Muscle gain vs weight gain?

katattack

Heya!

I've been "back on track" for about a month now, and started tracking my calories on MFP consistently for about a week. I would say that my nutrition leading up to re-joining MFP has been pretty good, and this past week I have felt great about my eating habits.

BUT... I weighed myself today and my weight has gone up 2 lbs since I weighed myself 2 weeks ago. How?! Why?! I haven't been *perfect* in the food department, but consistently come in near or around my calorie goals (including exercise calories of course!)

Could this be muscle gain...? Does muscle gain happen this quickly? I've been doing INSANITY twice a week, and weight training different muscle groups about 5-6 times a week, and a couple short runs (5k or less). But I haven't felt like I was working *that* hard to warrant 2 lbs of muscle gain.

Or does weight loss really necessitate super clean eating?

I used to be a long distance runner and about a year ago was in great shape, so this is all very frustrating.

Any insights? Please?

cashnhaydensmama

did you measure yourself as well as weigh yourself two weeks ago? If so, have you tried measuring yourself again?

hottottie11

Probably not muscle. You have to be in a caloric surplus for that to happen. It is most likely water retention from exercise. No worries.

elmsallmissile

Probably accounting errors, either content/amount of food, or calorie burn figures for exercise.

I have logged only half of the minutes I have spent on the road bike as (I feel) MFP gives a ridiculously optimistic calorie burn estimate.

DopeItUp

Probably not muscle. You have to be in a caloric surplus for that to happen. It is most likely water retention from exercise. No worries.

Exactly, I find that when I exert myself heavily I retain a bunch of water while my muscles repair. If you're a woman and eating at a deficit there's a 99% chance you're not going to gain any muscle.

erickirb

Probably not muscle. You have to be in a caloric surplus for that to happen. It is most likely water retention from exercise. No worries.

Ditto this

raige123

I'll tell you what I do which is up for major debate on this site. I follow Jillian Michaels advice and don't eat back any of my exercise calories. She thinks it's BS that you get extra calories because you exercise. Bob Harper has even said you can eat yourself out of the gym by doing so. They have taken weight off of tonnes of people so I believe them and it works for me. I just make sure to eat/drink a high protein meal following my gym time for recovery (ex: and egg white omellette and low carb protein shake).

MFP apparently calculates these exercise calories and wants you to eat them back but ... that wouldn't work for me and I have lost almost 39 lbs. Find what works for you.

DopeItUp

Or does weight loss really necessitate super clean eating?

Nope, clean eating has nothing to do with weight loss. Weight loss is calories in < calories out. If you burn more than you eat, you will lose weight. Period.

elcorcoran

When I started P90X, I weighed 130lbs. Two weeks into phase one, I had been dieting and exercising, and was excited to see my weightloss, but when I stepped on the scale, I weighed 138. I don't know if it was water weight or muscle, but it CRUSHED me. So I decided to stop weighing myself and focus solely on how my clothes are fitting. It's been a month since then and I haven't stepped on a scale once, but my clothes are definitely fitting more loosely. I suggest you try sticking to a routine and using measurements (I never got around to that part) and your clothes as your guide.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

I mean I doubt its muscle, only beacause it takes more than two weeks to notice a change. When do you weigh yourself? Weight fluctuates day to day, hour to hour - depending on what you eat, how much fluid is in you, etc. For the most accurate result, weigh yourself in the morning when you first wake up AFTER you use the bathroom but BEFORE you eat breakfast.

Hope this helps! xx

UponThisRock

You can't gain 2 lbs of muscle in 2 weeks, it's most likely water.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

I'll tell you what I do which is up for major debate on this site. I follow Jillian Michaels advice and don't eat back any of my exercise calories. She thinks it's BS that you get extra calories because you exercise. Bob Harper has even said you can eat yourself out of the gym by doing so. They have taken weight off of tonnes of people so I believe them and it works for me. I just make sure to eat/drink a high protein meal following my gym time for recovery (ex: and egg white omellette and low carb protein shake).

MFP apparently calculates these exercise calories and wants you to eat them back but ... that wouldn't work for me and I have lost almost 39 lbs. Find what works for you.

I think it all depends person to person, honestly. Every person reacts to different diets, foods, and workout routines differently because we are all physiologically different from one another. I think its worth it to try both for a couple weeks and see what works best for your body. Personally, eating back my exercise calories has worked wonders for my weight loss goals and my energy levels.

juliapurpletoes

How do you account for your food intake? After doing alot of reading on this site it seems most folks aren't as accurate as they might think about their calories "in".

So if you don't already, get an inexpensive digital food scale and measure then record. eyeballing and even measuring cups usually lead to inaccurate food calories logged.

Same for calories burned. Heart rate monitors with chest strap are best at tracking these although nothing is perfect. Don't forget to subtract off your resting calories from your burned calorie total....especially if you are only trying to lose less than 40 pounds.

Accuracy is everything. I would guess that your 2 pound gain is water retention, that said you should have lost a small amount by now, so I'd suggest tightening up on your measuring and logging methods.

Best of Luck

firedragon064

I read some where. Women can gain average 1 lbs\ of mucle PER MONTH.
It's not that easy for women to gain muscle mass.
The best way is measurement. I tried not step on the scale because it does discourage me when it does not move.

katattack

Wow! Thanks for the advice everyone! Lots to think about. I'm hoping that this may be water weight and so I'm going to make a point to drink more water and see how that helps, as well as weigh myself at a more consistent time.

I'm also going to start measuring and see if I can spot any difference in about 2 weeks from now, as well as try to use a food scale whenever possible (though I don't want to get obsessive).

Thanks again! The advice is very much appreciated. You guys rock!!

Xx Kat