Can muscle gain really not let me lose weight

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essanchez2010
essanchez2010 Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been trying to lose weight for months. I typically stick to my required calories and I work out everyday. Just in 2 weeks I have lost 4.75 inchs around my legs, waist, hips, butt, ect. I have been able to drop 5 lbs like the first month or two now I'm stuck at my current weight. I understand muscle weighs more than fat but why is it i'm not seeing any change on my scale in over a month? Is this normal? I stick to things like the bicycle, treadmill, and elliptical all cardio.

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  • ecka723
    ecka723 Posts: 148 Member
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    It is normal for muscle to weigh more than fat. But it is possible you have hit a small plateau. To get out of the plateau, maybe you need to change your workout to shake things up a bit.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    I have been trying to lose weight for months. I typically stick to my required calories and I work out everyday. Just in 2 weeks I have lost 4.75 inchs around my legs, waist, hips, butt, ect. I have been able to drop 5 lbs like the first month or two now I'm stuck at my current weight. I understand muscle weighs more than fat but why is it i'm not seeing any change on my scale in over a month? Is this normal? I stick to things like the bicycle, treadmill, and elliptical all cardio.

    Unlikely it's due to muscle gain, esp when you're doing all cardio
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
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    1. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

    2. You did not gain muscle weight in 2 weeks if you were eating at a calorie deficit.
  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
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    You didn't mention anything about your food, which is what is most important. You aren't gaining a lot of muscle on a deficit - you are probably retaining water to repair muscles. How much do you have to lose? Calorie intake? What are you burning? If you are losing inches, don't worry - the scale is not the end all when it comes to weight loss. Keep going with your measurements.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    1. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

    2. You did not gain muscle weight in 2 weeks if you were eating at a calorie deficit.

    Muscle does weigh more than fat (it's really dense) ....... 1 cubic foot of muscle weighs more than 1 cubic foot of fat.

    But, true you are not gaining muscle eating at a calorie deficit ..... and doing all cardio. This is likely water.
  • Tilran
    Tilran Posts: 626 Member
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    I have been trying to lose weight for months. I typically stick to my required calories and I work out everyday. Just in 2 weeks I have lost 4.75 inchs around my legs, waist, hips, butt, ect. I have been able to drop 5 lbs like the first month or two now I'm stuck at my current weight. I understand muscle weighs more than fat but why is it i'm not seeing any change on my scale in over a month? Is this normal? I stick to things like the bicycle, treadmill, and elliptical all cardio.

    As most others have already said...you cannot gain on a defecit. For muscle or fat to build up, you need to eat more then your body burns in a day. So the reason you are not losing weight can either be A) Water retention, B) Inaccurate logging of food/drink, or C) Inaccurate knowledge of your BMR/TDEE.

    Also as others have pointed out, you are very doubtfully building any muscle doing pure cardio.

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