Losing Muscle Mass , Gaining BFP.
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UmaMageswarymfp
Posts: 280 Member
Hello 👋🏽, my name is Uma and some might know me here I’ve been on and off MFP for 2 years now successfully lost 20kg but I have another 20kg to go. I weigh at 110kg 178cm 22 Female. Recently I’ve started taking protein and been using gym’s weight machines to build muscles. I gained about 3kgs of muscle in 2 weeks of working out 4x a week. Been eating at 1600 and my BMR shows 1600. Daily I Burn 500cals at the gym according to my Apple Watch. Now after 2 weeks of eating at 1600 and building muscle. Since I’m already HEAVY , I started looking even bigger with all that gained muscle. So I took a chill pill and ate at 1300 calories last week. For an entire week I wasn’t doing much weight lifting even if I do I do 10 reps 3 sets. Now when I checked again. Last time it showed 32kgs of muscle with 49% body fat percentage. Now it’s showing 29kg of muscle with 52% BFP. I know this may have triggered people because I decided to eat at 1300 cals the only reason I did that because I hate how I wasn’t losing much weight when last time when I was on the 20kg loss I lost it almost every week I saw changes, but I wasn’t focusing on muscles all I did was eat in deficit and working out casual strengthening. Didn’t care about protein much. Now that I started building muscle I’m never looking lean or like lost weight. People around me saying I look bigger in fact I feel bigger but it is due to the muscle gain underneath all that fats. My ultimate goal is to look slim and lose weight no matter what it takes. NOT building muscle . Building muscle increases BMR which makes me eat more BUT I’m not enjoying the process because I don’t wanna feel big look big. WhTs the point of building muscle if I’m looking bigger than ever. Some might call it toner...I still don’t enjoy it. I wanna look thin first. Esp when I’ve been obese my whole life , this is hard. Can someone suggest me what I should do as in should I continue building muscle and hope the bfp to go down or just do any exercises and eat at 1300 /1200 ?
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Replies
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UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »I gained about 3kgs of muscle in 2 weeks of working out 4x a week.
Daily I Burn 500cals at the gym according to my Apple Watch.
Last time it showed 32kgs of muscle with 49% body fat percentage. Now it’s showing 29kg of muscle with 52% BFP.
You didn't gain 3kg of muscle after 2 weeks of working out, not possible, building muscle takes months. What is very much more likely is that you've gained water weight (and volume in your muscles) for muscle repair.
Secondly: what kind of workouts are you doing? If it's strength training, then you're not burning 500calories per workout (heart rate based estimations are very inaccurate for strength training)
Thirdly: body composition scales are notoriously unreliable. A different level of hydration can give different results, so take the resultats with a big grain of salt.
I still recommend strength training, just to avoid losing muscle mass as you lose weight. I think you need to give it time, you're not 'bulking up' as fast as you think, it's just some increased water weight at the moment.11 -
You did not gain anywhere near 3kg of muscle in 2 weeks. A female in a high level resistance training program (think college off season training) can gain maybe a pound of muscle in a month. You gained fat and/or water weight.6
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UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »I gained about 3kgs of muscle in 2 weeks of working out 4x a week.
Daily I Burn 500cals at the gym according to my Apple Watch.
Last time it showed 32kgs of muscle with 49% body fat percentage. Now it’s showing 29kg of muscle with 52% BFP.
You didn't gain 3kg of muscle after 2 weeks of working out, not possible, building muscle takes months. What is very much more likely is that you've gained water weight (and volume in your muscles) for muscle repair.
Secondly: what kind of workouts are you doing? If it's strength training, then you're not burning 500calories per workout (heart rate based estimations are very inaccurate for strength training)
Thirdly: body composition scales are notoriously unreliable. A different level of hydration can give different results, so takes the resultats with a big grain of salt.
I still recommend strength training, just to avoid losing muscle mass as you lose weight. I think you need to give it time, you're not 'bulking up' as fast as you think, it's just some increased water weight at the moment.
I do exercises such as planking 3 sets 1 minute , bicycle crunch , gym weight machines seated bicep gurl (32kg) , tricep curl(32kg) , seated leg press(45kg) , leg curls (32kg), hip abductors(25kg) , barbell curls 20kg x10 rep x3 sets, 10mins of cycling , 10mins treadmill, elaptical 10mins. A few stretches. That’s all my routine.
Trust me I know the mirror when I see it, I felt my shoulders getting broader, shirt became fitter around my shoulder to chest area. And yes many factors differs from the body scale analysis I’m aware but that’s my only source to track and I’ve been tracking.1 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »You did not gain anywhere near 3kg of muscle in 2 weeks. A female in a high level resistance training program (think college off season training) can gain maybe a pound of muscle in a month. You gained fat and/or water weight.
