New and worried

Emily63
Emily63 Posts: 8 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I'm relatively new to this, and I just had a bit of a worry that I wanted to get off my chest.

A couple of years ago I used to weigh about 65kg.. I then dropped that down to 53-4kg which was about a year ago mostly through exercise like walking and swimming but nothing too intense.

In the last nine months I started going to the gym to tone, watching what I am eating and including about half an hour to an hour of intense cardio four to five days a week. But I have stopped walking as much, I used to walk an hour and a half a day, now it's only half an hour which was due to moving house (I walk to work and back).

My problem is that my weight on the scale is slowly creeping up, it's at 58kg at the moment, and my measurements don't seem to have changed give or take an inch (although I question my ability to actually measure myself properly). I am only 5ft by the way!

I am absolutely terrified of gaining weight again, and my question is, am I gaining weight? Am I not doing enough? Possibly not enough cardio or because of extra calories over Christmas.... Or is it muscle? I'm just not really sure.. I can't seem to tell when I look in the mirror.

Sorry for the long message and I hope it makes sense.

Thank you!

Replies

  • Stumblebee_
    Stumblebee_ Posts: 3
    Are you drinking enough water? How often do you weigh yourself? Your weight can fluctuate between 2-8lbs every day. Muscle is denser than fat so you could be putting on muscle and it shows on the scales, but losing inches. Could you get someone else to measure you?

    Lifting is actually better for losing weight than cardio because you burn calories after your workout finishes at a higher rate than you do with cardio.

    Maybe switch up your exercise routine, and avoid weighing yourself for a couple of weeks so that you're not disheartened by natural weight fluctuation.
  • Emily63
    Emily63 Posts: 8 Member
    Thanks for your reply :)

    I would say I drink around 8-10 large glasses of water a day.. I struggle with drinking less. And I'd say I probably weigh myself every time I head to the gym, so 2-3 times a week.

    I know I shouldn't concentrate on weight so much, but it's easier said than done :-/ I went to the gym before Christmas and I had a trainer measure me.. they said I had lost a couple of CM from most places except put one or two on around my thighs (which she explained was muscle if I had lost everywhere else). But I had put this all back on again when I measured myself recently, so I could be measuring in all the wrong/different places.

    It's so hard to start taking up lifting when all I have experience in is cardio. It feels as though I'm not doing enough. I will head to the gym soon to get another program which should help.

    My problem area is stomach fat as well, which seems to be very stubborn!

    Thank you for your help :)
  • PudgyFellow123
    PudgyFellow123 Posts: 40 Member
    Thanks for your reply :)

    I would say I drink around 8-10 large glasses of water a day.. I struggle with drinking less. And I'd say I probably weigh myself every time I head to the gym, so 2-3 times a week.

    I know I shouldn't concentrate on weight so much, but it's easier said than done :-/ I went to the gym before Christmas and I had a trainer measure me.. they said I had lost a couple of CM from most places except put one or two on around my thighs (which she explained was muscle if I had lost everywhere else). But I had put this all back on again when I measured myself recently, so I could be measuring in all the wrong/different places.

    It's so hard to start taking up lifting when all I have experience in is cardio. It feels as though I'm not doing enough. I will head to the gym soon to get another program which should help.

    My problem area is stomach fat as well, which seems to be very stubborn!

    Thank you for your help :)

    you do realise muscle is heavier than fat, right? if you're toning and starting to see definition, I'd say your muscle mass is improving.

    Don't worry about the scales.
  • Emily63
    Emily63 Posts: 8 Member
    I was under the impression that muscle and fat weigh the same, but muscle just takes up less space? I'm not sure. Either way I suppose I do see more definition!

    Thank you.. that puts my mind at ease some what.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
    I was under the impression that muscle and fat weigh the same, but muscle just takes up less space? I'm not sure. Either way I suppose I do see more definition!

    Thank you.. that puts my mind at ease some what.

    LOL, yes, one pound of muscle wieghs exactly the same as one pound of fat. It is mass that people are typically speaking of.

    Do you log your food? If so, can you open your diary? If not, how much do you typically eat?
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Those are two different ways of saying the same thing -- muscle is more dense than fat. If you looked at the same size pile of muscle or fat, the muscle would weigh more. (Gross analogy, but I hope you know what I mean). Or, if you have a pound each of muscle and fat, the pound of muscle would be smaller.
  • handyrunner
    handyrunner Posts: 32,662 Member
    the diet would be where i would look to...have you gotten complacent about the amounts...its really easy to misjudge at times...before I did drastic changing to your routines Id look at that first and make sure your inline
  • mimieon
    mimieon Posts: 182 Member
    If you have a piece of fat and a piece of muscle that have the same volume, the piece of muscle weighs more. Which is the same as saying if you have a piece of fat and one of muscle of the same weight, the muscle is smaller.

