Weight Loss became muscle gain
ABCalkinsdiy
Posts: 6 Member
Happy to be building a tight lean body but I really wanted to lose the extra handful of fat I’d gained this winter. I started off good- lost 8 lbs in under three weeks and then weighed myself five days later to discover I had gained back half of it- I’m assuming in muscle mass because I have been working out excessively.
I need some tips on how to turn my muscle gain train to fat loss! What is the best workout routine? What type of diet or caloric deficit?
I am 5ft5 and have always been around 121 lbs.
this winter I gained 15 lbs and I now weigh 131 after having gone down to 127 a week ago and then having gone back up with the muscle gain. I still really want to be 121 with small lean muscle. I am not happy with how this has been going even though I have been working my *kitten* off- I am so fatigued from all the exercise!
Help!
I need some tips on how to turn my muscle gain train to fat loss! What is the best workout routine? What type of diet or caloric deficit?
I am 5ft5 and have always been around 121 lbs.
this winter I gained 15 lbs and I now weigh 131 after having gone down to 127 a week ago and then having gone back up with the muscle gain. I still really want to be 121 with small lean muscle. I am not happy with how this has been going even though I have been working my *kitten* off- I am so fatigued from all the exercise!
Help!
11
Replies
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Sorry to burst your bubble, but you did not gain 8 pounds of muscle. If you are trying to lose and are in a calorie deficit you will not gain muscle and especially not that fast. Building/gaining muscle requires a calorie surplus and a progressive lifting routine. If the scale went up in 5 days chances are it could be related to new exercise causing water retention (DOMS). Is TOM near by? What about sodium intake?20
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Gaining muscle is an anabolic process. If you're trying to lose weight, that's a catabolic process. It's UNLIKELY that you gained hardly any muscle at all if you've been running a deficit. That's not how it works.
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11 -
ABCalkinsdiy wrote: »Happy to be building a tight lean body but I really wanted to lose the extra handful of fat I’d gained this winter. I started off good- lost 8 lbs in under three weeks and then weighed myself five days later to discover I had gained back half of it- I’m assuming in muscle mass because I have been working out excessively.
I need some tips on how to turn my muscle gain train to fat loss! What is the best workout routine? What type of diet or caloric deficit?
I am 5ft5 and have always been around 121 lbs.
this winter I gained 15 lbs and I now weigh 131 after having gone down to 127 a week ago and then having gone back up with the muscle gain. I still really want to be 121 with small lean muscle. I am not happy with how this has been going even though I have been working my *kitten* off- I am so fatigued from all the exercise!
Help!
Why are you exercising excessively?
Apart from anything else that'll be causing water retention!6 -
Yeah, sorry, you didn't gain 4lb of muscle in five days, or even three weeks. Under ideal circumstances (eating at a surplus, hitting nutritional goals such as high protein, lifting heavy), a woman might gain 1lb of muscle per month at best.
Eight lbs loss in three weeks is far too aggressive for your size, likely some of that was water, and likely what you've 'regained' is also water, both from retention for muscle repair and from jacked up cortisol from stressing your body with too little food and too much exercise. https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html/
Set an appropriate weight loss goal (no more than 1lb per week, preferably 1/2 a lb), track your food intake meticulously (weigh all solids, measure all liquids, ensure you're using accurate database entries) and be patient.14 -
Egad I have deleted so many responses in this forum- so frustrating.
No- I am not delusional and thinking I’ve gained 8 lbs in muscle. But I’m glad you think I’m that type of meat head. Lol
I also am not under the impression that I have gained 4 lbs of lean muscle mass in under two weeks. I do believe a lot of it is cortisol and water weight related in addition to muscle gain.
Perhaps this additional background info helps-
From Jan 1-Jan14 I did a 14 day water fast starting at 140 lbs (15-20 lbs more than my average weight- f depression). My fast was NOT for weight loss but for health reasons and was planned with the help of my physician. I did drop down to 118. From January 14tg on I carefully reintroduced foods into my diet and by the 21st had settled back into a comfy 136 lbs (still 15 over my average) which included loss of muscle mass and fat from the fast. Once my eating was regular I began seriously training for my upcoming hooping competitions and marathon. My ultimate goal is to be able to participate in Iron Man when I move back to Hawaii.
