't worry about the scale. Keep your cals/macros on point. Keep lifting heavy. Weight training is not a massive calorie burner (people will argue about this though), but it is perfect for sculpting, recomping your body into something that you will be proud of. Doing a load of cardio and eating in a deficit will help you loose weight, but it will probably not achieve the appearance you want and will more than likely be unsustainable.0
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4-5lbs in 2 months is awesome! That's about what I'm doing now. It's more of a recomp than anything else. Since January, I've been losing about 2lbs/month with heavy lifting and I'm getting excellent results. I've lost several inches (waist, hips, belly). I'm getting much stronger and I'm starting to see definition. I'm also trying to lose about 20lbs and I've lost the first 10.
After going through years of trying to lose as quickly as possible, I've found losing at this slower pace to be really nice because it's more reflective of what I'll be doing at maintenance. Also, eating pasta and desserts isn't bad - learning to eat those foods in moderation is key. I eat pasta at least 1x/week and desserts almost daily (even if it means I can only fit in a piece of chocolate).
I'm also going to say that because I'm pretty much doing a recomp - I'm smaller now than I usually am at this weight. So my tips would be to - track weight, take measurements, and take monthly progress pics (both flexed an relaxed). Those indicators helped me see that even though it was *only* 10lbs, I made a HUGE difference in the way I look. (And I now recognize that 10lbs is A TON of weight loss on my body).0 -
4-5lbs in 2 months is awesome! That's about what I'm doing now. It's more of a recomp than anything else. Since January, I've been losing about 2lbs/month with heavy lifting and I'm getting excellent results. I've lost several inches (waist, hips, belly). I'm getting much stronger and I'm starting to see definition. I'm also trying to lose about 20lbs and I've lost the first 10.
After going through years of trying to lose as quickly as possible, I've found losing at this slower pace to be really nice because it's more reflective of what I'll be doing at maintenance. Also, eating pasta and desserts isn't bad - learning to eat those foods in moderation is key. I eat pasta at least 1x/week and desserts almost daily (even if it means I can only fit in a piece of chocolate).
Yes, I am pleased with the loss and I completely agree that slow is better. I haven't lost inches on my waist or hips, but I made some side-by-side pictures of my face and I can definitely see a difference. I have lost some inches (well, .75 of an inch) on my upper leg/quad, so I'm pleased about that, too. I definitely am getting much, much stronger. So I know I am putting in the work. I still can't help but feel a little down that there haven't been more results. Maybe I read these boards too much and see too many posts about folks losing 20-30 pounds this year alone!
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Uh yeah. Forget the forums. .75 in is A LOT of loss for a leg! Everyone carries their fat differently. For me, since I can compare with my Jan pics, my front pics aren't that monumental but I carried a lot of fat on my back and backside. Give it a few more months, if you keep progressing like you are now, the changes will be more prominent.0
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Uh yeah. Forget the forums. .75 in is A LOT of loss for a leg! Everyone carries their fat differently. For me, since I can compare with my Jan pics, my front pics aren't that monumental but I carried a lot of fat on my back and backside. Give it a few more months, if you keep progressing like you are now, the changes will be more prominent.
Thanks much for the encouragement!0 -
No problem! Also, the changes were most drastic in my face too my first couple of months doing this. Keep at it lady!
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Well done. Don't be scared of the scale. On the flip side, I have put on two stone in a year and a half (11 stone to 14 stone), but my body fat has remained at 15%. In my head putting on weight is bad (media, peoples perception of weight gain etc). If you told someone you had put on two stone they would assume that you had let yourself go or had stopped exercising etc. However, this has been a controlled gain of lifting heavy four times a week and eating about 250 cals over maintenance. I look and feel a million times better than I did when I was two stones lighter. Don't let the scale scare you, it's unpredictable. Judge yourself on how you feel, look in the mirror, body fat, inches lost, fitness levels etc.0
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AllanMisner wrote: »The scale is the worst possible measurement of health you could use. Simple example, you could lose eleven pounds instantly, if you just cut off your head. The scale tells you that you’ve lost something, it could be fat, it could be water, it could be muscle, it could be bone or other lean body mass, or any combination of these. Instead, take body measurements (or get your body fat measured in a dexascan). If you measure your neck, chest, upper arms, stomach, waist, hips and upper legs, you can see changes that matter. If you happen to carry fat in your hips and butt, losing size there will tell you you’re on the right track.
This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. No one is cutting off their head to lose weight. It sounds condescending. I'm not an idiot; I'm about 20 pounds overweight. I like weight lifting. I'll keep doing it. But I need to lose some body fat. I've worked VERY hard to do that. Just like your (silly) analogy about cutting off one's head, at some point I am going to burn body fat and that missing fat will have to be accounted for on the scale. I'm just wondering about others' experiences in seeing that happen.
The analogy, as silly as it might sound, does make sense. What if, during the past two months, you lost 8 lbs (of fat) but are currently retaining water (typical for heavy weight training)? If the scale means so much to you, stop lifting weights, eat at a deficit and you can pretty much do the math to know how much you should be losing (and consider a diuretic). If all you care about is weight, then you shouldn’t care if it fat, muscle or water you’re losing.
When you introduce weight training, it will often slow the “weight” loss but not the fat loss. Getting your body fat measured and taking body measurements are far better for seeing results. And you’ll know it is fat your losing, how much water you’re retaining, and whether your retaining or losing muscle.
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First of all - well done on all your hard work!