How can I gain fat when I’ve been constantly working out , I measure calories using food scale and I cook everything I consume. Okay maybe I exaggerated when I said 3kg. It’s definitely 2kg ish. The scale refused to move sir.2 -
UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »Hello 👋🏽, my name is Uma and some might know me here I’ve been on and off MFP for 2 years now successfully lost 20kg but I have another 20kg to go. I weigh at 110kg 178cm 22 Female. Recently I’ve started taking protein and been using gym’s weight machines to build muscles. I gained about 3kgs of muscle in 2 weeks of working out 4x a week. Been eating at 1600 and my BMR shows 1600. Daily I Burn 500cals at the gym according to my Apple Watch. Now after 2 weeks of eating at 1600 and building muscle. Since I’m already HEAVY , I started looking even bigger with all that gained muscle. So I took a chill pill and ate at 1300 calories last week. For an entire week I wasn’t doing much weight lifting even if I do I do 10 reps 3 sets. Now when I checked again. Last time it showed 32kgs of muscle with 49% body fat percentage. Now it’s showing 29kg of muscle with 52% BFP. I know this may have triggered people because I decided to eat at 1300 cals the only reason I did that because I hate how I wasn’t losing much weight when last time when I was on the 20kg loss I lost it almost every week I saw changes, but I wasn’t focusing on muscles all I did was eat in deficit and working out casual strengthening. Didn’t care about protein much. Now that I started building muscle I’m never looking lean or like lost weight. People around me saying I look bigger in fact I feel bigger but it is due to the muscle gain underneath all that fats. My ultimate goal is to look slim and lose weight no matter what it takes. NOT building muscle . Building muscle increases BMR which makes me eat more BUT I’m not enjoying the process because I don’t wanna feel big look big. WhTs the point of building muscle if I’m looking bigger than ever. Some might call it toner...I still don’t enjoy it. I wanna look thin first. Esp when I’ve been obese my whole life , this is hard. Can someone suggest me what I should do as in should I continue building muscle and hope the bfp to go down or just do any exercises and eat at 1300 /1200 ?
Oh and as soon I as stopped lifting heavy and didn’t drink much protein , basically when I lost muscle mass instead of looking thinner I looked flabby , almost like my arms felt like loose skin. Very jiggly. Hated it. I also refuse to look broader. So tf am I supposed to do0 -
UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »I gained about 3kgs of muscle in 2 weeks of working out 4x a week.
Daily I Burn 500cals at the gym according to my Apple Watch.
Last time it showed 32kgs of muscle with 49% body fat percentage. Now it’s showing 29kg of muscle with 52% BFP.
You didn't gain 3kg of muscle after 2 weeks of working out, not possible, building muscle takes months. What is very much more likely is that you've gained water weight (and volume in your muscles) for muscle repair.
Secondly: what kind of workouts are you doing? If it's strength training, then you're not burning 500calories per workout (heart rate based estimations are very inaccurate for strength training)
Thirdly: body composition scales are notoriously unreliable. A different level of hydration can give different results, so takes the resultats with a big grain of salt.
I still recommend strength training, just to avoid losing muscle mass as you lose weight. I think you need to give it time, you're not 'bulking up' as fast as you think, it's just some increased water weight at the moment.
I do exercises such as planking 3 sets 1 minute , bicycle crunch , gym weight machines seated bicep gurl (32kg) , tricep curl(32kg) , seated leg press(45kg) , leg curls (32kg), hip abductors(25kg) , barbell curls 20kg x10 rep x3 sets, 10mins of cycling , 10mins treadmill, elaptical 10mins. A few stretches. That’s all my routine.
Trust me I know the mirror when I see it, I felt my shoulders getting broader, shirt became fitter around my shoulder to chest area. And yes many factors differs from the body scale analysis I’m aware but that’s my only source to track and I’ve been tracking.
Like I said, your muscles could have increased in volume from water retention (muscle repair and increased glycogen for fuel), it's not extra muscle strictly speaking as that takes much more time.
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Like the others said, it is unlikely that you gained that much muscle in 2 weeks. I would suggest measuring, to see differences versus perception. Like they said the BFP scales aren't perfect.
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It's been two weeks, which is way too soon to worry about significant weight gain.
When you're in a situation where your tools are known to be less than reliable and they're giving you output that you have reason to doubt, it's common sense that you wouldn't take that data as your main point to track your progress. A woman isn't going to gain visible muscle from a couple of weeks of relatively light training and while eating at a deficit, it just isn't going to happen.
