Can't get smaller when weight training

Glycogen and water being driven into the muscles for energy and repair.

I'll look up more about this, but in your experience, does this happen every time you lift a heavier amount of weight? I'm on a structured training plan since we have a strength coach in the vball dept. Therefore, I'm lifting more and more every workout, which I assume tears the muscles each time? Or is initial swelling just when you very first start lifting? In which case, I'm not swelling since I've been lifting for wow about 8 years now - the first 4 in high school and not demanding, but the last 1.5 yrs have been heavy and from a legitimate strength coach.

My personal experience and observation (treat it as such and not a statement of fact) is that you will tend to see an initial spike in fluid weight when you begin a resistance training program and you may see slight bumps if you make significant increases in training volume. If you are in a deficit this can play games with your head and cause the scale to do wonky things.

I also see this in trainees who take a long break from training and then jump right back in.

Glycogen and water being driven into the muscles for energy and repair.

I'll look up more about this, but in your experience, does this happen every time you lift a heavier amount of weight? I'm on a structured training plan since we have a strength coach in the vball dept. Therefore, I'm lifting more and more every workout, which I assume tears the muscles each time? Or is initial swelling just when you very first start lifting? In which case, I'm not swelling since I've been lifting for wow about 8 years now - the first 4 in high school and not demanding, but the last 1.5 yrs have been heavy and from a legitimate strength coach.

My personal experience and observation (treat it as such and not a statement of fact) is that you will tend to see an initial spike in fluid weight when you begin a resistance training program and you may see slight bumps if you make significant increases in training volume. If you are in a deficit this can play games with your head and cause the scale to do wonky things.

I also see this in trainees who take a long break from training and then jump right back in.

This has been my experience as well, though I'm not an expert like SideSteel I'm not really anything but a lazy novice who has lifted in the past. I've just gotten back into a lifting routine after being a slacker for almost a year, and yes, I "gained" approximately 3 pounds after lifting for the first time and at least right now I still feel puffy and bulky (which is a little freaky if you don't know what's happening). It's a weight gain, but not really an increase in fat or muscle.

Regarding your desire to look into the initial swelling bit, think of it this way: any time you damage tissue, it swells. It swells because the distressed tissue releases chemicals called cytokines and these cytokines make the blood vessels that feed the tissue more leaky. If the blood vessels are leaky, the fluid and nutrients in your blood leak into your muscle tissue faster (normally it's a slow leak, now it's a bigger one thanks to the cytokines). The fluid brings all the good stuff that your body needs for repairs, (and when talking infection/damage it brings in white blood cells too).

Weight lifting is thought to cause micro-tears in your muscle as you create stress. This is the soreness that you feel after a new workout. The micro-tears are damage and the distressed muscle tissue releases the cytokines to bring in nutrients for repairs.

That's the science behind it in layman's terms :P Give or take a bit of exactness.

LOLWUT.

I'm gonna sound really rough here. Enough with the "Well I put on muscle really easy" bs. You don't, I promise. You may be able to put it on quicker than others, but that doesn't mean you bulk up and become a bodybuilder or a man within a month of lifting. How can this idea still be around? You look bulky when you have fat on top of your muscles. You look "toned" or whatever they're calling it these days when you have muscles and are cut. Unless you're on the juice, as a female your muscles are not big enough to make you look bulky unless you have been training for years upon years upon years, and even then most women cannot achieve much bulk. I thought I was bulky before when I was 20 lbs heavier lifting. I realize now it was fat.

Sorry if that sounded really harsh, but it's the truth, lifting does not make you bulky. At all. Just like running doesn't make you skinny. At all. It's mostly about what you're eating.

I totally get that. Maybe I've worded it in the wrong way. My point is that lifting makes me insatiably hungry, whereas cardio such as spinning, running, etc. seems to suppress my appetite more. Thus, in an indirect way - for me at least - running makes me skinny and lifting makes me bulky/fat. Well to be fair to myself, I don't think anyone would refer to me as bulky or fat. I'm just very conscious of my weight. I went from 28% BF to 20% BF two summers ago by changing my eating habits and running a lot. I lost 4 lbs of muscle as well though . I may be back up to 24-25 with some more LBM.

