gained weight, lost inches - what is happening?

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duckpond11
duckpond11 Posts: 197 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been struggling to get my weight loss going. I have a ton of weight to lose (about 85 pounds), and have only managed to lose 5 pounds in the last 3 months. For exercise I have been struggling to find the right activity that a) doesn't bore me and b) doesn't irritate my plantar facsiitis. I started the month doing the 30 Day Shred, but had to quit after about 3 or 4 days because the jumping jacks and jumping rope irritated my feet. Then I spent a week and a half off while I wondered what to do. Then I joined a gym and swam for about 10 days. This week I decided I was bored with swimming and started doing a weight loss/cardio class (Body Pump) and yoga. I wear my heart rate monitor so I know I am accurately recording calories. I burn ~350 calories during Body Pump, and ~200 during yoga. When I was swimming I was burning ~275. This past month I gained 3 pounds. I was all depressed about it because I have actually been trying very hard and have been working out 5x a week and keeping my calories mostly between 1200-1600. I took some measurements for the first time a month ago, so last night I remeasured and found that I have in fact lost some inches - not everywhere, but an inch to an inch and a half in several spots, including my waist and hips. Now, I have been told that there is no way that I as a woman can actually gain muscle in a mere month. So what gives? Why is my weight up when clearly I've lost some inches? Any suggestions on what to do to get the scale to move in the downward direction? I'm enjoying my new exercise routine and hoping that sticking with it consistently will make my next month's progress more productive, but I'm worried that I'm not doing something right. Surely with the amount of weight I have yet to lose I should be making more progress this early in the game.

Replies

  • TinaDay1114
    TinaDay1114 Posts: 1,328 Member
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    I took some measurements for the first time a month ago, so last night I remeasured and found that I have in fact lost some inches - not everywhere, but an inch to an inch and a half in several spots, including my waist and hips. Now, I have been told that there is no way that I as a woman can actually gain muscle in a mere month. So what gives?

    Who told you THAT?? I think if you've been working out 5x/week (and haven't much before) and are eating right, you can ABSOLUTELY gain some muscle -- especially if you switched to body pump from swimming. When you're doing everything right, fat turns to muscle. I wouldn't sweat those 3 lbs if you're losing inches.

    Hang in there -- I think all of us women tend to beat ourselves up on the scale, even if the muscles are working and the inches are moving.
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
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    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero//

    Meet Staci, your new hero.

    Yes you CAN gain muscle in a month, YES you can weigh more AND LOOK BETTER. The scale is only a small portion of what we should be concentrating on. I'd take Staci in that last picture "weighing more" than any of the others ;D
  • starracer23
    starracer23 Posts: 1,011 Member
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    I HAVE indeed gained quite a bit of muscle in a month...so it is possible :)
  • Stormyyy
    Stormyyy Posts: 247 Member
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    Bump...This is exactly the same as me duck, i've been consistently swimming, walking/jogging, 30ds all on a daily basis this last 6 weeks and my scales keeps going from 73kg to 71kg and bk. It's frustrating i know but stay with it, i have just been plodding along and determined not to give up because on the upside i'm alot more active than before, i feel so much healthier, so just hang in there....Sorry dnt have much to say in the form of advice, but with me in the same boat will be glad to see ur replies.
  • pkarim
    pkarim Posts: 171
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    Scientifically speaking, the most muscle a woman can gain in a month is a maximum for 4 pounds, it is a little different for men but if you have gained more then 4 pounds just keep that in mind.
  • RagtimeLady
    RagtimeLady Posts: 172 Member
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    I'm going through the exact same thing, but with lesser results on the measurements. I'm now doing about 600 calorie workouts daily, where before I was doing NONE. Also doing weights 6 days a week (alternating upper and lower body). After two weeks, I've gained a pound! I'm pretty fed up. Not ready to give up, but very frustrated.
  • omid990
    omid990 Posts: 785 Member
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    yes you can gain muscle but its going to be very little on a calorie deficit, especially in a month. women don't have enough of the steroid hormones to build anything significant is a short period of time.