So you know it's something else.4 -
So am I crazy for seeing actual differences in body in terms on how I feel big look big , mom constantly asking me to stop whatever I’m doing because I look bigger than ever? Am I going crazy? This is really pissing me off when people refuse to believe what I say. 😢2
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UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »So am I crazy for seeing actual differences in body in terms on how I feel big look big , mom constantly asking me to stop whatever I’m doing because I look bigger than ever? Am I going crazy? This is really pissing me off when people refuse to believe what I say. 😢
You're not at all crazy, nobody is saying that.
There's two things here: the observations you're making and your diagnosis of exactly what is happening.
What people are questioning is your specific diagnosis of the problem. The data you have right now isn't sufficient for you to conclude that is happening. That doesn't mean that you aren't seeing specific things when you look in the mirror.4 -
Those scales are more for general trends, and can be way off in terms of muscle mass, fat mass etc. I like them, and do use them but have learned to take the info with a grain of salt.
When you work out, you can 'gain' weight from water retention in the muscle. This is not true muscle weight however even though you feel pumped up and tight. It takes months to years to gain that kind of mass of true muscle, and that would be following a specific eating and lifting program built especially for that purpose.
Don't stop weight training, it definitely helps reshape your body. Check out one of the forums here dedicated to females who lift heavy, you can see the amazing results. It is called 'Halp...lifting heavy made me SUPA BULKY' or something like that. It is a bunch of awesome ladies who have had results from lifting heavy, smashing the unfounded belief that lifting will make you bulky.
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UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »You did not gain anywhere near 3kg of muscle in 2 weeks. A female in a high level resistance training program (think college off season training) can gain maybe a pound of muscle in a month. You gained fat and/or water weight.
How can I gain fat when I’ve been constantly working out , I measure calories using food scale and I cook everything I consume. Okay maybe I exaggerated when I said 3kg. It’s definitely 2kg ish. The scale refused to move sir.
A young male on gear isn't going to gain 2kg of muscle a month. As someone mentioned above the bodyfat scales are not very accurate. Keep up the journey with the weigh loss and exercise. You will not unintentionally get bulky.4 -
UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »So am I crazy for seeing actual differences in body in terms on how I feel big look big , mom constantly asking me to stop whatever I’m doing because I look bigger than ever? Am I going crazy? This is really pissing me off when people refuse to believe what I say. 😢
Not going crazy. As to not believing what you say...that is also not the case...it's the diagnosis that is the problem. It would be biologically impossible to put on roughly 4 Lbs of muscle mass in 2 weeks...it's just not something that is humanly possible from a biological standpoint. Like fat, muscle requires energy to build...a surplus of calories...building muscle, like building fat requires you to be in an anabolic state...if you are dieting you are in a catabolic state.
Even with a "dirty bulk" of 1000 calories per day over maintenance and a spot on hypertrophy program, nobody is building 4 Lbs of muscle in two weeks. A young, untrained male running a good hypertrophy program will put on maybe 20 Lbs of muscle over a whole year and along with that will come a decent amount of fat.
What you are seeing visibly is most likely what is referred to as "pump"...this is your muscles filling with fluid to aid in repair. It is essentially inflammation of the muscles. The fibers themselves haven't grown...the muscle is just filled with fluid.10 -
To clarify: based on your title and this ”Last time it showed 32kgs of muscle with 49% body fat percentage. Now it’s showing 29kg of muscle with 52% BFP.” you’d be losing muscle mass, but the rest of your description and this discussion is revolving around the assumption of gaining muscle.
Did you, according to your Apple Watch/smartscale, lose or gain that 3kg? Which measurement was earlier, 32 or 29kg?
Either way, others are right and gaining 2-3kg of actual muscle mass in two weeks did not happen. The feeling and appearance of bigger muscles possibly did. Nobody is denying your experience. Likely causes include fluid retention due to the workouts, as others said, possible reaction to your diet causing fluid retention, and possibly your menstrual cycle.
I personally recommend strength training to maintain muscle mass to everyone who has any interest in it, but it is NOT necessary for your goal of ”looking thin”. All you need for weight loss is a sensible calorie deficit, everything else is about health, fitness and sustainability. Weight loss will take time, and you’ll likely get better results if you do it in a way you enjoy so you don’t end up quitting after a couple of weeks.1 -
UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »You did not gain anywhere near 3kg of muscle in 2 weeks. A female in a high level resistance training program (think college off season training) can gain maybe a pound of muscle in a month. You gained fat and/or water weight.
How can I gain fat when I’ve been constantly working out , I measure calories using food scale and I cook everything I consume. Okay maybe I exaggerated when I said 3kg. It’s definitely 2kg ish. The scale refused to move sir.
