Need some reassurance...
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tracieangeletti
Posts: 432 Member
I'm a week and a half into my heavy lifting program and I'm now 3 lbs heavier than before I started. I keep telling myself to relax and not to stress about it and that the weight gain could be from starting a new program but that little voice in the back of my head just won't SHUT UP. I probably wouldn't be as bothered by this but I am also dealing with a rather long plateau that I am hoping the heavier lifting will finally break. I seem to be gaining and losing the same several pounds. I have been lifting for several months but just with dumbbells and I'm not sure it would be considered heavy. I've increased my calories slightly over the last two days because since I started this program I've been hungrier but now I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't do that. Just feeling depressed, stressed, and confused. Feel like I'm spinning my wheels. :-/ Have any of you dealt with this when you first started? Did you gain and how much? When did you notice the scale start to drop? I know I shouldn't even worry about the scale but I feel like I even look a bit bigger. UGH. If it was the old days I'd just go and bury my face in some ice cream. :-/
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It's totally normal. Put the scale away and focus on weight progression on the bar, not on the scale. Weigh in every few weeks, because the weight fluctuations that come with weight training due to glycogen/water storage and so forth, will make you crazy otherwise ... My scale is in my closet now. I go by how my clothes fit and by how I look. If I step on it, I just get depressed, even though my body lets me know I'm doing just fine. So ... eff the scale, pretty much.0
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Yep, what Dani said. Water weight plays games with the scale while lifting. I've been weighing every day for the past month and a half just to see the patterns and let me tell you about the crazy swings I've been seeing and I have been at the heavy lifting for over 12 weeks now. I'm eating close to maintenance but I can go up and down 1-2 lbs in a day or 2-3 in a week (I "lost" 1.2 lbs just from yesterday to today and I had ice cream yesterday). So many factors play into what the scale says. The ONLY thing that I really pay attention to is what the tape measure or my belt does. I
It can be a difficult mental shift to not worry about what the scale says and focus on how you look and feel. It has taken me a few months to really grasp that. A few months ago I was trying so hard to not see 130 again. Now it is like, "Meh, I still wear a size 4 and can see my abs. 130 doesn't mean anything when I am happy with how I look."
If you are working for body composition, take a "before" picture and track progress that way. It is easier to see progress in side by side photos.0 -
Thanks so much guys! Feeling a lot better about it now. Good to know it's normal and others have had the same issues. I think in a week or so when I'm more confident in the lifts I'll be more relaxed. I will do my best to ignore the scale
Hard thing is it's the first thing I see when I enter the gym and I'm always thinking that maybe today is the day I've lost a pound. It just sits there and mocks me!! Lol. Thanks again!0 -
So I only weigh and take pictures every 3 months now. Truth.
I have gained 15lbs since I started lifting heavy at the end of November. Truth.
I also got my Mirena at the same time.....which I'm sure has at least a little something to do with it as well.
BUT
if you were to see my progress pictures, you would never guess that I have gained 15lbs....my body has changed so much and the way it is from lifting is a HUGE difference from not lifting.
:flowerforyou:0 -
Thanks for asking this. I have gained the same amount (only I measure in kilos) and have been doing this for the same amount of time. I also gained back the 3cm that I lost on my waist last week. It didn't make me happy!
I knew this lifting thing would affect my weight, but wasn't ready for the emotional impact of that. After focusing on losing weight for over 3 years, it's hard to retrain the brain. I think I'll be filing the scales away for a month or so... I just hope I don't balloon up in size as I am also finding that lifting makes me hungry!
On a positive note, I think my bum looked a bit different in size this morning. Kinda higher. It might be wishful thinking (the chiro told me the first 6 weeks of weight training builds nerve endings, not muscle size) but I am going to accept that it was real!!
Ciao :drinker:0 -
I've been doing Stronglifts for a couple of weeks now too *I lurk on here a lot* I put on 3 and a half pounds all together, back down a wee bit this morning, but I have lost an inch of my chest and waist (none off my hips yet though :grumble: ) so far, it is SUPER hard to not get down about the scale, but I try and look at my measurements and my lifting gains instead.
I say this but I had a terrible day with my body image yesterday, better today 'cause I got to deadlift
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Also want to add that this lifting bit is a S-L-O-W process. Truly it is. It's so worth it though and you must stick with it because you will not be disappointed in the results.
Put the scale away.
Take measurements.
Take pictures.
Not too often.
Pictures are THE most important part.0 -
Also want to add that this lifting bit is a S-L-O-W process. Truly it is. It's so worth it though and you must stick with it because you will not be disappointed in the results.
