Muscle=Gaining a few pounds?

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MissKaay
MissKaay Posts: 25
in Health and Weight Loss
I've burned most of all my fat, but I've gone up a few pounds, is that because muscle weighs more than fat?
I don't think there's anyway I could gain.. I exercise like crazy.

Replies

  • trainguy917
    trainguy917 Posts: 366 Member
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    Yes, it's entirely possible that you've put on muscle weight, especially if you are working out hard. If you are lifting weights, it could be a combination of muscle weight and water weight as you inflame the muscles through lifting. The muscles hold water as they repair themselves. That goes away with time, but either way, it's not fat.
  • sweetn3ss
    sweetn3ss Posts: 341 Member
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    Yes you will gain weight from muscle, but it should balance out soon! Good Luck
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Probably not, it is next to impossible to build muscle if you are in a caloric deficit, building muscle takes months of hard work heavy weights and a lot of calories. Most likely what you are seeing is water weight. If you started a new routine your muscles may be storing water to help repair.
  • robstot
    robstot Posts: 36 Member
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    I know the problem as I am experiencing it right now and as erickrb has suggested, water retention could be the issue. I was losing quickly and now have plateaued, actually gained five pounds back, but I work out intensely 6 days a week with heavy weights and reps. but erik, I have increased my arm size and shoulders and chest even with caloric deficit. I have no explanation but I would like to start losing the weight again.and reach my goal of leanness and 175 pounds. Has anyone experienced the up and down before the weight starts coming off again?

    thanks
  • whyflysouth
    whyflysouth Posts: 308 Member
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    Probably not, it is next to impossible to build muscle if you are in a caloric deficit, building muscle takes months of hard work heavy weights and a lot of calories. Most likely what you are seeing is water weight. If you started a new routine your muscles may be storing water to help repair.

    What he said. "It's gotta come from somewhere." It's most probably water, you'd be surprised by how much water your body can hold when you're putting yourself through a strenuous routine. To give you an idea, I weigh 152 in the morning when I'm pretty dehydrated, I eat at caloric maintanence (meaning I burn through whatever food I eat in one day), yet by the end of the night, I can weigh as much as 159 lbs! That's 7 lbs of water! The next morning I'm back at 152. If I stop lifting or stop high intensity exercise for about a week or two, I quickly find myself down to 147 as my body essentially doesn't need to hold so much water for what I'm normally doing (sedentary software development). This is also the reason weighing oneself in lbs don't really help, there's too much fluctuation on the day to day that losing or gaining 5-7 lbs doesn't really mean anything... it's the BIG picture that matters.
  • whyflysouth
    whyflysouth Posts: 308 Member
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    I know the problem as I am experiencing it right now and as erickrb has suggested, water retention could be the issue. I was losing quickly and now have plateaued, actually gained five pounds back, but I work out intensely 6 days a week with heavy weights and reps. but erik, I have increased my arm size and shoulders and chest even with caloric deficit. I have no explanation but I would like to start losing the weight again.and reach my goal of leanness and 175 pounds. Has anyone experienced the up and down before the weight starts coming off again?

    thanks

    Rob, that's increase in arm and shoulder size is water - I've experienced the same thing, I've been lifting very heavy these last 4 weeks and after the first two weeks or so my shoulders and chest broadened, my arms got bigger, and my shirts got tighter. It's happened before, it's not muscle, it's water, water will be retained by your muscles so your muscles will look bigger - it's doesn't last. Muscle takes time my friend, when you see these built guys with all the muscles, etc - they've been at it for years. Once your muscles get used to your routine (and it takes time) then they will not retain as much. Once you stop working out, they'll let go of the water. Remember muscles are mostly water, fat on the other hand is hydrophobic, insoluble in water, and doesn't retain any for that reason. Most people lose weight because they want a certain look, I wouldn't worry about the water or the weight if I were you, the focus should be more on % body fat unless you've got some real weight limit for competition purposes. Also if you're on a caloric deficit, the weight will come off, lifting weights ensures that your body won't catabolize too much muscle in the process.
  • robstot
    robstot Posts: 36 Member
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    hey thanks for the information. I used to work out quite a bit but stopped and have gotten back into it the past 6 months. it is only the past 8 weeks I have changed my diet to achieve a more defined look. I am in for the long haul so your encouraging words will help during the down times. And the body fat %, yes it has dropped. I am now under the 12% from 14% a few weeks ago. My goal is to reach 8% which is not unreasonable.

    thanks again

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