How???? Just how????

ChristineDiet

I have been diligent with my food for the past weeks, and over the course of this weekend alone I walked and hiked over 25km. Am I sore? Well, my calves are very tight. Did I drink all of the water that I could? Let's just say GALLONS! Did the scale register a loss? Nope, NOT YET! Do I know that it will? Definitely.....I know that my muscles are healing and holding onto water, so the scale will show my hard work in a few days....but then again, I will be back out there adding more milage, so the scale is not going to be the best judge.

The moral of the story? Don't let the scale determine how well you are doing....take your measurments, listen to your breathing when you are working out (is it getting easier to carry on a convo while you exercise?), how do you feel.....like you are getting healthier? No one but you sees the number on the scale, so don't let it determine how you are doing!!!!!

Great post. Thanks. It is true - your muscle's ache like mad and you drink plenty of water to help, but then you go and do another workout - back to square one with the muscles I guess. I suppose time will tell. Thanks. x

Runningirl7284

When you exercise alot it makes your muscles sore, when they are sore and injured, they retain water. It will let and and you will drop it.

THIS ^^^^

MaraDiaz

Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. It's denser. 1lb of fat and 1lb of muscle weigh 1lb each.

This is very pedantic.

When people say x weighs more than x they mean by density/volume. They obviously don't mean 1lb is more than 1lb, that is obvious.

People will say bricks weigh more than feathers, and muscle weighs more than fat. It's simply a shorthand way to say a certain volume of one thing weighs more than a certain volume of another.

True, but it's a favorite pet peeve of people around here.

Anyway, no one gains two pounds of muscles in a single weekend of exercise.

Water weight held to repair the muscles makes sense to me. I always gain weight after my idea of a hard workout (and it isn't even that much of a workout in my case). It even takes a few days of not exercising before it seems to go away.

So yeah, ignore the scale, you know you spent the weekend being healthy and burning a lot of calories, don't let those numbers fool you!

rides4sanity

I had the exact thing happen last weekend. Had a crazy hard workout week and scale showed me up 3 pound at my weekly weigh in. I looked at my diary and it had been higher in sodium than normal (still okay) and I had diet soda which I know doesn't work well for me. I was within calories for the week and jsut couldn't figure it out. I reweighed two days later and was back to normal. Theory: I drank a lot while working out and that combined with the more extreme workout (can causes body to reserve water)sodium and diet soda cause water retention lead to the apparent gain, but becasue it was water it went away with a few days.
Chin up keep up the good work it will pay off!

bcattoes

Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. It's denser.

OMG I wish people would stop posting this nonsense. Muscle weighs more because it's denser!! I'm sure the poster was intelligent enough to know that 1 lb of muscle doesn't weigh more than 1 lb of anything else. Geez!

TheFitHooker

Never mind I don't want to be tore apart for that. Just wish people would stop saying muscle weighs more then fat, it doesn't make sense.

Tatyanne

Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. It's denser. 1lb of fat and 1lb of muscle weigh 1lb each.

This is very pedantic.

When people say x weighs more than x they mean by density/volume. They obviously don't mean 1lb is more than 1lb, that is obvious.

People will say bricks weigh more than feathers, and muscle weighs more than fat. It's simply a shorthand way to say a certain volume of one thing weighs more than a certain volume of another.

Thank you so much

mmtiernan

you gain muscle!!! Muscle weights more that fat.
Do not worry.
Do not register only your weight, take you measurments also!
When I started running I gain 3Kls (almost 7lbs) in a few months, and i noticed my legs were great and I lost some inches in several places

Kisses

OMG, seriously? NO, muscle doesnt weigh more than fat. one pound of something vs. one pound of something else is still one pound!!!!!! havent we already learned this by now!!
And No, you didnt gain muscle!!
its just water weight!!
it takes ALOT of time and ALOT of training to gain muscle mass, look at weight lifters and how long it takes them to get to where they are!

its just water weight trust me!

anytime you start a new workout your muscles need more water and fuel to repaire therfore it will hold on to the water for recovery. it will go away in a few days.

http://bankshealth.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/weight-gain-with-new-exercise-programs/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/393797-water-retention-after-resistance-training

Uh yes, per VOLUME, muscle DOES weigh more than fat! It is absolutely possible to be the same size and weigh more, if your body composition is more muscular because the muscle is more dense and weighs more by VOLUME than fat does. One square inch of cement weighs more than one square inch of jell-o.

