when you first starting heavy lifting..........

lisajtubs

This is for people who are trying to lose weight whilst lifting. I know that people say to expect 'newbie'gains in the beginning and that also there will be an increase in glycogen/water in the muscles when starting a new type of exercise. My question is how much weight did people put on, or for how long did your weightloss plateau? did you see a dramatic difference once your body got on an even keel? I am wondering whether I am in a genuine plateau and therefore need to rethink my eating, or whether losses are being masked! thanks! (no loss in 3.5 weeks, about the same amount of time since i started stronglifts)

CrusaderSam

I dont think women can put on much more then 1lb of muscle in a month.

tkillion810

You might consider getting a body fat (also called body comp) test. It will give you a pretty good measurement of the percentage of body fat. I find this to be a better source of measurement than a scale, especially when lifting. So when the scale isn't moving, you can see if the body fat % is dropping. That's ultimately a good thing! Less body fat and same weight means you're maintaining or building muscle. The more muscle we have, the better our metabolism tends to be, generally speaking.

jimmmer

Track your progress using a combo of the scale, the tape measure, clothing fit and progress photos (taken under similar lighting conditions, poses and clothing).

Usually you can spot progress using one of these measures if you can't using others. For instance: scale has stalled, but clothes fit better. Or: you weigh more, but progress photos show better definition. Or: you feel like you're looking puffy or marbled or whatever but the scale shows a drop and that you're going in the right direction...

auddii

Track your progress using a combo of the scale, the tape measure, clothing fit and progress photos (taken under similar lighting conditions, poses and clothing).

Usually you can spot progress using one of these measures if you can't using others. For instance: scale has stalled, but clothes fit better. Or: you weigh more, but progress photos show better definition. Or: you feel like you're looking puffy or marbled or whatever but the scale shows a drop and that you're going in the right direction...

This. If you aren't seeing progress in any of the above methods of progress tracking, you may be in a plateau. If the scale is stuck but clothes are fitting better, keep at it!

levitateme

I weigh 5 lbs more today than I did when I started (in march) but my body fat % is down by 3.7%.

Don't worry about the scale. Look at how your clothes fit. Take pictures of your body.