Put the scale away.
Take measurements.
Take pictures.
Not too often.
Pictures are THE most important part.
^^^ this this this! it took me a solid 3-4 months before i started going back down in weight, and i had gained a solid 7lbs since weight lifting. but within the first month my clothes fit better, i was stronger and loving myself more than i had in a long time.0 -
I think most of my problem is patience and the fact that I haven't really taken pictures and have never taken any measurements. I avoid the camera like the plague and when I first started a year and a half ago I couldn't bring myself to actually know what my measurements were. As you all know seeing the changes in yourself without hard evidence to compare it to is difficult. I know I have come a long way and in total I have lost between 30 to 40 lbs and I am proud of that. Just getting disgusted with all the flab I still seem to have. I know it's hard to get rid of and takes loads of time and some days I deal with that better than others. As long as I see small improvements I'm ok but every time the scale goes up I panic and think I'm doing this all wrong and immediately want to cut my calories. Which I was even contemplating trying to do again this morning but the truth is I've been much hungrier the past week and the thought of cutting back on calories makes me sad, very very sad. Lol. I'm sticking with it and trying to keep motivated and positive. Maybe the picture I have in my mind of the body I want to have is out of my reach but I'm going to do my best to get as close to it as I can!!
Thank you ladies for all your comments, it has helped greatly. And, to those of you who are struggling like I am I feel your pain and wish you great success!! We got this and we can do it! Patience, patience, and even MORE patience!! Lol0 -
I started doing stronglifts almost 15 weeks ago, eating a little below my TDEE, and I just now got down to my prelifting weight. I gained about 5.5lbs over the first few weeks, and then slowly started drifting back down.
Now (this morning actually) I am the same weight that I was, but I'm definitely smaller. I'm about half a pant size down, my stomach is flatter, my biceps more defined, and I now have quads!
I usually weigh every day, but count Sundays as my weigh in day (except for today because I was just too excited). Sundays are usually my lowest and are the most consistent because it is two days after a workout and the extra sleeping in seems to clear me out a bit more (maybe). Other days can be 2lbs higher than my Sunday weight. I don't let it bother me.0 -
What is a Mirena?0
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Birth control coil with hormones placed in womb.0
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Thanks! Never heard of it before... One of the perks of being gay! :P0
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Okay, I'm going to post this photo progression here to show why scale weight means nothing when talking body composition related to strength training.
From the left: 1.) A few months into my weight loss - 10 lbs gone from start, exercise was mostly cardio. 2.) After adding more Body Pump and HIIT classes into the mix. 3.) Made a switch to lifting, but following a more NROWL type iso program. 4.) 12 weeks + of SL with some cardio on non-SL days and accessory work, also had a month of eating over TDEE.
The main points I think the progression speaks to is that I actually weigh more than I did in December, but look closer to what I did in February, a whole 4 lbs "heavier". Taking pictures like this has really helped me sever the emotional ties to what the scale says. I still weigh myself and track my measurements, but seeing 130 on the scale doesn't hold the same disappointment it once did.
Even if you don't like seeing pictures of yourself, take them. Crop out or black out your face so you can be more objective about looking at them. You will be able to see that the scale only tells a small part of the story and that a picture really can say 1,000 words.0 -
This is a great topic. I am 10 weeks into the program and gained 10 pounds! This, after having maintained a 55 pound loss over 2 1/2 years. Couldn't wrap my mind around it. Been lifting weights the entire time but not following any particular program. Haven't been able to increase weights so I started Stronglifts. Happy to say I am stronger now, can lift heavier than I ever thought possible, and my clothes still fit, although differently.
I gave up the scale a year ago but when I noticed my pants tighter in the waist I pulled them out. That is when I discovered the 10 pound gain! Started researching the weight gain/heavy lifting correlation and the panic subsided a little. Some of the gain was probably due to a vacation I took in the middle of the program and the rest is probably water weight. Am currently eating at a caloric deficit of 1700 calories daily although some days the hunger is uncontrollable and I will eat at maintenance level of 2000.
This is my second week eating in a deficit and I'm not feeling as bloated. Hopped on the scale a few days ago and it showed a 2 pound loss. My plan is to lose 3 more pounds then eat at maintenance. The rest of the weight is glycogen stores and water. No need to be concerned about that.
I didn't take photos but my daughter came to visit and told me she thinks I look healthier and to keep doing whatever it is I am doing. Well, I took her to the gym and now she is doing Stronglifts too, LOL.0 -
I'm about back to my pre-MFP weight since life threw me a curveball and I let emotional eating get the better of me, but even so, what I've gained since putting a barbell set in my garage, put my gloves on for the first time and did my first set of squats, has nothing to do with any scale.
