weight affected by muscle building

Posting though I don't have an answer, since this is exactly where I am and I'm curious about responses. I've been doing CrossFit for four months now, and definitely building strength, and I've lost some pounds and MANY inches but I also need to lose some more fat-weight. I see the body changes and get many comments from people about my new body definition.

From what I've read you won't gain any (or much) muscle if you are eating at a deficit, but if you do strength training you can maintain the lean muscle you have while losing fat (notice I didn't say losing weight). If you start lifting weights your actual scale weight will REALLY fluctuate, especially in the beginning with muscle water retention and what they call nooby gains. My advice don't get caught up on what the scale says and to go by body composition and measurements.

I haven't lost any weight in about 3 months, actually I've gained a pound. However, I am a pants size smaller than 3 months ago. I don't know if the scale weight will start going back down or not, but I'm not concerned about that. I also don't do near the amount of cardio you do, so you may lose weight faster but you'll lose some lean muscle too.

Also, we are about the same age so it's going to take some time, my weight loss has taken about a year and a half, ugggg. Be patient and stick with it.

Thank you- this is great information. It is definitely harder in my 40's! I'm not used to it being so hard. I do need to add weight in and was looking at them this morning in the gym- they are so intimidating to me- plus my build is so muscular already- I worry about really getting muscular. I know- every girl worries about that- but my natural build really is already that way.

That you for all the input. All good food for thought. Murphy- how much lifting do you do?

The age thing really got me too. In my 20's and early 30's I could lose weight just skipping dinner. Nope, not anymore. I'm glad I've done it slow and steady though, it feels like the right way

I lift 3 days a week, and a little fun cardio on other days. I'm not a fitness fanatic (hehe) and I prefer to work out efficiently instead of excessively. As for getting muscular, that's actually what I want and what I am working for. The thing with muscle is the more you have the higher your metabolism and the more I can eat It’s also great for bones, especially as we get older.

Being a woman you'll have to eat at a large surplus and most likely take steroids to get extremely muscular, so I wouldn’t worry about you getting to muscular (aka bulky). However, if you mean you don’t like to see as much muscle definition (the cut look) then you just have to keep your body fat % a little higher, but still lift weights for the other benefits. I have learned and what works for me is my diet is for weight/fat loss, exercise is for body composition and fitness and weight lifting has been awesome.

This is a great story about Staci, and how the number on the scale doesn't always reflect what you see in the mirror - and why the scale isn't as important. http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

In the pic on the right, she is 11 pounds heavier than the left.

in the beginning of weight training, the scale may even go UP even as inches go down... or you may weight increase and no change in inches but will have visible changes to your body ...all due to water retention & glycogen stores....

I always worried about bulking up because I'm so tall (5'10) so the last thing I want is to lose any femininity at all. I do like the fit look on a woman and would love that for myself as long as it's not bulky.

I'm 5'10" and I love lifting heavy - and what it's done for my body. The scale hasn't moved for a little while, but I've lost inches and gained definition. This weekend a friend spanked me and said how tiny my butt is getting (I squat 150 lbs and deadlift over 200). I really wouldn't worry about getting bulky; women naturally don't have the testosterone for it, and you have to eat at a calorie surplus while working really hard to build that much muscle.

I do free weights, if you haven't used them before I'd suggest a session or 2 with a trainer to teach you proper form, then follow a program like Stronglifts or Starting Strength. Don't be intimidated by the men in the free weight area! At least where I am they are all great, and always willing to lend a hand or answer a question.

Under perfect conditions, a woman can only gain about 1lb of muscle per month. There is no way you're offsetting fat loss with muscle gain, especially if you're eating a deficit.

You're probably just at a plateau, which is normal. If you've increased your activity that much without increasing your calories, you're probably not eating enough. Something very similar happened to me, and the weight started coming off again when I increased my calories by about 400/day.

Women don't get bulky for a couple of reasons. We gain muscle at about half the rate of men because of a lack of testosterone, our skeletal structure cannot support that much muscle mass (our bones are smaller and less dense), and it's very difficult (and unhealthy) for us to get to a bf% low enough to show significant muscle definition.

So unless you're taking steroids and making severe cuts to extreme bf%'s, there's no reason to worry about being "bulky."

i've been consistently weight lifting since i was around 17. between 17-24 I was doing that as an athlete (rugby) so it was combined with heavy workouts (weightlifting and running), and lots of good food. after i gave that up and entered the working world, i pretty much continued the weight lifting, lost the running and continued the eating :laugh:

so essentially i had a 20+ year bulk cycle. The result is that I have some pretty impressive lean body mass especially considering that I technically have a small frame (which was the entire point of me working so hard to gain weight as a rugby flanker). When i first decided to lose all this extra weight last year, I took a body fat scan and it had my LBM at around 150.

last year i lost a lot of fat but not a lot of weight. it was around 30 pounds but 5 pant sizes. i know people with same body shape (ruler) who needed to drop way more weight to get the same results in clothing changes.. so really i think for someone like me, i'm going to see more of a difference in my body composition rather than anything on the scale

ETA: regarding the bulky thing, i just wanted to say that even when i was in the middle of intentionally trying to pack on 20-30 pounds and eating over maintenance and working out like she-hulk i was never ever called manly looking. i think there are some chicks who are just manly looking anyway regardless if they weight lift or not :laugh:

Wow. That is amazing. I know almost every woman says the same thing about not wanting to get bulky- I should know better by now. I would like to start adding weights into my routine- actually- when you guys first started- did you start on the machines or free weights? Did you use trainers or just go for it?

Do free weights. Machines isolate muscle groups and completely bypass your core. Having to balance yourself on your feet throughout the movement makes a huge difference. You'll never get the same kind of athleticism from machines. Also it's a lot more fun.

I have a trainer, but you can learn a lot from youtube and do it yourself. It really helps to have a friend to watch your form and spot you, though.