    People tend to say that they weigh the same, which is like the joke/riddle kids play on eachother: What weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of lead?
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    No point worrying if you can't see the difference in the mirror. Nobody here can tell you whether it's likely to be fat, water or muscle gain either. Have you tried using a fat analysing scale to guide you? If an hour and a half walking a day is unfeasible for you (as it is for most of us!) then maybe just cut out the odd treat here and there or slightly reduce portion sizes so that you can maintain?
  • Emily63
    Emily63 Posts: 8 Member
    Right I see.

    I actually haven't logged my food diary properly yet (it's been a few months since I logged in) but will be doing so soon. I feel I generally eat well, I have small portions and I don't eat any refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta etc. I think my problem is chocolate.. I have to have something sweet most days! Oops! Any tips on cutting down on sugar intake ? It's quite addictive!

    Cheers
  • handyrunner
    handyrunner Posts: 32,662 Member
    good luck to you!
  • Emily63
    Emily63 Posts: 8 Member
    That's very true. Thank you. I will try doing that! I guess as soon as I see any weight gain it worries me... So I will have to try hard and keep of those scales for a while :)
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
    Log your food and then you can see where you are.

    I make room for chocolate, or I should say "I run for chocolate". I have no desire to live a life with out it.
  • Emily63
    Emily63 Posts: 8 Member
    My perfect reply! :)
  • Emily63
    Emily63 Posts: 8 Member
    That's very true. Thank you. I will try doing that! I guess as soon as I see any weight gain it worries me... So I will have to try hard and keep of those scales for a while :)

    Oops *off*
  • PudgyFellow123
    PudgyFellow123 Posts: 40 Member
    yup, i meant to say, muscle is more dense than fat :)

    A better measure is to use fat calipers to measure your body fat percentage, and a measuring tape to make sure you're going the right direction, IMHO.
  • mclgo
    mclgo Posts: 147 Member
    Yes, 1 lb of muscle = 1 lb of fat. But one square inch of muscle weighs more than 1 square inch of fat. I try not to weigh myself too much. Daily or even weekly fluctuations can get me down. I just try to make the best possible choices each and every day. This is a journey, full of lessons.
  • PudgyFellow123
    PudgyFellow123 Posts: 40 Member
    I got this info from another forum, so can't verify.

    Summary: Muscle density is 1.06 g/ml and fat density is (about) 0.9
    g/ml. Thus, one liter of muscle would weight 1.06 kg and one liter of
    fat would weight 0.9 kg. In other words, muscle is about 18% denses
    than fat.

    If it's true, that's quite significant.
  • Emily63
    Emily63 Posts: 8 Member
    Yes, I definitely need to find out my body fat percentage!

    Gosh, if that's the case then that really is a significant difference! Amazing. I never used to lift before so it must be helping somewhat. I have also taken up some Pilates to help me tone too. I will also be cutting down on alcohol intake (I usually have a few most weekends) to see better results :)
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
    Yes, I definitely need to find out my body fat percentage!

    Gosh, if that's the case then that really is a significant difference! Amazing. I never used to lift before so it must be helping somewhat. I have also taken up some Pilates to help me tone too. I will also be cutting down on alcohol intake (I usually have a few most weekends) to see better results :)

    Cut the booze out for 30 days and see how it goes. The body processes alcohol differently than regular calories, so it is not just a case of making room for booze in your diary.
  • djxil
    djxil Posts: 357
    I cannot answer all your questions but I will tell you what I think I know. You may know all this already so please forgive me.

    Muscle weighs more than fat, it's more dense so you might be gaining weight and your clothes may feel tighter here or there. I had a friend who had paid a lot of money for fitted button down shirts and he gained an inch or two in his neck due to muscle, no more fitted shirts for him.

    If you feel really concerned, log your food here and exercise too, if nothing else, to spot a trend, our memories sometimes play tricks on us.

    You will fluctuate by 3 to 4# within a day, use MFP to log your weight but only weigh in about once a week and at the same time each time.

    TOM, OTR, Period. Nuff said.

    Hang in there little one, I wish you the best. Be sure to read other topics in the forums, there are a lot of great people here and some of them genuinely care and provide really good feedback.

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