Will weight loss resume?

Options
hollyberrybunny
hollyberrybunny Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok, so I have lost 7 stone over the last year and foolishly didn't do any exercise during the weight loss phase which has resulted in a saggy bits on my bum, upper arms and inner thighs .... in the hopes of it never being too late to tone up even just a little, I have joined a gym and for the last two weeks have been doing a mixture of 30 minutes cardio and 30 minutes on the weight resistance machines every other day.... doing relatively low weights and higher reps to try and start toning up .... since the two weeks of starting in the gym I have only half a pound per week .... rather than the usual 2 pounds per week ... I am assuming that this is due to building a bit of muscle .... I still have 7 pounds to lose so I guess my question is .... once I have gained more muscle and am therefore burning more calories will things level off and then the weight loss will continue at a higher rate or will the weight loss always remain this slow as long as I am doing weight work in the gym as opposed to just cardio? I want to tone up my saggy bits but I still want to lose that last 7 pounds !!! Any advice is much appreciated, thank you

Replies

  • AverageJoeFit
    AverageJoeFit Posts: 251 Member
    Options
    First muscle weighs more then fat :) . That's a good thing.

    Next as muscles start to work they require more water to recover so your body tends to hold onto more water.

    Basically you are already starting the Recomposition phase of losing weight and your weight might fluctuate.

    Great job so far :D
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    Options
    With seven pounds to lose, half a pound a week is the most you should be aiming for. It's extremely difficult to lose the final pounds, so just make sure your logging is on point.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
    Options
    I agree with Malibu^^. It's far healthier for you to lose .5lb/wk when you're so close to goal. But mostly I came to say great job jumping into exercise like that! Are you enjoying it?
  • hollyberrybunny
    hollyberrybunny Posts: 12 Member
    Options
    goldthistime wrote: »
    I agree with Malibu^^. It's far healthier for you to lose .5lb/wk when you're so close to goal. But mostly I came to say great job jumping into exercise like that! Are you enjoying it?

    I have to say that I am enjoying it much more than I thought I would..... I usually really dislike the gym but I am more motivated this time round so that is helping! Thanks for the positive comments!
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,680 Member
    Options
    You may be retaining more water, but watch out that you aren't eating too much to compensate for the extra exercise. Eating back your exercise calories is fine, if you are accurate about both how many calories you are burning and how much you are eating. But if either is off, it is easy to eat back more than you are burning in the gym.
  • hollyberrybunny
    hollyberrybunny Posts: 12 Member
    Options
    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    You may be retaining more water, but watch out that you aren't eating too much to compensate for the extra exercise. Eating back your exercise calories is fine, if you are accurate about both how many calories you are burning and how much you are eating. But if either is off, it is easy to eat back more than you are burning in the gym.

    Thanks for advice spiriteagle99 - I haven't eaten back any calories, i think that's why I was so disappointed when I saw the lower than usual weight loss - I thought to myself "what the hell is going on, I have worked so hard and burned extra calories and all I get is a lower weight loss!!" Lol- so I am hoping that people's comments about possible water retention is the reason for it - but I am also going to take on board the comments about aiming for a much slower weight loss rate for the last few pounds
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
    Options
    So I totally thought I had stalled in my weight loss. I did measurements a month apart and lo and behold- I lost an inch off my waist, half an inch off my waist, three quarters inch off my bust etc etc- every measurement was down by at least 1/4 inch.

    So basically, the scale is a liar and especially when you're at those last few pounds I just wouldn't pay too much attention. Last time I lost weight I stalled at the last 5-10lbs. As soon as I started lifting (and lifting heavy I might add) I lost a couple pounds and saw my measurements jump way down. At this point in your journey ignore the scale- it's an arbitrary number you picked when you started that says nothing about your body other than it's relation to gravity. Focus on building muscle and getting lean.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    Options
    hollyberrybunny wrote: »
    I am assuming that this is due to building a bit of muscle ....

    it's not likely to be actual muscle in only two weeks. not saying that to discourage you, i just find it easier to figure out how i feel about a situation when i have a clearer idea about what's going on. muscle comes pretty slowly for everyone, and slower for women . . . and then even more slowly still if you're in a deficit. from what i know, it would be extremely impressive for a woman to grow twelve pounds of muscle in her first year of serious training for strength. so, y'know. if you're two weeks in at this point, muscle probably isn't the deal.