Anywho
Over the past 4 weeks my body size has diminished, my muscles have visibly and to the touch tightened and bulked, and my weight had been steadily dropping as I noticed more palpable changes in my muscle mass than in my belly fat. Abruptly a few days ago the weight increased while I still appear thinner and my muscles feel and look RIPPED.
So maybe just scale problems. I won’t be weighing myself for another week though. And then it could just be one of those things- my period, hormones, special bloating from the wrong foods.
Was just looking for experience from anyone who had something similar occur during their training.
7 -
Cathipa- what is TOM?
Doing some reading about DOMS1 -
Your weight is all over the place because you're doing weird things. If you want to lose fat, start creating a 250 calorie per day deficit. Log your food.16
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Sounds like water retention. I recently doubled the amount of weightlifting exercises I was doing, and I put on three pounds, after weeks of consistent weight loss. My food intake didn't change, and, as others have said, it's not like I put on 3 pounds of muscle in a week or so.
It sounds like you are noticing you are thinner, and can feel and see some tightening in your muscles, so you are definitely heading in the right direction. The scale can be misleading sometimes.
Just keep doing what you are doing
5 -
ABCalkinsdiy wrote: »Cathipa- what is TOM?
Doing some reading about DOMS
Time of month0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »ABCalkinsdiy wrote: »Happy to be building a tight lean body but I really wanted to lose the extra handful of fat I’d gained this winter. I started off good- lost 8 lbs in under three weeks and then weighed myself five days later to discover I had gained back half of it- I’m assuming in muscle mass because I have been working out excessively.
I need some tips on how to turn my muscle gain train to fat loss! What is the best workout routine? What type of diet or caloric deficit?
I am 5ft5 and have always been around 121 lbs.
this winter I gained 15 lbs and I now weigh 131 after having gone down to 127 a week ago and then having gone back up with the muscle gain. I still really want to be 121 with small lean muscle. I am not happy with how this has been going even though I have been working my *kitten* off- I am so fatigued from all the exercise!
Help!
Why are you exercising excessively?
Apart from anything else that'll be causing water retention!
Good question? Why are you exercising so hard? I will add here, are you eating enough to support your body fuel wise?1 -
I would guess that it is water retention. I know when I change up my workout routine enough to actually be uncomfortable (or downright sore) I always gain 3 -5 lbs for the next few days, generally untill it stops hurting again, lol. I have also noticed if I am in a flare with inflammation or it is that time of month, I also gain about the same amount. So my current (not highly researched honestly) hypothesis is that the inflammation is just water (or other fluid) retention, and will go away on it's own in a few days.2
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You don't gain anything without an excess of calories (with the exception of recomp but you still wouldn't show a gain on the scale because not eating at a surplus).
I use this analogy a lot. You can't add an extension to your home without the bricks. Same thing.
It has to be water retention.1 -
Sounds like water retention based on all your responses. That coupled with TOM. I feel great and look great so I really wanted to stick with what I was doing.
Repeated question- I am training for marathon, a few hoop competitions and future participant in Iron Man4 -
ABCalkinsdiy wrote: »Egad I have deleted so many responses in this forum- so frustrating.
No- I am not delusional and thinking I’ve gained 8 lbs in muscle. But I’m glad you think I’m that type of meat head. Lol
I also am not under the impression that I have gained 4 lbs of lean muscle mass in under two weeks. I do believe a lot of it is cortisol and water weight related in addition to muscle gain.
Perhaps this additional background info helps-
From Jan 1-Jan14 I did a 14 day water fast starting at 140 lbs (15-20 lbs more than my average weight- f depression). My fast was NOT for weight loss but for health reasons and was planned with the help of my physician. I did drop down to 118. From January 14tg on I carefully reintroduced foods into my diet and by the 21st had settled back into a comfy 136 lbs (still 15 over my average) which included loss of muscle mass and fat from the fast. Once my eating was regular I began seriously training for my upcoming hooping competitions and marathon. My ultimate goal is to be able to participate in Iron Man when I move back to Hawaii.
um, just to be clear, you said exactly that in your OP:
"lost 8 lbs in under three weeks and then weighed myself five days later to discover I had gained back half of it- I’m assuming in muscle mass because I have been working out excessively."7 -
Just use less weights.3
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tirowow12385 wrote: »Just use less weights.
Nope.0
This discussion has been closed.
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