Why do I weigh the same or 3 lbs more?

jadedchick22
jadedchick22 Posts: 5
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I started working out on Monday and ate right. However I weighed myself and I gained 3 more lbs. I wondered if it's because of the water I drank and the amount of food I consume? Should I weigh myself before I eat or drink anything from now on or after I work out? Because lately I weighed myself after I workout... So that might be the reason why. Today is going to be the 4th day of eating right and working out. I do look a bit toner. Please help?? I am getting kind of discourage when I look at the scale =(.

Replies

  • tinyjoeret
    tinyjoeret Posts: 1
    you said you looked more toner, muscle does weigh more that fat. keep it up
  • sexygenius
    sexygenius Posts: 1,078 Member
    weigh yourself once a week in the morning before you have eaten, th same day and time.
  • hdelamore
    hdelamore Posts: 206 Member
    i always try to weight myself once a week, when i get up, no food in me no water, and do it the same day
    your weight fluctuates constantly during the day, and you can gain up to 3 lb trust me :)
  • ldowifey
    ldowifey Posts: 7 Member
    you said you looked more toner, muscle does weigh more that fat. keep it up
    Muscle and fat weigh the same.....but fat takes up more volume:)
  • skygoddess86
    skygoddess86 Posts: 487 Member
    Four days is really not very long. Give it some more time.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    So it's a valid question.

    There's a few things I'll let you know about before you start to panic though.

    First, it's probably a good idea that you start thinking in terms of weeks and months, not days. The human body just doesn't think in terms of days, that's too fast, and anything that happens between 1 or 2 or 3 or yes even 4 days is not something to be overly concerned with. What you really want to do is look for trends between months, but short of that, at least give yourself weeks to see any real change.

    Now, specifically with regards to your weight gain, I'd say it's probably a combination of you working out more, and the time which you weigh yourself.

    In humans muscles are made up of long fibrous strands called muscle fiber, for people that haven't been working out, depending on the amount of daily use a muscle receives, that muscle will have anywhere from 10% to 50% of the fibers in that muscle lie dormant. Because muscles use glycogen (glucose solution that uses water, and it's heavy) at the muscle source for energy, the more dormant muscle fibers you have, the less glucose you will have at the muscle site.

    WELL before we start to gain true muscle mass (which takes a minimum of many weeks, usually months) we activate dormant muscle fibers, that's why we gain weight initially on a new workout program, because active muscle fibers require glycogen, and glycogen is heavy, also the body recognizes the need for increased water and starts to save up more.

    Add to this that during any normal day your body can fluctuate up to 5 lbs in EITHER direction, and you have my thoughts on why you see a change in weight. This is all normal, and should be expected. It's a good thing, it means you have more metabolically active muscle, which in the end will burn more calories.
  • elysetoplin
    elysetoplin Posts: 253
    Another thing you might want to check is how much sodium you are getting...if you are getting a lot it can cause your body to retain water, so a lot of the gain could be water weight. I have noticed that when I go out to dinner for things that are saltier (like Asian food!) I will be way up the next day if I don't drink a lot of water to balance it out.
  • jozefsan
    jozefsan Posts: 5
    muscle and fat weight same?

    i must strongly disagre with that

    and for topic : you expecting changes after 4 days of helthy food and gym? well changes didnt come over night.
    eat properly and excercise and you will see first good changes in 1 months
  • kimpenelope
    kimpenelope Posts: 9
    Firstly 4 days isn't very long, you need to give it time if you want to keep it off. Weight yourself once a week at the same time of day, for example I always weigh myself on a Sunday at the gym as soon as I get there. Sometime the results can seem a little odd, but that depends on whether I went out the night before. I think Monday morn first thing is probs the best time.
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
    muscle and fat weight same?

    i must strongly disagre with that

    and for topic : you expecting changes after 4 days of helthy food and gym? well changes didnt come over night.
    eat properly and excercise and you will see first good changes in 1 months

