muscle weight

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MrsHilgert
MrsHilgert Posts: 33 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been doing mfp for over 2 months and I know everyone loses differently. I rarely go over my calories, I workout 5 times a week for at least 40 minutes, mixing cardio one day and pilates or yoga the next. I am not losing a pound a week. I know there's no guarantee of this, but I'm just so unsure what's going on. If I'm gaining muscle weight, then when does that translate into lbs lost? Or will I just not lose anymore. I'm so close to my goal and maybe I just need to get more muscle tone and not worry about lbs right now.

I also don't want to sabotage all the hard work I'm doing by allowing the wrong things into my diet. For example, I have been having a glass of red wine every night. I don't know if that will do harm or not.

I guess I'm just frustrated.

Replies

  • lil_pulp
    lil_pulp Posts: 701 Member
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    My suggestions are to take measurements and pictures. Sometimes body composition changes even when weight doesn't.
    Good luck!
    -LP
  • RadicalCharlie
    RadicalCharlie Posts: 123 Member
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    What LP said.
  • biceptor
    biceptor Posts: 18
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    My suggestions are to take measurements and pictures. Sometimes body composition changes even when weight doesn't.
    Good luck!
    -LP

    Agreed
  • elsohypes
    elsohypes Posts: 30
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    Are you doing the same cardio/ pilates exercises every time because your body often gets used to exercise. By changing your work out, it will shock your system and hopefully you should lose more weight.
    Also, if youre doing cardio, youll burn more calories doing a more intense workout ( not one that will leave you gasping for air but gets your heart really pumping) as opposed to low intensity workouts over a long time.
    But like lil_pulp said measurements and photos are way more beneficial. I know people that lost inches of their body and went down dress sizes but still gained weight just because of muscle.
    Good luck :)
  • jammyone
    jammyone Posts: 80
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    Here's a few things that should settle your mind carrielevans,

    Weight loss and fat loss are NOT the same: I consider weight loss a bad thing and fat loss to be a good thing. If you've cleaned up your diet and you're exercising it's likely your gaining more lean mass and bone density and most likely losing fat.

    Have you tried measuring your waist? That's always a good indication while the scales are NOT. You should be able to see improvement.

    Try to look at your efforts as success in itself and let the fat loss be a perk, and most of all keep going! It sounds like you're well on your way to a healthier life!

    P.S - It's long been debated whether red wine is bad or good. It's true that there are anti-oxidant properties in the stuff but also that alcohol does a pretty good job at helping the body store fat. All in all, I don't think you need to worry. You can still enjoy the occasional wine!
  • snakegoddess_3
    snakegoddess_3 Posts: 83
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    Definately don't just go by the scale and I would say that to anyone. Get the measurements. Fat and muscle weight the same and I know everyone thinks one weights more than the other and it's just not true. The only way you know for sure are the measurements. Also be sure your putting everything down in your food diary and that your eating your excercise calories as well. Being close to your goal also might mean you have to work harder and be more strict on yourself as far as what you intake. I personally don't think one glass of wine a night will ruin your diet, especially if it's within your calories.
  • LucifersHammer
    LucifersHammer Posts: 2 Member
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    Muscle doesn't necessarily weigh more than fat, it's just more dense. So a cubic inch of muscle will weigh more than a cubic inch of fat.

    Regardless, if you're gaining muscle mass by working out, then that will benefit you in the long run. Your metabolism speeds up and burns more calories if you have a higher muscle percentage, than it does if you have a lower muscle percentage. So initially you may gain weight when you start working out, but over time your body composition will change, and you will burn more calories easier, and will lose weight better over the long haul. Don't get discouraged.

    Here's a simple article about metabolism and weight loss. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/metabolism/WT00006
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
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    If you've only got less than 13 lbs to go, the weight loss should be slow. Those last 10 lbs are hard to take off. In fact, you should probably go for a range goal instead of a number goal. My goal is 175, but I just really want to stay in the range of plus or minus 10lbs from 175.

    Like others have said, the weight loss shouldn't be as much of an issue as your measurements. It's your bodyfat you want to lose.
  • elsohypes
    elsohypes Posts: 30
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    Ive got to disagree with the muscle not weighing more than fat. If you had the same volume of fat and the same volume of muscle, muscle would weigh more as its more cellularly dense. Also it is metabolically active so having more muscle means you'll burn more calories which is always great :)
    However, I agree with everything else you said, just felt like adding my opinion in :)

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