Ok, so after one month of lifting heavy
halimaiqbal00
Posts: 288 Member
3-4x a week, throwing in cardio and eating at a slight deficit, my weight has gone up by 1.4 pounds and up by 0.4% body fat. Trying not to be too upset about it but surely a month is enough time for body to adjust, no? I had a couple of days eating out this week and logged as accurately as I could but could've underestimated calories. Do you think I should tweak calories and reduce them a little or keep doing what I have been this past month, and see how I fare next month?
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halimaiqbal00 wrote: »3-4x a week, throwing in cardio and eating at a slight deficit, my weight has gone up by 1.4 pounds and up by 0.4% body fat. Trying not to be too upset about it but surely a month is enough time for body to adjust, no? I had a couple of days eating out this week and logged as accurately as I could but could've underestimated calories. Do you think I should tweak calories and reduce them a little or keep doing what I have been this past month, and see how I fare next month?
Have you taken measurements to compare? I'm also eating at a slight deficit (250) and lifting, my actual weight is up around 2lb on what it was at the beginning of last week (before my heaviest week of the lifting cycle), but in just over 2 weeks I've dropped 2.5cm from my waist and 1cm from my hips, so obviously have lost some fat. You need to remember that just the act of lifting is going to make you hold on to water as the muscles repair themselves, it takes me the whole weekend to drop the water from lifting in the week (last day thursday). Plus muscle is less dense than fat, meaning the same weight of muscle will take up less space than fat.
At the very least I'd take measurements today (bust/chest, waist, hips), stick with it for a month and then remeasure and reassess. If your weight stays around the same but you're losing cm then congrats, you're recomping.3 -
1) You are new to exercise so will be more prone to water retention
2)Bodyfat measurements are wildly inaccurate (unless undertaken by a DEXA scan)
3)If you went over calories or consumed high sodium meals then this will cause water retention
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Hmmm. Are you measuring body parts? That will tell the real story. And the scale won't tell you that
Maybe also be conscious of calories and quality of calories... and when you are eating those carbs. But don't quit lifting! 0 -
When I switched from bodyweight exercise to lifting, I was up 3 lbs after the first month, back down those three lbs after the second month, and then resumed normal weight loss.
If you know your calories are on point, have faith in the process and keep going.
As for your body fat percentage... there is no method of fat measurement that is accurate enough that a .4% change means anything.
BIA - individual error rate 8-9%
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-4-the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-parts-3-and-4-bod-pod-and-bioelectrical-impedance-bia/the-pitfalls-of-bodyfat-measurement-part-4-bioelectrical-impedance-bia/
Hydrostatic - individual error rate 5-6%
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-3-the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-parts-1-and-2/the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-part-2/
DEXA - Individual error rate 5% and up to 10% in studies
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-5-the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-parts-5-and-6-skinfolds-and-dual-energy-x-ray-absorptiometry-dexa/the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-part-6-dexa/6 -
Give it some more time. I would as if you can see a difference in how your clothes are fitting? I've seen a lot of times the people start lifting and go up in weight, but they actually start to lose inches in the process. Strength training is so good for long-term success, so keep at it!
As for your calories, what is your current intake?0 -
Give it more time, from memory I was up a few pounds for a few months before it settled back down again.0
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halimaiqbal00 wrote: »3-4x a week, throwing in cardio and eating at a slight deficit, my weight has gone up by 1.4 pounds and up by 0.4% body fat. Trying not to be too upset about it but surely a month is enough time for body to adjust, no? I had a couple of days eating out this week and logged as accurately as I could but could've underestimated calories. Do you think I should tweak calories and reduce them a little or keep doing what I have been this past month, and see how I fare next month?
How are your clothes fitting?0 -
Give it a little more time. Also, there is no body fat measurement available (even a DEXA scan) that has an accuracy of +/-0.4%, so I wouldn't be overly concerned that you showed a slight increase with whatever measurement system you used.1
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When I switched from bodyweight exercise to lifting, I was up 3 lbs after the first month, back down those three lbs after the second month, and then resumed normal weight loss.
If you know your calories are on point, have faith in the process and keep going.
As for your body fat percentage... there is no method of fat measurement that is accurate enough that a .4% change means anything.