When I started working out I GAINED 7 pounds so consider yourself lucky your scale isn't moving
(My gain was just water and after a few weeks it came off and continued coming off.)
Have you been taking measurements? When I work out and eat at a deficit, I may think my biceps look bigger, but the measuring tape says otherwise.2 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »So am I crazy for seeing actual differences in body in terms on how I feel big look big , mom constantly asking me to stop whatever I’m doing because I look bigger than ever? Am I going crazy? This is really pissing me off when people refuse to believe what I say. 😢
Not going crazy. As to not believing what you say...that is also not the case...it's the diagnosis that is the problem. It would be biologically impossible to put on roughly 4 Lbs of muscle mass in 2 weeks...it's just not something that is humanly possible from a biological standpoint. Like fat, muscle requires energy to build...a surplus of calories...building muscle, like building fat requires you to be in an anabolic state...if you are dieting you are in a catabolic state.
Even with a "dirty bulk" of 1000 calories per day over maintenance and a spot on hypertrophy program, nobody is building 4 Lbs of muscle in two weeks. A young, untrained male running a good hypertrophy program will put on maybe 20 Lbs of muscle over a whole year and along with that will come a decent amount of fat.
What you are seeing visibly is most likely what is referred to as "pump"...this is your muscles filling with fluid to aid in repair. It is essentially inflammation of the muscles. The fibers themselves haven't grown...the muscle is just filled with fluid.
So if the muscles are retaining water then how can I avoid pump / water retention because it’s truly messing with my training sessions. Since I constantly feel like I’m gaining muscles very quickly1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »You did not gain anywhere near 3kg of muscle in 2 weeks. A female in a high level resistance training program (think college off season training) can gain maybe a pound of muscle in a month. You gained fat and/or water weight.
How can I gain fat when I’ve been constantly working out , I measure calories using food scale and I cook everything I consume. Okay maybe I exaggerated when I said 3kg. It’s definitely 2kg ish. The scale refused to move sir.
When I started working out I GAINED 7 pounds so consider yourself lucky your scale isn't moving
(My gain was just water and after a few weeks it came off and continued coming off.)
Have you been taking measurements? When I work out and eat at a deficit, I may think my biceps look bigger, but the measuring tape says otherwise.
I haven’t been measuring no
my only form of measuring is the body weight analysis machine where they check you body through a sole thingy and 2 bars that you have to hold 0 -
UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »You did not gain anywhere near 3kg of muscle in 2 weeks. A female in a high level resistance training program (think college off season training) can gain maybe a pound of muscle in a month. You gained fat and/or water weight.
How can I gain fat when I’ve been constantly working out , I measure calories using food scale and I cook everything I consume. Okay maybe I exaggerated when I said 3kg. It’s definitely 2kg ish. The scale refused to move sir.
When I started working out I GAINED 7 pounds so consider yourself lucky your scale isn't moving
(My gain was just water and after a few weeks it came off and continued coming off.)
Have you been taking measurements? When I work out and eat at a deficit, I may think my biceps look bigger, but the measuring tape says otherwise.
I haven’t been measuring no my only form of measuring is the body weight analysis machine where they check you body through a sole thingy and 2 bars that you have to hold
That type of bodyfat measuring device is very inaccurate and can be influenced by hydration levels.3 -
UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »So am I crazy for seeing actual differences in body in terms on how I feel big look big , mom constantly asking me to stop whatever I’m doing because I look bigger than ever? Am I going crazy? This is really pissing me off when people refuse to believe what I say. 😢
Not going crazy. As to not believing what you say...that is also not the case...it's the diagnosis that is the problem. It would be biologically impossible to put on roughly 4 Lbs of muscle mass in 2 weeks...it's just not something that is humanly possible from a biological standpoint. Like fat, muscle requires energy to build...a surplus of calories...building muscle, like building fat requires you to be in an anabolic state...if you are dieting you are in a catabolic state.
Even with a "dirty bulk" of 1000 calories per day over maintenance and a spot on hypertrophy program, nobody is building 4 Lbs of muscle in two weeks. A young, untrained male running a good hypertrophy program will put on maybe 20 Lbs of muscle over a whole year and along with that will come a decent amount of fat.
What you are seeing visibly is most likely what is referred to as "pump"...this is your muscles filling with fluid to aid in repair. It is essentially inflammation of the muscles. The fibers themselves haven't grown...the muscle is just filled with fluid.
So if the muscles are retaining water then how can I avoid pump / water retention because it’s truly messing with my training sessions. Since I constantly feel like I’m gaining muscles very quickly
It's how your body recovers . . it's not something that you want to try to avoid.5 -
Why don't you hire a personal fitness trainer and tell him/her your goals and let them set up a regimen for you?2
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