Not sure if I am just stating the obvious but... I believe that you are gaining muscle as well as losing fat! Hence the bit of an underwhelming scale reading. You wrote that you lost almost an inch round your thighs - that's amazing and what you do obviously works. Bit by bit and soon your new body will emerge - not the treadmill kinda skinny with a bit of flab you can't seam to get rid of, but a powerful toned sexy curvy goddess! So you go girl, keep at it!;) I am no expert, just a lot of time spent crawling the internet for information on fitness, weightlifting and sculpting the wonderwoman kinda body 
But if you would like to see the fat melting away a bit faster add a day or two of 20 mins of HIIT (high intensity interval training) to your weight lifting, it is supposed to be better than any low intensity exercise you can do, such as running for hours. There are loads of HIIT sessions online, fe. youtube. Check out Joe Wicks - The Bodycoach, his training is based around HIIT and people he has trained has had some amazing results! Lean muscle... He has free videos on youtube as well. 0 -
You're down to your last 15 lbs? If so once you factor in the water/glycogen weight you're really pretty much on point with your loss of 4-5 lbs in 2 months.
Lifting messes with the scale for sure. Focus on inches lost. I agree that an inch off your quad is huge.
I would recommend though that you find a way to eat the things you love. You sound really frustrated with your diet choices. This is for life, hopefully, so structure your eating in a way that makes you feel satisfied. If you're spending all your time thinking about the desserts you're not having and the pasta you really want then it's going to make the slower losses as you approach your goal seem more and more frustrating than they really have to be. Try making some different foods for lunch. Work in some pasta once every couple of weeks. And get creative so that the nutrient dense foods you're eating don't seem like a chore. Just my two cents, based on 2+ yrs of maintenance.0 -
I've been lifting for almost 2 years. I'd lost a few pounds...maybe 5+. I went from a size 8/10 to a size 2 though. In the last couple of weeks, I'm actually up a couple of pounds. I have had SEVERAL regulars at the gym tell me that I look very lean! So I've gained "scale weight," but look smaller...go figure.0
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I've been lifting for almost 2 years. I'd lost a few pounds...maybe 5+. I went from a size 8/10 to a size 2 though. In the last couple of weeks, I'm actually up a couple of pounds. I have had SEVERAL regulars at the gym tell me that I look very lean! So I've gained "scale weight," but look smaller...go figure.
This!
When I started at the gym I was 228lbs, size 18 pants, XXL shirt. I'm now about 190, size 10 pants, size M or large shirt.
10 years ago, before my last pregnancy, I was 175 lbs and a size 16. So...lifting heavy, I'm 15+ pounds heavier, but several sizes smaller.
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sarahrbraun wrote: »I've been lifting for almost 2 years. I'd lost a few pounds...maybe 5+. I went from a size 8/10 to a size 2 though. In the last couple of weeks, I'm actually up a couple of pounds. I have had SEVERAL regulars at the gym tell me that I look very lean! So I've gained "scale weight," but look smaller...go figure.
This!
When I started at the gym I was 228lbs, size 18 pants, XXL shirt. I'm now about 190, size 10 pants, size M or large shirt.
10 years ago, before my last pregnancy, I was 175 lbs and a size 16. So...lifting heavy, I'm 15+ pounds heavier, but several sizes smaller.
Exactly This. 0 -
I started lifting heavy at the beginning of April and I've really stuck with it. I've worked hard at eating well, too, which I do most of the time (although I'm not perfect). Also--I started trying to make changes in my diet last August, but didn't really start the heavy weight lifting until April, although I had been lifting sporadically since August.
AT the same time, I feel like with as much work as I'm putting in at the gym, combined with as much cutbacks I'm doing food-wise (example: I've cut out a ton of alcohol and desserts. Can't remember the last time I ate pasta, I cook fish 1-2 times per week, I've been eating salad with chicken for lunch almost every day, etc.) I should be seeing greater results than the 4-5 pound loss I've seen over 2 months now.
What has others' experiences been like with the scale and weight lifting? Is there something to that "stuck scale" phase in the first month or so of weight lifting that people talk about?
I know I am improving at the gym. For instance, I'm up to 25 lb weights on each side of my bench press bar (I think I started at 17.5 pounds on each side), so the proof of my work is there. But sometimes I would like to see improvement elsewhere (i.e. the scale!)
I started end of march, and have probably put on 5 or 6lbs. Ive been eating at above maintenance though to try and build muscle. My lifts improve pretty well every week and the only thing that seems to have grown is my thighs!0 -
sarahrbraun wrote: »I've been lifting for almost 2 years. I'd lost a few pounds...maybe 5+. I went from a size 8/10 to a size 2 though. In the last couple of weeks, I'm actually up a couple of pounds. I have had SEVERAL regulars at the gym tell me that I look very lean! So I've gained "scale weight," but look smaller...go figure.
This!
When I started at the gym I was 228lbs, size 18 pants, XXL shirt. I'm now about 190, size 10 pants, size M or large shirt.
10 years ago, before my last pregnancy, I was 175 lbs and a size 16. So...lifting heavy, I'm 15+ pounds heavier, but several sizes smaller.
This exactly. I was 231 2 years ago, did cardio for the first 3 months of my journey, then switched to lifting because of knee problems. I was a tight 16 jeans and XXl shirt, now I'm 183, size 10 jeans and a large shirt. Went from 46DD to 38DD bra. My husband tells me I'm half the person I used to be but I don't see it. My brain still hasn't caught up to my body yet.0
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