Muscle gain or fat gain

aguinaldojamie

How do you know if the weight you gained on the scale is muscle or fat? I checked my weight today an i'm horrified to see that i gained a few pounds but since i work out i don't know whether or not the weight i gained is muscle or fat. I don't have calipers though so another easy home solution would be really great.

3laine75

Tape measure

2013sk

Get your body fat measured and go by that.........the scales are a bloody nightmare......and only weigh once a week

tonytoo

When you say "workout" what do you mean? If it's just cardio then you probably gained fat. If is strength training then there's a good chance it's muscle.

neandermagnon

I agree re tape measure

you gain fat slowly, and it accumulates so you'll gain inches somewhere as you gain it, depending on your body type it may be your hips, boobs or stomach where you gain it, so it's a good idea to measure all those, and your upper thigh (right at the top where women tend to store fat) - if those measurements are staying the same then you''re not gaining fat.

If you've recently started an exercise programme your muscles are probably retaining water, which is a good thing. It's part of the growth and repair process. That's the most likely cause of the weight gain.

If you are gaining fat, you will see a slow increase in scale weight alongside slow increases in inches, the places I mentioned above.

It's quite common to gain weight and lose inches when you start out on a healthy eating and exercise plan... basically what happens is you lose some fat (loss of inches) but your muscles retain water, so your weight stays the same or goes up. The important thing at this point is to stick at it, for more fat loss, and the water weight gains sort themselves out and you start to see the scale weight and inches go down as you lose fat.

3dogsrunning

It could be neither. Weight fluctuates for any number of reasons.
If you are eating in a deficit, it is unlikely muscle gain. Any amount of muscle gained would be very minimal.
If you just started working out, it is likely water retention in the muscles due to glycogen stores.

If you are heavy lifting and eating at a surplus, then it would be a combination of both. You don't exclusively gain one or the other.

Without knowing what you are doing for exericise, how much you are eating, how much you have gained and what time frame we are talkinga bout here, it is difficult to answe.r

SenseiCole

if you eat healthy and below your cals and don't cheat, and weigh and measure your food then it is very unlikely you gain fat

I will gain this week, but it is not fat.... it is muscle ,this week I did 2 x 2.5 hours at the gym, burning 1000 cals bother day. I eat 1200 and eat same of the cals earn. I train 6 to 7 day a week.

take your measurement will help too

i Hope this helps

anyone can add me

3dogsrunning

if you eat healthy and below your cals and don't cheat, and weigh and measure your food then it is very unlikely you gain fat

I will gain this week, but it is not fat.... it is muscle ,this week I did 2 x 2.5 hours at the gym, burning 1000 cals bother day. I eat 1200 and eat same of the cals earn. I train 6 to 7 day a week.

take your measurement will help too

i Hope this helps

anyone can add me

You are not gaining muscle eating 1200 calories a day, working out that much and eating even half of those workout calories.