    not saying it to discourage you, since muscle volume is only one factor in strength. as people have said, a lot of the time bodies respond to any new situation by getting conservative and hanging on to things like water etc. once yours gets used to the new situation, chances are that you'll see it come off.

    think of it as a deferred payment, i guess :wink: like, your body's holding back a percentage of your payoff right now. and eventually in a month or two you'll spend a whole night peeing and wake up to discover it's all been paid back in one chunk.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    Options
    You haven't gained any muscle sorry to say. chances are you're just retaining water. then there's the issue of you just doing random machines. Muscle isn't built by accident. You need a progressive lifting program to keep you on track. I've heard good things about strong curves. The loose skin has nothing to do with toning, working the underlying muscle has zero effect on the skin on top. It's more than likely saggy because you were losing at such an extreme rate up until now. To lose fat you need a deficit, to build muscle you need proper stimulus and a caloric surplus. I've been training for acouple years and smart for the last year. I'm lucky if I add 5-10lbs of muscle in a 3-6 month bulk. That's with testosterone levels nearing 200x higher than yours. The extra calorie burn from muscle is minimal, so I wouldn't get your hopes up. With an extra 20lbs on me my calorie needs have only gone up by like 200-300 calories.
  • hollyberrybunny
    hollyberrybunny Posts: 12 Member
    Options
    canadianlbs wrote: »
    hollyberrybunny wrote: »
    I am assuming that this is due to building a bit of muscle ....

    it's not likely to be actual muscle in only two weeks. not saying that to discourage you, i just find it easier to figure out how i feel about a situation when i have a clearer idea about what's going on. muscle comes pretty slowly for everyone, and slower for women . . . and then even more slowly still if you're in a deficit. from what i know, it would be extremely impressive for a woman to grow twelve pounds of muscle in her first year of serious training for strength. so, y'know. if you're two weeks in at this point, muscle probably isn't the deal.

    not saying it to discourage you, since muscle volume is only one factor in strength. as people have said, a lot of the time bodies respond to any new situation by getting conservative and hanging on to things like water etc. once yours gets used to the new situation, chances are that you'll see it come off.

    think of it as a deferred payment, i guess :wink: like, your body's holding back a percentage of your payoff right now. and eventually in a month or two you'll spend a whole night peeing and wake up to discover it's all been paid back in one chunk.

  • hollyberrybunny
    hollyberrybunny Posts: 12 Member
    Options
    Thanks for your input, I don't find your words discouraging, I find them helpful!
    I was kind of already thinking that it would be too soon for me to have starting gaining muscle, but I don't pretend to know anything much about this kind of thing, which I why I find these replies to my post enlightening.
    I hope you're right about the deferred pay off, that would be awesome! But I won't get upset if the last few pounds come off very slowly as long as I know they will come off eventually!
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Options
    AverageJoeFit wrote: »
    First muscle weighs more then fat :) .

    It doesn't, it is less dense though.

    However the OP isn't building muscle.

    OP, it is just water weight. Because you have started to work out your muscles hold on to water to help them repair. Keep doing what you're doing and you will lose it again once the muscle gets used to it.

    Congratulations on your huge weight loss :)

  • azazel833
    azazel833 Posts: 23 Member
    Options
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    AverageJoeFit wrote: »
    First muscle weighs more then fat :) .

    It doesn't, it is less dense though.

    However the OP isn't building muscle.

    OP, it is just water weight. Because you have started to work out your muscles hold on to water to help them repair. Keep doing what you're doing and you will lose it again once the muscle gets used to it.

    Congratulations on your huge weight loss :)

    1kg muscle = 1kg fat :wink:
    1kg fat takes more space :smiley:
  • holly74uk
    holly74uk Posts: 8 Member
    Options
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    AverageJoeFit wrote: »
    First muscle weighs more then fat :) .

    It doesn't, it is less dense though.

    However the OP isn't building muscle.

    OP, it is just water weight. Because you have started to work out your muscles hold on to water to help them repair. Keep doing what you're doing and you will lose it again once the muscle gets used to it.

    Congratulations on your huge weight loss :)

Categories