Am I really gaining muscle if I gain weight?

StarGirlx64
StarGirlx64 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I lost around 3kg at the start of this year, and I also noticed that I could fit into old clothes that I couldn't even get on or do up before haha. I've started weighing myself again, and I've gained 3kg back! It's quite disheartening to see that number, because it rolled over into the next lot of tens. Anyway, I still fit into the clothes that I've had to take in as well as the old clothes that I previously couldn't get on. My mum said to me that I've just gained muscle and that's why I am heavier. But I argued that I see plenty of slim but muscular girls at cheer who weigh next to nothing compared to me, so really, I should be losing more fat and weight. I thought that I would have lost more fat, which would make my weight go down, or at least not make the gain so big if I have gained muscle. What do you think is going on, and have you noticed the same thing with you? Sorry about the poor wording of this post. I'm not a morning person haha.

Replies

  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    No one accidentally gains muscle. Especially women.
  • Blueseraphchaos
    Blueseraphchaos Posts: 843 Member
    There are a ton of reasons your weight fluctuates, and it can fluctuate by quite a bit just over the course of a day. To get the most accurate weight, you should weigh yourself with the scale in the same spot on the floor, at the same time, wearing the exact same clothes. I weigh myself first thing in the morning with no clothes on after using the bathroom (which is the generally accepted default). Also, you can retain water, which will drive up what the scale says.

    You should focus on how you feel and other factors, like how your clothes fit, rather than a number on a scale.
  • StarGirlx64
    StarGirlx64 Posts: 4 Member
    kgeyser wrote: »
    No one accidentally gains muscle. Especially women.
    I know. But I am assuming I would gain some muscle by lifting on top of having cheer 9 hours a week. Cheer conditioning is no joke. My legs have more definition and they are like 10x firmer than they were at the start of the year.
  • StarGirlx64
    StarGirlx64 Posts: 4 Member
    Blueseraphchaos wrote: »
    There are a ton of reasons your weight fluctuates, and it can fluctuate by quite a bit just over the course of a day. To get the most accurate weight, you should weigh yourself with the scale in the same spot on the floor, at the same time, wearing the exact same clothes. I weigh myself first thing in the morning with no clothes on after using the bathroom (which is the generally accepted default). Also, you can retain water, which will drive up what the scale says.

    You should focus on how you feel and other factors, like how your clothes fit, rather than a number on a scale.

    Thanks. I weigh myself in the same way as you do :)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    The lifting and the amount of cheer you do accounts for the toning. In a year assuming you WEREN'T in a deficit, a woman could potentially gain a half pound a month. Keep in mind, this requires hard work to achieve. You also need to account for normal body fluctuations.
  • forkofpower
    forkofpower Posts: 171 Member
    Eh ... unless they were deliberately eating/working out on a specific muscle-gaining plan, I'm kind of wary about people saying that the weight they gained was muscle and not fat-- it's really hard to gain that much weight in muscle.

    However, if you're still fitting into your clothes normally, and you/others haven't visibly noticed fat gain, then I don't see what the problem is. If you still look good in the mirror, then I'd say just keep going as you are unless/until you do notice a visible change.
  • happyfeetrebel1
    happyfeetrebel1 Posts: 1,005 Member
    The research I've done indicates that women who are lifting HEAVY and regularly probably gain at max 5 lbs per YEAR of pure muscle.

    It's so disheartening, but women just won't bulk up like men. WTB some testosterone, please :P
  • daynerz
    daynerz Posts: 227 Member
    The fat is probably being stored in a different part of your body then where it was taken off. Horomones control that...
    It may also be water weight, and you may not have gained any fat. :)
    The scale likes to tease
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited November 2014
    3 kg is roughly 6 pounds. That could pretty much be anything...unless you have been routinely weighing yourself and tracking the trend, you really don't have any idea. It could be an inflated number because TOM...or maybe you had more sodium yesterday than usual...or maybe you had more waste in your system when you weighed in...or maybe you weighed in at a different time than the time you weighed in a year ago or whatever...or maybe you're a young woman who is still maturing and growing...or maybe this or maybe that...

    You don't know anything unless you're actively tracking trends. All you have is a singular data point...and that's just about worthless where any of this is concerned. I can gain or lose 4-5 Lbs overnight with normal and natural body weight fluctuations...
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    3 kg is roughly 6 pounds. That could pretty much be anything...unless you have been routinely weighing yourself and tracking the trend, you really don't have any idea. It could be an inflated number because TOM...or maybe you had more sodium yesterday than usual...or maybe you had more waste in your system when you weighed in...or maybe you weighed in at a different time than the time you weighed in a year ago or whatever...or maybe you're a young woman who is still maturing and growing...or maybe this or maybe that...

    You don't know anything unless you're actively tracking trends. All you have is a singular data point...and that's just about worthless where any of this is concerned. I can gain or lose 4-5 Lbs overnight with normal and natural body weight fluctuations...

    ^this
  • jmaidan
    jmaidan Posts: 93 Member
    Yup, this...
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    3 kg is roughly 6 pounds. That could pretty much be anything...unless you have been routinely weighing yourself and tracking the trend, you really don't have any idea. It could be an inflated number because TOM...or maybe you had more sodium yesterday than usual...or maybe you had more waste in your system when you weighed in...or maybe you weighed in at a different time than the time you weighed in a year ago or whatever...or maybe you're a young woman who is still maturing and growing...or maybe this or maybe that...

    You don't know anything unless you're actively tracking trends. All you have is a singular data point...and that's just about worthless where any of this is concerned. I can gain or lose 4-5 Lbs overnight with normal and natural body weight fluctuations...

  • StarGirlx64
    StarGirlx64 Posts: 4 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    3 kg is roughly 6 pounds. That could pretty much be anything...unless you have been routinely weighing yourself and tracking the trend, you really don't have any idea. It could be an inflated number because TOM...or maybe you had more sodium yesterday than usual...or maybe you had more waste in your system when you weighed in...or maybe you weighed in at a different time than the time you weighed in a year ago or whatever...or maybe you're a young woman who is still maturing and growing...or maybe this or maybe that...

    You don't know anything unless you're actively tracking trends. All you have is a singular data point...and that's just about worthless where any of this is concerned. I can gain or lose 4-5 Lbs overnight with normal and natural body weight fluctuations...

    Thanks :) I guess it could be so many different factors, and that I shouldn't get too upset by the number!

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