Got down to my first goal weight, now what?

Mostly like its muscle, just like you said. So dont get discouraged keep doing your best and you will continue to see the results you want.

10 lb of muscle in 15 days? No...

Might be an idea to check on your body composition. I know analysis scales arent always the most acurate, but they do give you a general idea on your body fat %, lean muscle mass, water %. I very much doubt youve gained 10 lbs of pure muscle in 2 weeks, but as another poster has said you could have retained water. Also your metabolism might be slower now youve lost weight if youve been eating the same diet/calories. You might not be eating enough food now you are exercising so your body could be storing it to compensate. You could have slipped in your diet without realising. Or it could be none of the above, and be something completely different. There are so many varibles and everyone is different, but hope these things might give you an idea

Mostly like its muscle, just like you said. So dont get discouraged keep doing your best and you will continue to see the results you want.

I really wish that people who know nothing about the amount of work and time it takes to put on muscle would stop perpetuating this! It is not muscle nor is it possible to be muscle in 15 days. It takes years to put on 10lbs of muscle and that with doing everything flawlessly right.

You weighed yourself "last night"? Check again in a few days, in the morning.

when I hit my weight goals, my trainer makes me STOP and maintain that weight for 2 weeks before starting again. She also has me doing ADKINS every3 months for 10 days only--granted, it is a sad sad 10 days, but it shocks your system every now and then and for me it keeps the plateaus to a minimum.

when I hit my weight goals, my trainer makes me STOP and maintain that weight for 2 weeks before starting again. She also has me doing ADKINS every3 months for 10 days only--granted, it is a sad sad 10 days, but it shocks your system every now and then and for me it keeps the plateaus to a minimum.

That sounds poopy. It would suck for my lifts and contribute to my depression. No thanks! I'll just eat high protein and continue getting the carbs I need to fuel my workouts. The maintenance practice is a darned good idea though. I do that a lot!

N, I'd suggest taking your measurements every 3-4 weeks since starting the weight training program to see how you're progressing. That 10+ pounds is all water, I guarantee it. I did some leg work I hadn't done for a while last Tuesday and I was all swole (and sore!) for about four days. I weigh about 20% less than you, and I've been lifting for quite a long time, so I'd expect that you'd gain even more water and glycogen that I do from lifting.

And it took me about 5.5 years to put on 10 pounds of bona fide muscle (per DEXA scans), so yeah, you gotta be patient with that part!

Just stick with it and the results will come. :drinker:

It is not that you are doing anything wrong. If building muscle is one of your goals, then you are definitely on the right track. However if your main goal is still to lose weight, your exercise routines should focus on cardio, not just muscle building. Cardio (running, jogging, dancing etc.) is what burns the fat and calories. Add cardio to your workout and you should start seeing results.

Good luck, and congratulations on meeting your first goal!

Well, no. Muscles burn calories by increasing your metabolism. Cardio does burn calories, but it also does nothing to preserve muscle mass, which you need to do to avoid decreasing your basal metabolic rate. If all you care about is the number on the scale, and not body composition or how many calories you get to eat in maintenance, then by all means, cardio it up!

The weight training in a deficit is not going to build muscle. It'll help him preserve muscle while he is in a deficit. Weight loss is mostly determined by your diet, i.e., creating caloric deficit. And if you have a really large caloric deficit, it's hard to avoid muscle loss.

Using lots of cardio to increase the deficit is not a good idea if you want to preserve muscle mass. Do moderate cardio to maintain your aerobic capacity, and/or because you like it.

Everyone has had helpful suggestions for losing more weight but maybe you need a different goal. While the number on the scale is fun to watch when you're losing, when you hit a plateau it is frustrating and feels like failure or moving away from your goal even though you may still be making great forward strides. I would make a performance goal rather than a weight loss number goal. Do you like to run? Say you're going to run a certain number of miles a week- not too far out of reach, but something that will challenge you. Or if you like lifting, maybe make a goal that by the end of the month you are going to add x number of pounds to all of your lifts and then work hard to reach it. You'll be actively heading toward your better body goal without having to rely on the number on the scale (which can fluctuate and depend on many things). And who knows, when you reach a performance goal you may find you've reached your number goal as well!