scales results ... muscle building?

FitCattitude

Hiya :-)

I've only been at this just over 2 weeks. Started at 236, dropped to 234, then these results today:

weight up 3 lb to 237.4
bmi up 1 to 36.4
Bodyfat down 4 to 54.8
Skeletal muscle down 4 to 10.5
resting metabolism up 300 to 2121
visceral fat still 13

Still learning what all these things mean, but am wondering if the drop in bodyfat and skeletal muscle, yet big increase in resting metabolism plus weight gain means muscles are building? Been really good except for one day being over by 500 cals, and actually overdid exercising; have had to rest.

Is it best to just power on with tracking food and doing lots of exercise and the weight ultimately will come off despite muscles building?

Thanks, Cat

4legsRbetterthan2

Not sure what scale you are using but I would not put much stock in any of the readings except for weight. You are most likely looking at fluctuations in water weight due to salt intake, exercise, hormones, carb intake, and many more factors with a bit of fat loss from your deficit. You will not put on muscle on a deficit, as a woman you will not put on much muscle at all unless you work really hard at that specific goal.

Tracking food and sticking to your goal is the best way to lose fat. Exercise will assist you with that.

MinnieInMaine

Not sure what scale you are using but I would not put much stock in any of the readings except for weight. You are most likely looking at fluctuations in water weight due to salt intake, exercise, hormones, carb intake, and many more factors with a bit of fat loss from your deficit. You will not put on muscle on a deficit, as a woman you will not put on much muscle at all unless you work really hard at that specific goal.

Tracking food and sticking to your goal is the best way to lose fat. Exercise will assist you with that.

+1

And just want to add a bit of detail... A lot of people think it's muscle gain when they workout and see an increase on the scale but what's really happening is water retention. When you're new to exercise or increase the intensity of your workout, your muscles suffer microtrauma and as a result, retain water and glycogen as part of the natural healing process. It's sort of like when your ankle swells after you twist it, only not as obvious as it's spread out over a larger area.

Shropshire1959

Hi - where did all that data come from?

Biometric scales are pretty pour - so be careful if it came from one of them.

Also .. 2 weeks isn't really long enough to notice much in the way of change (most weight loss will probably be water weight).... Give it time...

UoSLad

couldn't tell you about the rest of them but for what it's worth BMI is pretty terrible indication of health.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime was clinically obese according to his BMI

ErnestFlipEulenfeld

Two weeks is not enough time to make any judgment calls on what's working and what is not. There will be fluctuations all through your fitness journey and you can not make any calls from one week to the next.
Continue to eat clean, work out on a regular schedule and routine. Make adjustments to your routine as you learn more about proper techniques and have fun.
Also, do yourself a favor, THROW THAT STUPID SCALE IN THE TRASH! Scales are the main reason most people give up. It is discouraging to wake up every morning, jump on the scale and see little to no loss, or even worse, a slight gain. These numbers mean NOTHING! Put your blinders on, follow a good plan for fitness and muscle growth and stay focused.
Oh, one last bit of advice; your mirror is also a LIAR. It does one of two things. It either makes you believe you are fatter than you really are, or thinner. Use it ONLY from the neck up.
Again, stay focused and work for your goals!
Best wishes.

azymth99

2 weeks is a very small window of time on the weight loss journey. Don't obsess over minor differences on the scale. They will only discourage you or give you false hope. You have to "trust the process" not the scale.

As previous posts have stated, water retention and a myriad of other factors can make your weight fluctuate. Muscle growth is actually a slow process and is rarely the culprit if you gain a few pounds here and there- especially if you are eating at a calorie deficit.

If you exercise regularly and eat at a calorie deficit- the weight WILL come off. Just make sure you are eating the proper number of calories for your goals and make sure you are getting your macros- occasional excesses will not derail the entire process, but getting discouraged from a slight rise in your weight will. Stay the course and weigh yourself once a month- early in the morning before you've had anything to eat, after you take care of nature's business, with no clothes on, using the same scale for every weigh in.

Good luck! MFP has a lot of ways to help.

FitCattitude

Not sure what scale you are using but I would not put much stock in any of the readings except for weight. You are most likely looking at fluctuations in water weight due to salt intake, exercise, hormones, carb intake, and many more factors with a bit of fat loss from your deficit. You will not put on muscle on a deficit, as a woman you will not put on much muscle at all unless you work really hard at that specific goal.

Tracking food and sticking to your goal is the best way to lose fat. Exercise will assist you with that.

Thanks for advice, and reassurance it most likely is water weight etc. (It's the Omron BF511 Family Body Composition Monitor I'm using.)

FitCattitude

Not sure what scale you are using but I would not put much stock in any of the readings except for weight. You are most likely looking at fluctuations in water weight due to salt intake, exercise, hormones, carb intake, and many more factors with a bit of fat loss from your deficit. You will not put on muscle on a deficit, as a woman you will not put on much muscle at all unless you work really hard at that specific goal.