I understand folks are trying to dispel a misconception, but please, if you are going to reply, make sure you give correct information.

To the original poster: please, don't rely so heavily on the scale. Your weight can fluctuate several times daily, depending on water retention and many other factors. Get yourself a tape measure and use your mirror - they will never lie to you! And, kudos on the karate! I was heavy into TaeKwonDo before I had my daughter and loved, loved, loved it!! She is going off to college next year and at nearly 50, I'm thinking about taking it back up again! Keep rocking it girl!!

jmlopes

Don't be alarmed, measure yourself to see. I started 2 weeks ago going to the pool 3 times/week for an 45min each training. barely lost weight, but I feel stronger with less difficulty doing the training and am actually getting thinner but not yet lighter

like other people already said here, muscle is more dense than fat. You can weight the same but loosing volume.

As an example: having 1 pound of cotton and 1 pound of lead. They weight the same yes (1 pound each), but have different volumes! that is because of the density of each material, something similar is going between fat and muscle. Hope it helps

escloflowneCHANGED

I have the same problem, if I workout very hard my body just retains water. For example I weighed in on Friday at 236, I didnt go to the gym Saturday because I went out and ate what I wanted and drank until 3 in the morning, Sunday hungover I said screw it no gym today and had take out...Monday morning I weighed 232. Hit the gym again hard yesterday and today I am 235lbs. I have given up with the scale, it isn't accurate and is really a meaningless number if I feel and look better!

PeaceLoveVeggies

For me, it's usually my monthly cycle that makes me gain weight every darn time. Grrr.

HauteP1nk

Don't get angry or upset over 3lbs!

Honestly I fluctuate that all the time - up and down, and even within the same day! It can be for a variety of reasons - the food you ate, how fast your blood is pumping, hormones, water, etc.

Yesterday for example I weighed myself when I got home and then again before bed....it was a difference of 2.5lbs! Then I weighed myself this morning and I weighed 4lbs less then I did before bed. Have patience. Right now you are losing and your body is adjusting....

Keep up the good work!

ArroganceInStep

I'm in karate as well. Last week I was assisting with a black belt testing, my piece was a pretty grueling 4 hour workout. The next day I had gained 4 pounds. It's water weight, don't sweat it...or do...you know what I mean.

tinawharrison

Cheers guys, I'll keep plodding on with the karate, swimming, boxing and walking and try and ditch the scales!! Not easy though :huh:

CRVDiva

I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading your reply. This morning I posted on my status that I was up 1lb even though I have been following the program and skipped chocolate over the Easter holidays and followed the MFP program. This now explains why I may have gone up. Thanks again as I was feeling a little down after my weigh-in this morning.

Don't be discouraged, just take a look at my diary food notes, I weight in daily and log it as a food note, my weight (as well as everyone's) fluctuates wildly. For instance, I lost a full pound over night and I literally only did a 1/2 a workout yesterday - craziness. By keeping track like I do you see that weight loss isn't steady, its up a bit, down a bit and all over but it does come off. Hang in there.

lambertj

Glad my post helped. Many say don't weigh in daily but I've found it to be helpful and keeps me from panicking. I was at my lowest weigh in on Saturday and up 4 lbs today. The old me would be so down but the new me just laughed, i'll be down again in a few days

Tourney3p0

1957 Chevrolets weighs more than feathers.

OMG no they don't! Ten thousand pounds of 1957 Chevrolets weighs exactly the same as ten thousand pounds of feathers!

All joking aside, it's incredibly sad that people feel the need to be "pedantic" by pointing out an incredibly obvious distinction that everyone already knows and understands. If the quantity isn't given, it's no more correct to assume a given weight than a given quantity. This is why units of volume are used.

ElizabethRoad

Muscle vs. fat doesn't matter because she didn't gain 2 pounds of muscle over a weekend.