    a common "mis-wording" is that muscle turns into fat. while i'm sure most people understand the actual thought behind that phrase, i would like to note that muscle cells and fat cells are two completely different things and at no point does one become the other. if anything, adipose (fat) cells shrink in size and muscle fibers become more dense

    edit: http://www.modernmom.com/article/how-much-muscle-can-be-built-in-a-month
  • fuamason2011
    fuamason2011 Posts: 2 Member
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    I think you're gaining because you gained muscle which is what you want. Muscle burns calories faster..keep at whatever you're doing!
  • evesacks
    evesacks Posts: 94 Member
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    I'm going to disagree with the last post - yes woman can gain muscle, so losing 5lbs in 3 months would be fair enough if you were only very slightly overweight, but if you have 85 pounds to lose, you should be able to lose 2lb of fat per week, so if you have lost 24lbs of fat, then you'd have to have gained 19lbs of muscle for the 5lbs loss. Sounds unlikely. I am at target, trying to drop 2% body fat but not lose weight, and actually gaining 2lb of muscle mass is very hard, despite gym going, weight lifting, body pump etc. Although you will have gained some muscle, that's not the whole story. FWIW I focused on cardio almost exclusively until my weight was in the "normal/healthy" range. In terms of weight this week, don't dwell on that could be water retention.

    I suggest you get your body fat measured, I maintained a spreadsheet of "fat pounds" ie body fat % x total weight. Despite now looking very toned (at target weight, with body fat of around 20%), I did see weight reduce most weeks on my weight loss journey. Keeping track of your body fat percentage will help you see if you are losing fat. I have tanita scales. I know other methods can be more accurate, but for me good to be able to keep track at home.

    Also what are you eating / drinking. As I said above with 85lbs to go you should be able to get decent weight loss each week. Can you tweak your diet?
  • lesliemk
    lesliemk Posts: 382 Member
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    Sounds like you could totally be exchanging fat for muscle! A pound of muscle weighs as much as a pound of fat ( :D ), but muscle is a lot denser and weighs more per square in than fat. Muscle also takes up less space! So for sure, you could have lost fat and gained muscle, especially if you're doing some weight training. Honestly, weight training is where it's at if you're looking to drastically change the look of your body and anyone can get started and do it. It's what got me started on my transformation and I haven't stopped yet! In fact, my weight has stayed about the same this past month, but I've been lifting super heavy and have therefore put on muscle but ditched fat. I'm looking more toned than ever. I just try to go by my clothes and the tape measure and forget the scale!
  • duckpond11
    duckpond11 Posts: 197 Member
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    I'm going to disagree with the last post - yes woman can gain muscle, so losing 5lbs in 3 months would be fair enough if you were only very slightly overweight, but if you have 85 pounds to lose, you should be able to lose 2lb of fat per week, so if you have lost 24lbs of fat, then you'd have to have gained 19lbs of muscle for the 5lbs loss. Sounds unlikely. I am at target, trying to drop 2% body fat but not lose weight, and actually gaining 2lb of muscle mass is very hard, despite gym going, weight lifting, body pump etc. Although you will have gained some muscle, that's not the whole story. FWIW I focused on cardio almost exclusively until my weight was in the "normal/healthy" range. In terms of weight this week, don't dwell on that could be water retention.

    I suggest you get your body fat measured, I maintained a spreadsheet of "fat pounds" ie body fat % x total weight. Despite now looking very toned (at target weight, with body fat of around 20%), I did see weight reduce most weeks on my weight loss journey. Keeping track of your body fat percentage will help you see if you are losing fat. I have tanita scales. I know other methods can be more accurate, but for me good to be able to keep track at home.

    Also what are you eating / drinking. As I said above with 85lbs to go you should be able to get decent weight loss each week. Can you tweak your diet?

    I did have my body fat measured back in April when I first started (43% -- eeek!), and I checked it again today because I wanted to make sure I wasn't imagining that I had lost inches (or measured wrong or whatever), and I've lost 2% body fat. I would like to tweak my diet, and the only thing I've come up with so far to change this month is to limit alcohol consumption to once a week (I was a wine-with-dinner kind of gal). Any other suggestions are welcome.
  • duckpond11
    duckpond11 Posts: 197 Member
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    and... I did a report on net calories burned and found I'm not netting 1200 about 50% of the time for the last month. Probably I need to be more consistent about eating to net 1200. Although now I've been thrown into confusion about whether I should eat to a net of 1200 (as mfp suggests), or to my BMR, which is around 1600 (includes moderate activity level). Anyone?

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