Tracking food and sticking to your goal is the best way to lose fat. Exercise will assist you with that.

And just want to add a bit of detail... A lot of people think it's muscle gain when they workout and see an increase on the scale but what's really happening is water retention. When you're new to exercise or increase the intensity of your workout, your muscles suffer microtrauma and as a result, retain water and glycogen as part of the natural healing process. It's sort of like when your ankle swells after you twist it, only not as obvious as it's spread out over a larger area.

Thanks. Have been in a lot of pain and feeling I jumped into strenuous exercise too quickly, so your explanation of microtrauma really makes sense. Too tired to exercise since about 2 days ago, so it's great to understand about the microtrauma, and return to exercise but not so strenuously!

FitCattitude

Hi - where did all that data come from?

Biometric scales are pretty pour - so be careful if it came from one of them.

Also .. 2 weeks isn't really long enough to notice much in the way of change (most weight loss will probably be water weight).... Give it time...

Thanks for confirming about water weight and reassurance to give it time. (It's the Omron BF511 Family Body Composition Monitor I'm using).

I_Will_End_You

Thanks for advice, and reassurance it most likely is water weight etc. (It's the Omron BF511 Family Body Composition Monitor I'm using.)

You may want to just use that for your weight and not body fat, muscle, BMR, etc... They are wildly inaccurate. Your weight is going to fluctuate constantly. If you're the type that likes to weigh yourself often, pay more attention to trends, and realize there will be a lot of up and down. If it's gradually going down, you're good. If your ups and downs are staying about the same, you're maintaining, if they go up, you're gaining.

FitCattitude

couldn't tell you about the rest of them but for what it's worth BMI is pretty terrible indication of health.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime was clinically obese according to his BMI

wow, that's amazing! ... and suddenly I feel better, lol

leggup

2 weeks isn't long enough to tell any trends, even in body weight.

If you got that data from a scale in your home, it's probably inaccurate. Trust the weight. Weigh yourself every day/week/month at the same time and look at the trend over 4-8 weeks.

It is impossible to accurately calculate body fat % by stepping onto a scale.

CynCyndi

Hi! Wow that is a lot of numbers and data. :noway:
I have been at this close to 2 weeks now and only weighed myself once when I first started, plus I took measurements, even of my pinky finger, cause you just never know:laugh: . I might wait to weigh and remeasure myself again in a week or two just because I have read on here that the first couple weeks is just inconsistent with what the body is going through.
Hopefully by the time I weigh-in again and measure, I can see where I stand and make adjustments at the moment (with the help of the professionals on here :happy: .

As beginners, it is really hard to tell what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong. Even the right stuff might not seem that way at the beginning because nothing but our actions are changing. But that is a better change than nothing at all.

My rookie advice to you is, just leave the numbers for the mathematicians and stick to the basics for now until you find the rhythm that works.. and when that seems to no longer change, then it could be time to mix it up again! We are now friends so I will be joining you in this journey!

Best of Luck to you and YOU CAN DO THIS!! WE can do this! :bigsmile:

~Cyn

FitCattitude

Two weeks is not enough time to make any judgment calls on what's working and what is not. There will be fluctuations all through your fitness journey and you can not make any calls from one week to the next.
Continue to eat clean, work out on a regular schedule and routine. Make adjustments to your routine as you learn more about proper techniques and have fun.
Also, do yourself a favor, THROW THAT STUPID SCALE IN THE TRASH! Scales are the main reason most people give up. It is discouraging to wake up every morning, jump on the scale and see little to no loss, or even worse, a slight gain. These numbers mean NOTHING! Put your blinders on, follow a good plan for fitness and muscle growth and stay focused.
Oh, one last bit of advice; your mirror is also a LIAR. It does one of two things. It either makes you believe you are fatter than you really are, or thinner. Use it ONLY from the neck up.
Again, stay focused and work for your goals!
Best wishes.

Thank you; great advice. Luckily was just sticking to weekly weigh-in's, as I didn't want to drive myself crazy, lol, but you've got a point, especially about just keeping focussed and enjoying learning. I think I might still be tempted to weigh-in monthly, as the poster below has suggested, as I just can't resist that, lol, but I appreciate your advice. And great about 'only from the neck up'. I actually don't have a full length mirror, and can vouch that it does free you up to not get down by constantly looking in the mirror, and instead have plenty of mental space to get on with good eating and exercise. And thanks for your good wishes!

leggup

couldn't tell you about the rest of them but for what it's worth BMI is pretty terrible indication of health.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime was clinically obese according to his BMI

BMI is a good starting point. It does not tell the whole story, but no measurement does. If you have a morbidly obese BMI (BMI 40+) and you are not athletic, you're probably too heavy. Most of the clinically obese population does not have the body fat % of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He, and other athletes, are outliers, not norms.

