Understanding Muscle Gain: Exercising.

gatorgirlyyy · March 2012

Hello everyone,

I have a question. I recently started the 30 Day Shred. Prior to starting the program my weight was 273 pounds. I'm almost a week in and my current weight is now 278.4. I was told prior to even starting this program that there would be a weight gain. The weight gain is prominent especially in those who had very little exercise experience or no muscle. From my understanding the weight gain is due to muscles being built and toned because muscle weighs more than fat.

Now keep in mind that I know the slightest bit about being healthy. As a recovered Anorexic it was never about body fat percentage, but rather that damn number on the scale that would haunt you everyday. I went to treatment and changed my life. Unfortunately with that change came a 215 pound weight gain over a period of 5 years! :0 It's always been one extreme or another for me.

I am committed to changing my life and finally being healthy, no matter what it takes. I've learned that just because you're thin, does not necessarily mean that you're “healthy”.

Anyways, back on topic: I measured my before and afters for the first week and posted them below.

Starting:

Weight: 273 lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 47.29% (YMCA Method)

One Week In:

Weight: 278.4 lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 43.31% (YMCA Method)

Results:

Weight: 5.4 lbs Gained
Body Fat: 3.98% Down

Okay, so after seeing my results it has become obvious that despite the weight gain I've still technically become more healthy because of my body fat percentage decrease as well as the inches lost that are not posted.

Being said I'm not fit..... I'm not fit, by any means! Because of this, the weight gain scares me. I certainly don't need to gain any weight! I have to keep telling myself that this is muscle and not to pay attention to it! “Just watch the inches and Body Fat Percentage”!

So, my question to the MFP Community is, even though I have gained weight, I believe that it is muscle. I was told that more muscle burns fat. When should I expect the scale to start dropping in numbers along with my Body Fat and Inches?

I will continue to exercise and eat healthy and rarely get on the scale due to discouragement, but I'm seriously wondering how long after starting an exercise regimen should I expect the scale to start moving?

I'm currently doing the 30 Day Shred which consists of Cardio and Strength Training. Should I also do more cardio everyday to help boost the actual weight loss?

I'm sorry I went on forever and wrote a novel. Lol. I'm just not sure about this and really need someone with experience and knowledge on the subject. I really appreciate everyone who reads and responds to this thread.

Thanks a bunch!

kasarin · March 2012

Do a sane amount of cardio. If you are doing 30DS, I would reccomend some extra light cardio like an evening walk or tossing a frisbee for a bit each night. If you are carrying substantial weight doing too much cardio can lead to injury and set-backs. Trust in the 30DS program as your primary. When finished with that look for a new cornerstone like P90x or a spin class or something. Keep it varied and interesting, but do not over do it.

When I was 391 (at 178 after 2 years) my doctor told me it took you years to put on this much weight it will take years to take it off healthily. Do not undereat, do not overexert. Both of these lead to failure.

gatorgirlyyy · March 2012

Congrats on your fitness program. Unfortuanately, the weight gain you are experiencing one week in to 30ds is most likely water weight-- your muscles are retaining water because they are taxed and repairing themselves. This will level off, and you will start to see wieght loss- provided your diet is set to a cal deficit-! As to muscle gain, some maintain it is difficult to gain any significant muscle mass/growth while operating at a cal deficit- which I assume you are... that being said... as you burn fat- your muscles will become more visible and you will look more muscular.. Good Luck and congrats!

That's great to know. So when will my body stop retaining the water for muscles if I continue to still exercise and stress them?

Helloitsdan · March 2012

Your body is repairing itself.
Please give it at least 2 full days of no activity or very mild cardio to repair.
After those 2 days weigh in and measure up.

azbutterfly1324 · March 2012

If I understand you correctly, you are not even a week in? It's too early to expect a loss and any gain you see is probably water. Several trainers have told me that when you work your muscles hard, they retain water while they repair themselves.

It's definitely a good thing that you are taking measurements and body fat percentage along with the scale. There will be days when the scale will not be kind, but everything else will be moving along

Personally, with the amount you have to lose, I would do more than 30 minutes/day. 30DS is great -- I love that workout -- but even 30 additional minutes of just walking would probably be very helpful w/weight loss.

Hope this helps and good luck!!

gatorgirlyyy · March 2012

Do a sane amount of cardio. If you are doing 30DS, I would reccomend some extra light cardio like an evening walk or tossing a frisbee for a bit each night. If you are carrying substantial weight doing too much cardio can lead to injury and set-backs. Trust in the 30DS program as your primary. When finished with that look for a new cornerstone like P90x or a spin class or something. Keep it varied and interesting, but do not over do it.

When I was 391 (at 178 after 2 years) my doctor told me it took you years to put on this much weight it will take years to take it off healthily. Do not undereat, do not overexert. Both of these lead to failure.