BIA - individual error rate 8-9%
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-4-the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-parts-3-and-4-bod-pod-and-bioelectrical-impedance-bia/the-pitfalls-of-bodyfat-measurement-part-4-bioelectrical-impedance-bia/
Hydrostatic - individual error rate 5-6%
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-3-the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-parts-1-and-2/the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-part-2/
DEXA - Individual error rate 5% and up to 10% in studies
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-5-the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-parts-5-and-6-skinfolds-and-dual-energy-x-ray-absorptiometry-dexa/the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-part-6-dexa/
If you know your calories are on point, have faith in the process and keep going.
I REALLY liked this , Thanks
good luck
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My calories are 2000. I'm 32, female, 144 pounds. I workout 3-4x a week (lifting) and a day or cardio where i typically burn 5-600 calories.
Clothes fit the same. I'll measure tomorrow morning.
And it's so reassuring that some of you are saying your weight went up initially and then evened out. I won't be giving up on lifting...I love it!4 -
Also, I'm doing a body composition scale. I know it's inaccurate in terms of the initial body fat reading it gives you but it's useful to measure a trend over time0
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halimaiqbal00 wrote: »Also, I'm doing a body composition scale. I know it's inaccurate in terms of the initial body fat reading it gives you but it's useful to measure a trend over time
No, it's not. Read the article linked above.0 -
How tall are you? I'm 5'9, 178 pounds and my maintenance is ~2200. You may be eating too many calories.
ETA: But I also agree you could be holding water weight due to your new workout.0 -
halimaiqbal00 wrote: »My calories are 2000. I'm 32, female, 144 pounds. I workout 3-4x a week (lifting) and a day or cardio where i typically burn 5-600 calories.
Clothes fit the same. I'll measure tomorrow morning.
And it's so reassuring that some of you are saying your weight went up initially and then evened out. I won't be giving up on lifting...I love it!
Are you eating 2000 or 2500-2600?0 -
1.4 pounds could certainly be water retention, and no body fat measurement is accurate enough to tell you that you've "gained" 0.4%. I wouldn't make any adjustments for now.0
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2000 seems high for calories.
Do you eat back exercise calories?
I'm 5'4" 35 years old and exercise 5 times a week (lifting for 3) and do NOT eat back exercise calories and I have to be in the 1500s for my daily calories to see weight/fat loss.
Also are you eating at least 100 grams of protein per day?1 -
halimaiqbal00 wrote: »3-4x a week, throwing in cardio and eating at a slight deficit, my weight has gone up by 1.4 pounds and up by 0.4% body fat. Trying not to be too upset about it but surely a month is enough time for body to adjust, no? I had a couple of days eating out this week and logged as accurately as I could but could've underestimated calories. Do you think I should tweak calories and reduce them a little or keep doing what I have been this past month, and see how I fare next month?
There's no way you could accurately measure an increase of 0.4% BF...determining BF% is far to imprecise to be able to do that.
As far as the weight gain goes, you're retaining more lean mass and you are retaining water in your muscles. Considering you are also new, you are likely experiencing some measure of newb gains as well.0 -
halimaiqbal00 wrote: »Also, I'm doing a body composition scale. I know it's inaccurate in terms of the initial body fat reading it gives you but it's useful to measure a trend over time
It still can't tell the difference between actual BF and water though...0.4% isn't a trend of anything...trend analysis requires more than a singular data point and really, a change of 0.4% is flat if anything...1 -
Is your waist measurement smaller, larger, or the same as from a month ago?
How tall are you?0 -
2000 could be fine depending on height. If she's 5'6" and 144,for example, it would be about a 200-300 deficit.0
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Your weight going up is easily explained by water retention. The more you work out, the more water your body will temporarily retain in order to help your muscles heal and repair themselves. Completely okay. That's why a lot of bodybuilders go by monthly weigh-ins and measurements to gauge their progress instead of weighing in on a daily (or even weekly) basis. I'm not sure how you're measuring your BF% but a lot of the readers are extremely inaccurate. Also, if you aren't weighing your food, you are more than likely logging inaccurately. What is your ultimate goal? On a deficit, you won't build much muscle, just retain. Good luck achieving all of your goals!0
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I have a BIA scale, use it daily, and have been surprised that it does actually show a strong and consistent trend, though I pretty much disregard the units on it.
However, just as with weight, it fluctuates day-to-day, even used at the same time each day under the same conditions. It can show BF% down 1% one day, up 1% another.
Furthermore, like weight, the readings vary across the course of a day.
No way on God's Green Earth that you could use such a thing to determine a 0.4% fluctuation.
