Gaining muscle, gaining weight

paxbfl

So I've lost over 40 pounds and am feeling great. My body fat is 16% and I'm under my target weight, so I changed up my workout with the primary goal of building muscle. I am lifting heavy, eating more (including lots of protein) and doing a bit less cardio. I thought I was netting right around my TDEE, maybe a hair over.

After 3 weeks or so, I am seeing gains in muscle and strength. Now my weight is creeping up a couple pounds. This makes me nervous (since I just lost all that weight) but this is to be expected, right? If I'm gaining muscle I will likely gain weight, right?

JenMc14

You will gin weight. You will also gain fat, just so you know. Just keep an eye on the gains, too much too fast is likely not all muscle.

NotBonJovi

Muscle weighs more than fat. However, pictures and measurements don't lie. Have you checked them?

ChrisLindsay9

When did you start lifting heavy? Typically, when someone starts lifting, he or she can build muscle and lose fat at the same time. But after the "newbie" muscle gains diminish, then muscle growth and body fat will increase and decrease together (based on how much you eat).

If you want to be stronger, then you're have to obtain a bit of body fat. If you want to be leaner, then cut the calories and know that you may lose a bit of muscle. Whatever you do, keep lifting. And good work so far!

paxbfl

Thanks for the comments! One nice thing about my experience losing weight is that I'm confident I can drop weight if needed. So I plan to keep doing what I'm doing for 3 months, then drop some fat again to get lean.

skadoosh33

If you have gained a couple pounds in 3 weeks you might want to cut some calories. Serious training will allow you to gain 10lbs of lean muscle in the first year max. That is less than a lb/mth. Muscle will come slowly. Average person maybe 5lbs in that initial year. So be careful on the weight gain. It is a good idea to get below 10% body fat (to see your abs) and gauge the weight gain during bulk. That way if you stop seeing your abs, you are gaining too much fat.

paxbfl

If you have gained a couple pounds in 3 weeks you might want to cut some calories. Serious training will allow you to gain 10lbs of lean muscle in the first year max. That is less than a lb/mth. Muscle will come slowly. Average person maybe 5lbs in that initial year. So be careful on the weight gain. It is a good idea to get below 10% body fat (to see your abs) and gauge the weight gain during bulk. That way if you stop seeing your abs, you are gaining too much fat.

Thanks for that. I think I will cut back my calories a bit. As long as I continue to see strength/muscle gains (and don't lose weight) then I'm good with it. Then I'll still do the fat-burning cycle to get lean after I've gained some muscle for a bit.