    16 of anything is 16 oz....the volume of fat takes up more space but weight ounce for ounce is the same.
  • mvlaurel
    mvlaurel Posts: 22
    I agree with Chrissy. Picture a pound of brick and a pound of feathers. Both weigh a pound, but the feathers take up much more space!
  • sexygenius
    sexygenius Posts: 1,078 Member
    take a bucket of fat and a bucket or muscle the muscle ways far more..take an ounce (weight) of fat and an ounce of muscle there will be more fat. stateing that it weighs more is an acurrate thing to say..like saying water weighs more than oil (wich BLOWS my mind! always has)
  • NewImprovedCnbethea1
    NewImprovedCnbethea1 Posts: 1,108
    Okay let's look at weight if you have 2 scales side by side and you pour til it reach 5lbs there may look to be more fat on the one scale and less on the muscle scale but in reality it's still five lbs trust me they weigh the same the look is different so if you trade 5lbs of fat for 5lbs of muscle your going to lose inches but the scale will remain the same.

    As for your gain on the scale like the guy stated above when you first start out strength training your muscles may retain water and you may have a slight gain but normally if your having a good diet along with it you would stay the same and will notice inches and then the weight will start falling off.

    I tried to weighing after working out before and yes I did gain like you mentioned from the water and everything but the next morning before consuming any food or beverage the weight was gone.

    I suggest weighing once a week same day and time without having any fluids or food and give yourself a couple of weeks for the body to figure out what's going on I think you will be fine and congrats on getting started back!!

    One last thought for all of us you can not out exercise a bad diet Keep it clean MFP'ers we can all do this!!!:drinker:
  • sexygenius
    sexygenius Posts: 1,078 Member
    with this argument EVERYTHING weighs the same...does lead weigh the same as water? well five pounds of water weighs the same as five pounds of lead..but a cubic foot of water weighs alot less than a cubic foot of lead-lead weighs more...anyway your body changes weight all the time-four days isnt enough time to expect results..if you weigh your self constantly your going to make your self go insane! and that is amazing that you can see a difference in your tone already- lucky! :p

    sorry for being such a troll :(
  • abricklin
    abricklin Posts: 156 Member
    muscle and fat weight same?

    i must strongly disagre with that

    and for topic : you expecting changes after 4 days of helthy food and gym? well changes didnt come over night.
    eat properly and excercise and you will see first good changes in 1 months

    Are you in the camp of thinking that 10lb of feathers is lighter than 10 lb of bricks?
    the same VOLUME of muscle and fat will not weight the same, but the same WEIGHT will.
  • abricklin
    abricklin Posts: 156 Member
    with this argument EVERYTHING weighs the same...does lead weigh the same as water? well five pounds of water weighs the same as five pounds of lead..but a cubic foot of water weighs alot less than a cubic foot of lead-lead weighs more...anyway your body changes weight all the time-four days isnt enough time to expect results..if you weigh your self constantly your going to make your self go insane! and that is amazing that you can see a difference in your tone already- lucky! :p

    sorry for being such a troll :(

    you are not being a troll. I think you understand the concept but are saying it wrong and so it sounds like you don't when you do. KWIM? They DO weigh the same, its the VOLUME. Muscle is more dense so as others have said, 5 lbs of muscle = 5 lbs of fat on the scale but on your body it takes up less space.
    IE anyone who says "muscle weighs more than fat' is WRONG. The correct statement is that specific VOLUME of muscle weighs more than that volume of fat (cubic inch, cup, etc)
  • Jcrowe0317
    Jcrowe0317 Posts: 35 Member
    I agree with others that you should weigh yourself at the same time. Also, measure your success by how your clothes fit. I find it far more rewarding to fit into a pair of jeans that have been in the back of the closet (due to not fitting) than the scale. Exercise works regardless of the scale. Keep up the good work... the scale will catch up.
  • ashie075
    ashie075 Posts: 8 Member
    http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100212101
  • abricklin
    abricklin Posts: 156 Member
    http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100212101

    :)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    on the other hand, I dare you to try to put on 5 lbs of muscle. It's not as easy as it sounds, for most normal people that's a 4 to 6 month journey. Anyone who tells you you can gain 5 lbs of muscle in 2 or 3 or even 6 weeks is either straight up lying, is taking P.E.D.s or just plain doesn't know human physiology.

    It takes a very dedicated body builder to gain 5 lbs of muscle in less time. Can you make significant strength gains in that time? Yes, but it's a lot easier to lose 5 lbs of fat (even that elusive last 5) than it is to gain 5 lbs of muscle.
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