WHAT?

jan169

I feel like whenever I workout consistently, it is hard to find results in my weight. But after a couple of days of not working out, I seem to lose 1 or 2lbs? What is this?

ansonrinesmith

Depends on the type of workout.
Strength Training will add muscle while burning fat. You will see loss in inches though!
Many people feel that measurements are a better fitness scale than weight.

patriot201

Water. When you exercise, your muscles pull water in, which leads to weight "gain." (NOT really gain!)

Michelle_M2002

It takes time for you body to break down fat. And at the same time, if you are doing strength training you're putting on muscle. In addition, when you work out, your muscles tear. Then they retain water during the healing process. So you actually have some water retention that can show up as a temporary gain. Then if you go a few days without working out, that water retention in your muscles go away, showing a loss.

It's another reason why "they" say you should only weigh yourself once a week to get an accurate reading of you progress. And it's also why you should not rely JUST on the scale to track progress.

God bless!

skinnymoomoo

when I did the 30ds I lost no weight at all and got a bit put off by it, til I got out the measuring tape... I lost many inches. )

servilia

I agree with the water in the muscles posts. I wear tight pants to the gym and after my workout I notice my legs actually look bigger! lol It used to upset me until I noticed they would go back down the next day.

NoAdditives

Depends on the type of workout.
Strength Training will add muscle while burning fat. You will see loss in inches though!
Many people feel that measurements are a better fitness scale than weight.

If you're eating at a calorie deficit you won't be building much muscle. It takes a lot of work and a lot of extra food to get your body to actually make new muscle tissue.

That said, if you are doing strength training your muscles will hold onto water while they recover. Make sure you drink a protein shake after your strength training so that your muscles can absorb the sugars to help recover faster. You won't be as sore after your workout and you won't retain unnecessary water.

SeanMurphy

If you're eating at a calorie deficit you won't be building much muscle. It takes a lot of work and a lot of extra food to get your body to actually make new muscle tissue.

Not entirely true, you can quite readily gain muscle and lose fat simultanouesly. The 'bulking and cutting' cycle that many bodybuilders go through is complete bunk and actually very unhealthy. You do need to have a lot of protein in your diet to gain muscle, but protein is not calorie dense. If you are looking to gain muscle at optimum efficiency, you need to have about 2g of protein per lb of body weight (very roughly), spread out over 4-5 little meals during the day.

If you have a couple scoops of whey protein in water (NOT "protein shakes", they're usually just all sugar), throughout the day, and eat low calorie protein sources (chicken breast, tuna, tofu, beans, etc) as well as plenty of vegetables for vitamins and fiber, then you can easily hit this target while staying well under a calorie deficit limit.