First of CONGRATULATIONS on your weight loss! That is just amazing! You should be proud.. not only that you lost it, but that you also stuck with it for two years. Thank you for the advice. I'll just stick to the 30 Day Shred until my endurance builds up.

gatorgirlyyy · March 2012

Your body is repairing itself.
Please give it at least 2 full days of no activity or very mild cardio to repair.
After those 2 days weigh in and measure up.

Okay, great to know. I can't rest cause' that's not part of my goal program.

I will just stay off the scale.

Lost_Mermaid · March 2012

I have a background very similar to yours, with the eating disorder and then going to far in the other direction, and I also just started 30 day shred! I've seen posts about gaining weight the first week or two of 30 day shred, some say its just water trapped in the muscles if your a beginner to exercise, and that it will go away. I'm going to try to wait until i'm done with the 30 days until I weigh myself so I dont get discouraged...or at least only weigh myself ONCE a week, which is difficult because I tend to be scale obsessed

But the body fat reduction in less than a week is REALLY good! So youre doing great

gatorgirlyyy · March 2012

If I understand you correctly, you are not even a week in? It's too early to expect a loss and any gain you see is probably water. Several trainers have told me that when you work your muscles hard, they retain water while they repair themselves.

It's definitely a good thing that you are taking measurements and body fat percentage along with the scale. There will be days when the scale will not be kind, but everything else will be moving along

Personally, with the amount you have to lose, I would do more than 30 minutes/day. 30DS is great -- I love that workout -- but even 30 additional minutes of just walking would probably be very helpful w/weight loss.

Hope this helps and good luck!!

Thanks! See, that's what I was thinking... something to get my heartbeat up and burn more calories that doesn't involve actually trying to "tone & gain" muscle.

Just burnnnnn fat!

gatorgirlyyy · March 2012

I have a background very similar to yours, with the eating disorder and then going to far in the other direction, and I also just started 30 day shred! I've seen posts about gaining weight the first week or two of 30 day shred, some say its just water trapped in the muscles if your a beginner to exercise, and that it will go away. I'm going to try to wait until i'm done with the 30 days until I weigh myself so I dont get discouraged...or at least only weigh myself ONCE a week, which is difficult because I tend to be scale obsessed
But the body fat reduction in less than a week is REALLY good! So youre doing great

WOW! I can relate! I am scale obsessed too and as you know it can be a real discouragement. Maybe I should just give the scale to my mother so I don't have access to it... then rely on the measuring tape. That would honestly be more healthy for me. Than in a good amount of time weigh myself.

Helloitsdan · March 2012

Your body is repairing itself.
Please give it at least 2 full days of no activity or very mild cardio to repair.
After those 2 days weigh in and measure up.

Okay, great to know. I can't rest cause' that's not part of my goal program. I will just stay off the scale.

If you dont have rest days you WILL injure yourself.

I'll break it down easy.

You work out and tear muscle.
The body uses nutrients from food to repair the muscle.
This takes anywhere from 24-48 hours for a workout that lasted about 20mins to an hour.
The next day you work out again and create more tears on already damaged muscle.
You do the same the next day because you dont understand that the human body can only lose so much weight in a week.
So 2 weeks from now you tear your ACL.
This puts you in a cast for 3 weeks.

I actually had the most weight loss after switching routines to a 3 day workout with 2 days of very light cardio.

I'm sure Jillian M has info in the 30DS about rest days but you are heading down the path of injury.

gatorgirlyyy · March 2012

Congrats on your fitness program. Unfortuanately, the weight gain you are experiencing one week in to 30ds is most likely water weight-- your muscles are retaining water because they are taxed and repairing themselves. This will level off, and you will start to see wieght loss- provided your diet is set to a cal deficit-! As to muscle gain, some maintain it is difficult to gain any significant muscle mass/growth while operating at a cal deficit- which I assume you are... that being said... as you burn fat- your muscles will become more visible and you will look more muscular.. Good Luck and congrats!

That's great to know. So when will my body stop retaining the water for muscles if I continue to still exercise and stress them?

I would stay on the program-- your muscles will slowly become accustomed to the routine-- and you sill stop reataining as much water-- then, when you increase the level or start a different program-- you will retain again-- however- you will be losing fat- so your weight should be going down-- teh scale may just be 2-4 lbs heaveir than you actually weigh-- and it may spike up 2-5 lbs when you really work the muscles or work new muscles etc going forward-- I put on 3-4 lbs overnight everytmie I start a new routine-- after a couple of weeks I see big drops- fat plus excess water...

This is great advice... it really is! I will just keep going.

I will be "heavier", but under all the water weight is fat being burned. Inches and Body fat Percentage drops don't lie.

gatorgirlyyy · March 2012

Your body is repairing itself.
Please give it at least 2 full days of no activity or very mild cardio to repair.
After those 2 days weigh in and measure up.