The trend I see is on a 700g/wk weight loss, without heavy exercise, so signal/noise is high. At maintenance level or thereabouts, I think you'd need a very long time indeed to determine the direction of a trend, and it will never be remotely reliable for the magnitude of that trend.1 -
When you start lifting your muscles "tear" causing extra fluid and inflammation. SO it is quite common to see a "gain" as your muscles adjust and as long as you're not doing too much too soon, just don't give up and keep trucking on! Pay attention to you feel vs scale.1
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I agree there's water retention with new exercise, newbie gains, etc... but I also think after 1 month the body should have adjusted and if in a deficit at least SOME weight loss should have happened.
I think there may be an issue with calories or macros, but will not know until OP provides a little more info.0 -
halimaiqbal00 wrote: »My calories are 2000. I'm 32, female, 144 pounds. I workout 3-4x a week (lifting) and a day or cardio where i typically burn 5-600 calories.
Clothes fit the same. I'll measure tomorrow morning.
And it's so reassuring that some of you are saying your weight went up initially and then evened out. I won't be giving up on lifting...I love it!
You could tweak a little. Go down to 1800 or 1900.0 -
BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »halimaiqbal00 wrote: »My calories are 2000. I'm 32, female, 144 pounds. I workout 3-4x a week (lifting) and a day or cardio where i typically burn 5-600 calories.
Clothes fit the same. I'll measure tomorrow morning.
And it's so reassuring that some of you are saying your weight went up initially and then evened out. I won't be giving up on lifting...I love it!
You could tweak a little. Go down to 1800 or 1900.
You might want to try eating the 2000 on lifting days and 1800 or 1900 on non-lifting. I'm 37, 5'7", 150 lb, and maintain at around 2200-2300 with similar exercise as you. I will lose if I eat 2000 or below.
Best advice: TAKE PICTURES!!!!! Your shape will change from lifting, but it will be gradual, and the scale will mess with your perceptions. My body looks way better now than it did 10 pounds lighter with less muscle.1 -
courtneyfabulous wrote: »2000 seems high for calories.
Do you eat back exercise calories?
I'm 5'4" 35 years old and exercise 5 times a week (lifting for 3) and do NOT eat back exercise calories and I have to be in the 1500s for my daily calories to see weight/fat loss.
Also are you eating at least 100 grams of protein per day?
When I've gone down to 1700 calories, I was losing 1.5 pounds a week and was so hungry. It's was far too aggressive for me. I want to lose .5-1 pound a week max.
I'm eating 120g protein minimum
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halimaiqbal00 wrote: »My calories are 2000. I'm 32, female, 144 pounds. I workout 3-4x a week (lifting) and a day or cardio where i typically burn 5-600 calories.
Clothes fit the same. I'll measure tomorrow morning.
And it's so reassuring that some of you are saying your weight went up initially and then evened out. I won't be giving up on lifting...I love it!
Are you eating 2000 or 2500-2600?
I'm consuming 2000 calories. That's what mfp and most of the online calculators are giving me. That's taking into account that I'm fairly active during the day on top of my workouts which are pretty intense. Im sweating a heck of a lot while lifting.
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courtneyfabulous wrote: »Is your waist measurement smaller, larger, or the same as from a month ago?
How tall are you?
I'm 5' 7. 144 pounds. My bmr is around 1400 cals. Sedentary gives me 1700. Adding my exercise calories on top makes my tdee around 2200-2300. So 2000 calories is a pretty reasonable deficit to lose fat, maintain muscle while lifting and keeping my protein up in the 120's, isn't it?
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halimaiqbal00 wrote: »courtneyfabulous wrote: »2000 seems high for calories.
Do you eat back exercise calories?
I'm 5'4" 35 years old and exercise 5 times a week (lifting for 3) and do NOT eat back exercise calories and I have to be in the 1500s for my daily calories to see weight/fat loss.
Also are you eating at least 100 grams of protein per day?
When I've gone down to 1700 calories, I was losing 1.5 pounds a week and was so hungry. It's was far too aggressive for me. I want to lose .5-1 pound a week max.
I'm eating 120g protein minimum
Given this data, you then know that maintenance is around 2,500 calories and thus you cannot have gained 1.4 Lbs of fat eating 2,000...your muscles are holding onto water.
Also, how often are you weighing in? Body weight fluctuates quite a bit...if you're only weighing in occasionally, it could just be a "heavy" day.0
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