Muscle Gain

cameronlane

Hi,
Last year I lost a fair amount of weight and was considered slightly underweight. I eat very healthy and stay active. Recently I've been eating the same but have been taking more fitness classes with weight training. I have had 10 lbs appear on the scale and i feel a bit bigger for no reason that i can think of other than muscle gain. Is this normal? If i stop the exercise will the weight drop again?

chrisdavey

Picture 10lbs of chicken breast. Now slap those chicken breasts over your body. If you don't think you have gained 10lbs of chicken breasta then you haven't gained 10lbs of muscles.

I have stayed relatively same BF% for the past 5 years. Gained about 12kg of muscle in that time. Adequate protein intake 99% of the time, lifting consistently 3-5x a week for all that time.

neandermagnon

exercise is for health. Trying to be as low a weight as you can be and giving up exercise to achieve that isn't healthy at all. What do you want? A low number on the scale + increased risk of osteoporosis..... or to be healthy?

it's probably mostly water weight gains, because your muscles will be storing more glycogen as a result of exercising, and glycogen is stored along with water. This means your scale weight will go up. the muscles may look a little bit bigger because of this (which is a one time increase in muscular size, so they won't carry on getting bigger even if you do loads more exercise)- if you were eating at a surplus it's possible you gained some actual muscle tissue as well, although you said you were eating the same as before, so this is unlikely. It's also possible that your bone density has increased, which again will make you heavier on the scale, but this also decreases your risk of osteoporosis.

If you fit into the same size clothes then what you gained isn't any significant amount of fat. If you were really eating at a surplus you may have gained a little fat along with the muscle.... but I highly doubt you were eating at a surplus based on what you said, therefore the gains are water/glycogen weight and bone density, both of which are very healthy and you didn't gain any fat or any new muscle tissue.

Healthy bones and muscles are heavier than weak, wasted ones. And unless you have a really tiny frame, then the underweight category of BMI isn't healthy. Even if you do have a small frame, then being 10lb heavier because you started working out is a healthier weight for you than when you were sedentary. If you stop exercising yes you will lose the weight again, but you need to ask yourself what's more important to you, health or a number on a scale. It's well known that athletic people are heavier than they look, i.e. they fit into small sized clothes yet the number on the scale is higher than people expect. And they're all round healthier than sedentary people.

TamaBrett

10lb is the muscle gain you'd hope for if you were a young man working out seriously for a year.

ottermotorcycle

Picture 10lbs of chicken breast. Now slap those chicken breasts over your body. If you don't think you have gained 10lbs of chicken breasta then you haven't gained 10lbs of muscles.

I have stayed relatively same BF% for the past 5 years. Gained about 12kg of muscle in that time. Adequate protein intake 99% of the time, lifting consistently 3-5x a week for all that time.

The imagery here sort of makes me NOT want to gain muscle :laugh:

nxd10

If you were slightly underweight and are gaining and it looks good, is that 10 lbs a bad thing? My two sons have BMIs of 17.5 (age 15) and 18.3 (age 26). When the older finished puberty his bone density increased and he actually looked and measured thinner at the waist and hips but put on several pounds of weight on their shoulders, chest, and arms. You could see the change in his bone structure at the shoulder blades, bones, and jaw.

Galatea_Stone

If you are lifting heavy enough, it's part muscle and part fat and part glycogen.

If you aren't, then it is less muscle and more fat and more glycogen.

You are either eating at a surplus or you retain water like a beast.

cameronlane

Thank you! Your advice will really help feeling comfortable with this because you've put it in a healthy objective perspective. I just need to always feel that way and not battle with the desire to be thin.

chrisdavey

Picture 10lbs of chicken breast. Now slap those chicken breasts over your body. If you don't think you have gained 10lbs of chicken breasta then you haven't gained 10lbs of muscles.

I have stayed relatively same BF% for the past 5 years. Gained about 12kg of muscle in that time. Adequate protein intake 99% of the time, lifting consistently 3-5x a week for all that time.

The imagery here sort of makes me NOT want to gain muscle :laugh:

You don't think chicken breasts are attractive?

astronomicals

10lb is the muscle gain you'd hope for if you were a young man working out seriously for a year.

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