Should you weigh yourself when you lift?

kassiebby1124

I know the scale is evil regardless, but should I weigh myself when I lift or base it on clothing? I don't know how to measure, so I generally go with how my clothes fit. Or is weighing myself a smart idea, too?

kassiebby1124

Bump

nz_deevaa

I suggest you put the weights down before you weigh.

Yanicka1

^^^^ lol.

My opinion is to use pictures. The scale will be all over the place and even the measuring tape can sometime not give you the whole story.

__RANDY__

Trust the weights, Eat Right and you'll be pleasantly surprised in a few months.

hannah_ryann

Unless you're eating OVER maintenance because you're trying to bulk, weight loss should still occur. Eating at a deficit while lifting will still result in weight loss. I will say that in my opinion, weight loss will happen more slowly but the number on the scale should still be going down.

I just started a lifting routine and I'm up 3 pounds on the scale, but I know part of that is my body getting shocked by the new movements and partly because of the intramuscular water retention. The more I lift, the less I expect my weight to fluctuate so much.

I will say that I expect weight loss to happen more slowly because of my lifting routine but I still have about 20 more pounds of fat to lose.

That being said, I've lifted before so I don't expect newbie gains of muscle, but you might just be starting out so you might actually be able to gain a little muscle while on a deficit. That definitely is the exception to the rule, thought. Bottom line: eating at a caloric deficit will still result in (fat) weight loss even when you are lifting. I believe Lyle Mcdonald has an article on expecting temporary weight gain on the scale when starting a program, but the temp. increase should subside within a couple of weeks.

Happy lifting!

holothuroidea

I think you should weigh yourself if you want to, with the knowledge that lifting might cause temporary gains and that it won't give you the full picture of changes in your BF%.

You should probably measure and/or take pictures, as these will give you a better idea of your progress than the scale but that doesn't mean you should never weigh yourself ever again.

JesterMFP

Either way would work. I've always preferred to use weight along with tape measurements, pictures and how clothing fits to get a good all-round idea of what's happening. Weight lifting won't prevent you losing weight (if you're eating at a deficit), but you may stall a little at the beginning, and you might see more fluctuations day to day than you would otherwise. As long as you don't let that discourage you, I don't see a problem with weighing yourself along with those other methods.