Delusional about muscle vs fat?

Junisahn · February 2020

Hi,

I'm near my goal weight already, but started counting calories and upping my game to drop the 5 lbs I gained 2 years ago when I quit smoking and the 3 lbs I gained 3 years ago when I quit exercising (long story about that).

Three weeks ago, I started running again after a year of trying off and on after a knee injury, and I've been running 3 times a week and walking 3 times a week for a total of about 15-20 miles a week. I've been tracking my calories M-F, but not on the weekends when I just eat "normally" and throw in a beer or two. So this past week, I added strength training to my regime.

And the scale has moved half a pound. In 3 weeks. My jeans seem to fit better, and I think I look better in the mirror, but I never thought I looked too bad to start, so... is it possible that my running and walking has built a little muscle and that's why I haven't lost any weight? Or is not tracking on Saturday and Sunday holding me back? I lost 10 lbs in 10 weeks 10 years ago by following this same method, so I thought I'd just jump back in and lose 5 or 6 in a few weeks and be done with it.

Thanks for any advice...

BootCampC · February 2020

you can definitly increase your muscle weight when you start to increase excercise , the muscle will become more dense and hold more blood and nutrients , you can tell by the hardness of the muscle along with the size.

Lietchi · February 2020

It's only been 3 weeks, seems early to be gaining muscle mass. More likely is that you're retaining some water for muscle repair, which could be partially masking fat loss.
You can take body measurements as another way of measuring your progress.

Secondly, I would recommend logging your food on the weekend, even if only once, to check that you aren't wiping out the deficit you have built up during the week.

cmriverside · February 2020

BootCampC wrote: »

you can definitly increase your muscle weight when you start to increase excercise , the muscle will become more dense and hold more blood and nutrients , you can tell by the hardness of the muscle along with the size.

She didn't gain or build muscle on three weeks of running and walking though. She may be holding fluid in the muscles which can show up as additional body weight, but it isn't pounds of muscle from that kind and duration of exercise.

Junisahn, are you logging all your food and drinks and staying within your suggested calories? It is 100% about that.

Here, this will help:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

fdlewenstein · February 2020

One of the toughest lessons I've learned is to be patient while being consistent. There are times when I look at what I've been doing eating and exercise wise and think "I'm doing everything I should be doing" and the scale isn't moving. Be patient. If you are consistent the scale will move. Of course, the scale isn't the other measurement you can look at to see that you are making progress. Keep in mind that the last few pounds may be slower. I would also recommend that you log all your food choices everyday consistently. This way you can be sure you are eating right. I hate to see it, but its mostly about what you eat. Good luck!

steveko89 · February 2020

Junisahn wrote: »

is it possible that my running and walking has built a little muscle and that's why I haven't lost any weight?

It's unlikely you would have built any appreciable muscle in three weeks of weight training, let alone running and walking. An increase in exercise often corresponds to an increase in glycogen retention resulting in a slightly higher scale weight.

Junisahn wrote: »

Or is not tracking on Saturday and Sunday holding me back?

Possibly. Most people are bad at estimating portion sizes and calories, hence why food scales are so highly recommended for accurate logging. Depending on what you set your deficit to, even mild weekend excess can torpedo the best in-week intentions.

Junisahn · February 2020

I'll start counting one day on the weekend and watch portions better on both days. It's a mental thing that I need a day off from actual counting, because I get really good at counting and it becomes obsessive. Being that I'm comfortably in my BMI range at 119 lbs, 5'1, I'm not going to fool around in that direction, mentally. Also, in returning to tracking, I was shocked at how GOOD I am at portions, after taking 10 years off from measuring. Turns out I've always been eating correct portions of carbs and meat. My big downfall for gaining the weight in the first place was quitting smoking and exercise... and my love of sweets, which I eat in the correct portions when I eat them, but I eat them too much (I realize the craziness of that statement).

And I knew it couldn't be muscle mass holding me back, but I guess I expected to drop like I did the first time around 10 years ago. At least a little water weight at the start for motivation, you know?

edited to add that perhaps the 5 lbs I gained from quitting smoking was because my weight was artificially low from the nicotine, and reaching 114 again is really not what my body wants to do. Several years ago, I weighed 112 while training for a half, eating whatever felt right and lifting/HIIT training 5 days a week, and thought maybe after the half I'd cut calories and work down to 110, which I thought was an "ideal" weight for me, and I could never do it. My body would revolt and I've found that 114 was a weight I could easily maintain. Maybe 114 was artificially low from nicotine and my body just wants to hang at 119 now? Of course, at 114, I was a ball of muscle and now I'm a ball of flab.

cmriverside · February 2020

well, there really is a bit of magical thinking in that last post, Junisahn.

You don't know exactly what you were eating and exercising back 10 years ago, you may have just been eating a little less, and moving a little more.

It's still about the calories in and out over the long term, but three weeks isn't the long term.

Plus: You only have five pounds to lose. That's a lot of worrying over vanity weight that very well could be a couple of too-salty meals or a little bit of stress or not enough sleep, or time-of-the-month.

I mean, five pounds is well within the normal daily fluctuations for anyone.

https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

steveko89 · February 2020

cmriverside wrote: »

well, there really is a bit of magical thinking in that last post, Junisahn.

You don't know exactly what you were eating and exercising back 10 years ago, you may have just been eating a little less, and moving a little more.

It's still about the calories in and out over the long term, but three weeks isn't the long term.

Plus: You only have five pounds to lose. That's a lot of worrying over vanity weight that very well could be a couple of too-salty meals or a little bit of stress or not enough sleep, or time-of-the-month.

I mean, five pounds is well within the normal daily fluctuations for anyone.

https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

^This. If you weigh daily it's easy to see some big swings. I dropped 1.2 lbs from yesterday and my record swing since starting to weigh daily in 2017 is a +5/-8 swings on consecutive days. Full post I made about that here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10672255/examination-of-outlying-scale-fluctuation#latest

Junisahn · February 2020

These 5 are definitely not a swing. Pretty steady for 2 years since i quit smoking. But yes, 3 weeks isnt long enough to see a trend line going down, so patience and once a week weighing is probably in order. And yes... it's vanity weight. Vanity weight that i've ignored for 2 years to make sure my nicotine quit is solid, and now I want it gone.

lemurcat2 · February 2020

Junisahn wrote: »

Maybe 114 was artificially low from nicotine and my body just wants to hang at 119 now? Of course, at 114, I was a ball of muscle and now I'm a ball of flab.

As others have noted, it's not that your body wants to hang onto the weight, but that it's easy to be at an equilibrium for a time if you are at a set activity and eating level.

More significantly, given this comment (about muscle vs flab) and that you do have a small goal, I'm wondering if it would be easier to be patient -- as this close to goal weight often comes off slow and can so easily be masked by water weight changes -- if you changed the focus from losing weight to getting fitter. Not saying not to keep tracking as you are or aiming for loss, but to mark success based on your activity goals too. Ultimately, 5 lbs is not going to make as big a difference as overall fitness level (my own goal is to get to 120, when I seem to feel comfortable maintaining between 125 and 130, but I also know that if I just get leaner I will have the look I prefer even if my actual weight is higher than 120).

PAV8888 · February 2020

Sounds like recomposition may be a better goal.

TBH, given previous issue with counting and given stable weight/intake for a coupke of years, I will be a rebel and ask: why are you even counting calories in your case?

Your issue is "ball of flab" as opposed to muscle. While I'm willing to put money that your self perception of flab is quite likely to far exceed the reality others see, it is still clear to me that your win would be to favorably change your body composition as opposed to your scale weight.

Delusional about muscle vs fat?

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