How about:
- confidence
- functional strength
- endurance
- a non-surgical butt lift at 45 years of age (heck yea!)
- meeting all y'all skrong womenz here!!!
- happiness
- the joy of finally seeing myself as a fit person who exercises regularly because she wants to and because it's fun
- the discovery of this thing called "fitness" that I thought was always going to be out of my reach, but here it is and I'm claiming it one workout at a time
- OMG I haz guns! On both arms!! :drinker:
If I'm gonna be a bit chubby and spend my years wrestling with extra pounds, then by God, they're going to be strong pounds from this moment on, and not weakling pounds.
Eff the scale.
I mean, really.
Eff that thing.
Focus on the weight you can add to the bar, get out there in the world and live your life, and you will find the truth of what strength training contributes to it. Because the scale will tell you nothing.
Look beyond the superficial crap that society has burdened you with when it comes to defining our gender, release your inner she-beast, and show the world what a woman is actually capable of. We're not meant to be weaklings, or it wouldn't be our role to give birth (that's right, let a guy try that ... not).
:flowerforyou:
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Oh I hear you ladies, I will be brave and take some more pics today I think! :-) Xx0
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I am 54 and have only been lifting heavy weight for just over 8 weeks. I had done the deficit (1200) cals for about six weeks prior and dropped seven pounds in the first two weeks, then nothing for four weeks and I was hungry. I started lifting somewhere in that plateau and joined this group where I read that I should be eating lots more in order to lift heavy and to tell my body it's OK to lose the fat.
I eat my TDEE which is 1800 cals and I don't eat back exercise. I didn't weigh myself for six weeks. Stepped on the scale and I had dropped 8 pounds, though I think the scale is off by a couple.
My body is tightening up. I have lost lots of fat. In just two months of the Starting Strength program I see very big changes. I also love it. I am getting stronger and for a woman of my age that is important.
Use a program of heavy lifting like SS 3X5 or SL 5X5 and eat well! I do the 3X5 because of my age and lack of fitness. I recover quicker and easier so I think I am making more progress since I switched four weeks ago.0 -
I'm about back to my pre-MFP weight since life threw me a curveball and I let emotional eating get the better of me, but even so, what I've gained since putting a barbell set in my garage, put my gloves on for the first time and did my first set of squats, has nothing to do with any scale.
How about:
- confidence
- functional strength
- endurance
- a non-surgical butt lift at 45 years of age (heck yea!)
- meeting all y'all skrong womenz here!!!
- happiness
- the joy of finally seeing myself as a fit person who exercises regularly because she wants to and because it's fun
- the discovery of this thing called "fitness" that I thought was always going to be out of my reach, but here it is and I'm claiming it one workout at a time
- OMG I haz guns! On both arms!! :drinker:
If I'm gonna be a bit chubby and spend my years wrestling with extra pounds, then by God, they're going to be strong pounds from this moment on, and not weakling pounds.
Eff the scale.
I mean, really.
Eff that thing.
Focus on the weight you can add to the bar, get out there in the world and live your life, and you will find the truth of what strength training contributes to it. Because the scale will tell you nothing.
Look beyond the superficial crap that society has burdened you with when it comes to defining our gender, release your inner she-beast, and show the world what a woman is actually capable of. We're not meant to be weaklings, or it wouldn't be our role to give birth (that's right, let a guy try that ... not).
:flowerforyou:
Great post!!0 -
I am 54 and have only been lifting heavy weight for just over 8 weeks. I had done the deficit (1200) cals for about six weeks prior and dropped seven pounds in the first two weeks, then nothing for four weeks and I was hungry. I started lifting somewhere in that plateau and joined this group where I read that I should be eating lots more in order to lift heavy and to tell my body it's OK to lose the fat.
I eat my TDEE which is 1800 cals and I don't eat back exercise. I didn't weigh myself for six weeks. Stepped on the scale and I had dropped 8 pounds, though I think the scale is off by a couple.
My body is tightening up. I have lost lots of fat. In just two months of the Starting Strength program I see very big changes. I also love it. I am getting stronger and for a woman of my age that is important.
Use a program of heavy lifting like SS 3X5 or SL 5X5 and eat well! I do the 3X5 because of my age and lack of fitness. I recover quicker and easier so I think I am making more progress since I switched four weeks ago.
SIX pounds not eight. Whoops.0
