muscle

eveejo

could i not be losing weight because i am excersising and gain muscle?

I've been walking/ running/ biking a lot more than i used to, but I've also been on a 1200 calorie diet, and i haven't been losing weight. I know its only been 3 weeks, but i still thought i would have atleast lost 2 pounds. comments? suggestions?

C00lCountry

Are you eating any of your exercise calories back?

keith0373

Highly unlikely. Women take a long time to put on muscle mass. Even as a guy lifting 3 times a week and doing cardio 7 days a week and on a very high protein diet, I only put on about 7-8 pounds in a year.

Just stick with it, it will come. Everyone goes through stretches where they are doing everything right and not losing. You'll see a big jump at some point if you stay with it

elprincipito

eat moar

AZKristi

It is unlikely that you are increasing lean body mass while maintaining such a large caloric deficit. Sorry to be a bummer, just my somewhat educated opinion.

Plates559

could i not be losing weight because i am excersising and gain muscle?

I've been walking/ running/ biking a lot more than i used to, but I've also been on a 1200 calorie diet, and i haven't been losing weight. I know its only been 3 weeks, but i still thought i would have atleast lost 2 pounds. comments? suggestions?

Walking, Running, Biking provide little to no muscle resistance, that and with your calorie deficit, there is no way you are building any muscle, what so ever.

californiagirl2012

could i not be losing weight because i am excersising and gain muscle?

I've been walking/ running/ biking a lot more than i used to, but I've also been on a 1200 calorie diet, and i haven't been losing weight. I know its only been 3 weeks, but i still thought i would have atleast lost 2 pounds. comments? suggestions?

It takes longer than 3 weeks sometimes to lose. Patience. Also you will not gain muscle that fast, but you could retain water.

Even though 1200 is such a stupid number to get stuck on, it is meaningless without your height or RMR/BMR. What you need to eat for a deficit is relative to your BMR/RMR. If you are short you really don't have much room for up compared to the 1200. If you are taller you will have a higher BMR/RMR and can go up or down and still be in a deficit (way above 1200) so you can lose no matter what. All that matters is a calorie deficit. Some people can handle a big calorie deficit and some can't (relative to their BMR/RMR). Even a small calorie deficit puts your body in a state of flux, some people more than others. Everyone is different. Neither way is right or wrong.

You just need to find the correct calories for YOU to be healthy and sustainable and and still lose weight. It might require some experimentation and tremendous patience. You can always notch up and down by 100 until you find what is sustainable and still allows you to lose weight.

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

Plates559

^ not really true on your whole height theory.

3dogsrunning

Grr. Just lost my whole post.

Adding muscle is not likely what has happened. It is difficult enough for women to add muscle in the ideal situation (ie eating a surplus, enough protein and lifting heavy). While beginner gains are possible, it still wouldn't be a huge amount in a couple of weeks. And you haven't mention lifting heavy (and this is relative to you)

What is likely has happened is simply water retention. When we first star working out or increase intensity, ours muscles increase glycogen stores in anticipation for the next time. Glycogen requires water for storage. This contributes to a higher weight or a maintenance. (keep in mind water weight can fluctuate 5lbs in one day)

Keep in mind that the scale is an unreliable measure of progress. It doesn't always accurately reflect fat loss, especially smaller ones. You may still have lost fat (the main goal here) while keeping same weight. Water weight can mask small losses. Hang in there. The scale will move.

And. Heck this out
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/350212--why-scales-lie?hl=Why+scales+lie

victoria4321

Try measuring and weighing your food. Most people eat more than they think they are