Seeing muscle but lbs are packing on

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Might be a dumb question, but I’ve been doing yoga and Pilates and physically seeing the toning occurring. Yet, the scale keeps going up and up?? I eat pretty well. I’m just wondering how much muscle actually weighs because it’s been discouraging to say the least.

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  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,252 Member
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    Under perfect circumstances, a woman can expect to gain about 0.25 pounds of muscle per week, or a pound a month. And that's assuming that diet, training, and recovery are all 100% ideal. You could be retaining water if all the activity is a recent addition to your schedule. Otherwise, you probably want to tighten up on your logging and make sure you're really eating at a deficit.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    What does 'eat pretty well' mean?
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    If you're experiencing DOMS, water weight is more the culprit than gain in muscle mass. Women generally have to work hard and lift heavy to gain muscle. Are you taking measurements to track changes there as well as weight? How long have you been gaining? Cyclic water retention is also very common. Weigh and log all your food accurately, consider weighing daily to track your trends, and see where you are in a few weeks.
  • countcurt
    countcurt Posts: 593 Member
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    If your changes have occurred over a period of more than a few weeks, the issue has nothing to do with how much muscle weighs. It has to do with how much you eat.

    If your goal is to lose weight, eat less. Really. Works every time.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
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    take 1 kg of apples and take 1 kilo of marshmallows. put them on a scale. what will the scale say? 1kg. But what will the package look like? the 1 kg of apples will be what, roughly 6 apples in a bag, the 1kg marshmallows will be like a freaking beanbag.

    point is - muscle does not "weigh more than fat" - it weighs the same.

    The difference is that fat occupies more SPACE than lean muscle. Lean muscle is smaller than fat.

    As for gaining muscle through yoga/pilates. I wish. Some yes, but nothing significant.

    At the end of the day - are you happy with how you look? If so, *kitten* the scales and keep doing what you're doing :)
  • newbody2019newme
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    This could be water weight. It will flush out soon. Make sure you are hydrating. Also remember muscle weighs more than fat!
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
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    This could be water weight. It will flush out soon. Make sure you are hydrating. Also remember muscle weighs more than fat!

    on which scale?
  • newbody2019newme
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    Well from this post above that does sound stupid....muscle weighs the same...just looks better on the body and takes up less mass🤦🏼‍♀️