NIH, Limitations of BMI
•It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build.
•It may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle.

Hornsby

Yea, only use that scale for weight. The rest of the "guesses" are going to be wrong.

FitCattitude

2 weeks is a very small window of time on the weight loss journey. Don't obsess over minor differences on the scale. They will only discourage you or give you false hope. You have to "trust the process" not the scale.

As previous posts have stated, water retention and a myriad of other factors can make your weight fluctuate. Muscle growth is actually a slow process and is rarely the culprit if you gain a few pounds here and there- especially if you are eating at a calorie deficit.

If you exercise regularly and eat at a calorie deficit- the weight WILL come off. Just make sure you are eating the proper number of calories for your goals and make sure you are getting your macros- occasional excesses will not derail the entire process, but getting discouraged from a slight rise in your weight will. Stay the course and weigh yourself once a month- early in the morning before you've had anything to eat, after you take care of nature's business, with no clothes on, using the same scale for every weigh in.

Good luck! MFP has a lot of ways to help.

Thankyou for advice. I really like the idea of weighing-in monthly ... really shifts the focus onto getting on with the actual journey, instead of a head full of crazy numbers, lol. Glad to realise that it's water weight, plus to hear that muscle growth is slow, especially for a woman. That fat'll fall off faster than muscle goes on is very reassuring! Thanks for good wishes too.

FitCattitude

Thanks for advice, and reassurance it most likely is water weight etc. (It's the Omron BF511 Family Body Composition Monitor I'm using.)

You may want to just use that for your weight and not body fat, muscle, BMR, etc... They are wildly inaccurate. Your weight is going to fluctuate constantly. If you're the type that likes to weigh yourself often, pay more attention to trends, and realize there will be a lot of up and down. If it's gradually going down, you're good. If your ups and downs are staying about the same, you're maintaining, if they go up, you're gaining.

Thanks. Definitely going to shift from weekly to monthly weigh-in. Shifting focus to actually being more present with the exercise and nutrition journey feels much better than getting too involved in any frequent fluctuations that occur, as you say.

FitCattitude

2 weeks isn't long enough to tell any trends, even in body weight.

If you got that data from a scale in your home, it's probably inaccurate. Trust the weight. Weigh yourself every day/week/month at the same time and look at the trend over 4-8 weeks.

It is impossible to accurately calculate body fat % by stepping onto a scale.

Thanks for reassurance about water weight. Definitely shifting to monthly weigh-in, and not sure what to do about this scale now, lol. At least it's useful for actual weight, so no chucking it out of the window yet, lol.

FitCattitude

Hi! Wow that is a lot of numbers and data. :noway:
I have been at this close to 2 weeks now and only weighed myself once when I first started, plus I took measurements, even of my pinky finger, cause you just never know:laugh: . I might wait to weigh and remeasure myself again in a week or two just because I have read on here that the first couple weeks is just inconsistent with what the body is going through.
Hopefully by the time I weigh-in again and measure, I can see where I stand and make adjustments at the moment (with the help of the professionals on here :happy: .

As beginners, it is really hard to tell what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong. Even the right stuff might not seem that way at the beginning because nothing but our actions are changing. But that is a better change than nothing at all.

My rookie advice to you is, just leave the numbers for the mathematicians and stick to the basics for now until you find the rhythm that works.. and when that seems to no longer change, then it could be time to mix it up again! We are now friends so I will be joining you in this journey!

Best of Luck to you and YOU CAN DO THIS!! WE can do this! :bigsmile:

~Cyn

Awesome, Cyn! Thank you. Great to journey this together, and I'm sure you're right we can do this! Lol, pinky. I think you're right that so early in the journey the body must be going 'what the heck? ...' lol, and will settle down over a few weeks. I don't think I've ever eaten so much wholegrain in 2 weeks as this 2 weeks, lol. :laugh: Great to learn and adapt, and it's great here; everyone is so helpful. Sounds cool to me to keep things simple and focussed. Best of luck to you too. I agree; WE CAN DO THIS! :happy:

FitCattitude

couldn't tell you about the rest of them but for what it's worth BMI is pretty terrible indication of health.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime was clinically obese according to his BMI

BMI is a good starting point. It does not tell the whole story, but no measurement does. If you have a morbidly obese BMI (BMI 40+) and you are not athletic, you're probably too heavy. Most of the clinically obese population does not have the body fat % of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He, and other athletes, are outliers, not norms.

NIH, Limitations of BMI
•It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build.
•It may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle.

eek, have to say that last sentence resonated a bit, lol. Glad to know roughly what BMI is, and can see that a roughly correct measurement can help in some way. That fact's sinking in a bit now about Arnie; thankfully as a woman I won't end up that big, lol.

FitCattitude

Yea, only use that scale for weight. The rest of the "guesses" are going to be wrong.

Thanks for advice