Have you had you BF% checked recently? I'd say quit obsessing about your scale weight and focus on BF% It sounds like you would really like to stop lifting and just do cardio, that you like the way your body looks with just cardio. But I'm sure a strength program is required for VB. Is the only real problem you "feel hungry" all the time? If so, I'd say just toughen up. If you ignore a growling stomach for a while it quits growling. If you have other issues like blood sugar gets to low, you pass out, you get dizzy, etc., then that is a different problem. Personally, I love weight training and wish I had started when I was your age. There is zero wrong with looking like a powerful, strong woman. If you need to reduce your BF% to allow the definition of those wonderful muscles to show, then you need to toughen up. Good luck you!

Is there anyone else who has issues with maintaining a caloric deficit while weight training?

I've found that if I focus on eating protein dense foods I'm more likely to stay under my calorie goal. I didn't look at your diary, but that's where I would start if I were you. Generally, you need 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass. I aim for at least 100 grams of protein every day (which is still on the low side for my weight), more if I can swing it on lifting days. It's hard at first, but I'm learning how to incorporate more protein with eggs, nuts and greek yogurt. GL!

So if you had 10lbs. of muscle in a bag and 10lbs. of fat in a bag, which would weigh more?

Pffft..Trick question! Not falling for that one.

I have a question for that question.

Why are you carrying around fat and muscle in a bag? Are we Hannibal Lector?

So if you had 10lbs. of muscle in a bag and 10lbs. of fat in a bag, which would weigh more?

Pffft..Trick question! Not falling for that one.

I have a question for that question.

Why are you carrying around fat and muscle in a bag? Are we Hannibal Lector?

:blushing:

To clarify - your strength training routine is sports specific?

Glycogen and water being driven into the muscles for energy and repair.

I'll look up more about this, but in your experience, does this happen every time you lift a heavier amount of weight? I'm on a structured training plan since we have a strength coach in the vball dept. Therefore, I'm lifting more and more every workout, which I assume tears the muscles each time? Or is initial swelling just when you very first start lifting? In which case, I'm not swelling since I've been lifting for wow about 8 years now - the first 4 in high school and not demanding, but the last 1.5 yrs have been heavy and from a legitimate strength coach.

Any time you've done damage to the muscles (i.e., through resistance training), your body will respond by storing glycogen and water to those mucles while they are being repaired. As soon as that damage has been repaired, the water will flush itself back out. If you're doing a steady workout regimen without progressive overloads, this is going to have minimal overall effect. However, if you're constantly pushing yourself to the limits and tearing down significant amounts of muscle tissue with each workout, you could see up to 2-3% body weight gain as a result.

I lose 40 lbs while doing crossfit (weight training etc)... FOr me it was removing some things from my diet for a while. I went to modified PALEO diet. And cut out some things. And lost about 30 lbs that way. I only started counting calories during the last 3 or 4 months which has helped me lose another 13... 50 from my heaviest.

You need to fuel your body for the workouts but also eat enough so you dont want to binge. What is your daily calorie count right now.. and you might want to make your diary public so people could perhaps have some ideas on what you are fueling with.

He diary IS public - it is also EMPTY bar two days.

She has no idea how much she is eating.

To clarify - your strength training routine is sports specific?

Yes it is sports specific.
Dead lift, squats, single arm dumbell press, farmer's walk, pull ups, glute ham raise, step ups, pallof press, push ups, box jumps, hang cleans, etc.

And do you log your food somewhere else?

He diary IS public - it is also EMPTY bar two days.

She has no idea how much she is eating.

Yeah I've been slacking on MFP, but I do calculate my calories every day. I just didn't log them on MFP. I wish I would have to make this more useful.. My avg last week was prob around 2400

Honestly if you aren't properly logging then you are simply eating too much.

Start logging and try to talk to someone about the binges - one binge can undo all the good work you have put in for the week.