Okay, great to know. I can't rest cause' that's not part of my goal program. I will just stay off the scale.

If you dont have rest days you WILL injure yourself.

I'll break it down easy.

You work out and tear muscle.
The body uses nutrients from food to repair the muscle.
This takes anywhere from 24-48 hours for a workout that lasted about 20mins to an hour.
The next day you work out again and create more tears on already damaged muscle.
You do the same the next day because you dont understand that the human body can only lose so much weight in a week.
So 2 weeks from now you tear your ACL.
This puts you in a cast for 3 weeks.

I actually had the most weight loss after switching routines to a 3 day workout with 2 days of very light cardio.

I'm sure Jillian M has info in the 30DS about rest days but you are heading down the path of injury.

Mhm... thank you for sharing. I will look that up and also visit the 30 Day Shred MFP Groups and speak to others about it. I really appreciate you sharing. wouldn't want to hurt myself. Then I wouldn't be able to workout at all!

gatorgirlyyy · March 2012

Your body is repairing itself.
Please give it at least 2 full days of no activity or very mild cardio to repair.
After those 2 days weigh in and measure up.

Okay, great to know. I can't rest cause' that's not part of my goal program. I will just stay off the scale.

I would not take rest days unless they are scheduled in the program-- if you take two days off every time you are sore-- you will be working out twice a week...lol.... I assume 30ds has at least one rest day built in- and hopefully 1 light day--- that should be enough each week.....

Yeah, I'm going to research it.

trinky1 · March 2012

A pound of muscle does not weigh more than a pound of fat. A pound is a pound no matter what. But the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn. Don't go by the numbers if you zero in on that you will get frustrated. Take your body measurements and watch those. You will feel better.

Helloitsdan · March 2012

Your body is repairing itself.
Please give it at least 2 full days of no activity or very mild cardio to repair.
After those 2 days weigh in and measure up.

Okay, great to know. I can't rest cause' that's not part of my goal program. I will just stay off the scale.

I would not take rest days unless they are scheduled in the program-- if you take two days off every time you are sore-- you will be working out twice a week...lol.... I assume 30ds has at least one rest day built in- and hopefully 1 light day--- that should be enough each week.....

Yeah, I'm going to research it.

True!
There is such thing as an active rest day.
It involves walking!
=D

KathieSwenson · March 2012

Your body is repairing itself.
Please give it at least 2 full days of no activity or very mild cardio to repair.
After those 2 days weigh in and measure up.

Okay, great to know. I can't rest cause' that's not part of my goal program. I will just stay off the scale.

If you dont have rest days you WILL injure yourself.

I'll break it down easy.

You work out and tear muscle.
The body uses nutrients from food to repair the muscle.
This takes anywhere from 24-48 hours for a workout that lasted about 20mins to an hour.
The next day you work out again and create more tears on already damaged muscle.
You do the same the next day because you dont understand that the human body can only lose so much weight in a week.
So 2 weeks from now you tear your ACL.
This puts you in a cast for 3 weeks.

I actually had the most weight loss after switching routines to a 3 day workout with 2 days of very light cardio.

I'm sure Jillian M has info in the 30DS about rest days but you are heading down the path of injury.

I havent seen anything on it yet. however that doesnt mean its not there. I do know that during the program she only incourages rest at 5 seconds at a time. she states you dont do a 20 min only program and expect rest and have results thats not how it works. I do it but I do it 4 times a week and do something different on the other days because of the intesity of the exercise she has us doing (and current knee injuries stemming from playing football with the guys on wet payment and tearing out my ACL because I hadnt exercised in a long time). OH and from experience if you tear your ACL it normally requires surgery, to repaire it as it will not heal back on its own or a wonderful antirotational knee brace that you wear all the time for the rest of your life. And surgery is a 6 month healing process. SO Best to take rests so you dont injure tendons/ligaments like the ACL.

Thats what I would suggest. You can still do 30 days of it with taking exercise. I dont think 30 days means a straight 30 days.

whoiskat23 · March 2012

A pound of muscle does not weigh more than a pound of fat. A pound is a pound no matter what. But the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn. Don't go by the numbers if you zero in on that you will get frustrated. Take your body measurements and watch those. You will feel better.

Thank you! All I really wanted to add to this was a pound is a pound. Muscle is more dense, more compact, but does not weigh more. For example, 1 pound of feathers would look a lot more than 1 pound of rocks, but both weigh exactly the same... 1 pound.

CookieCrumble · March 2012

Your body is repairing itself.
Please give it at least 2 full days of no activity or very mild cardio to repair.
After those 2 days weigh in and measure up.

Okay, great to know. I can't rest cause' that's not part of my goal program. I will just stay off the scale.

If you dont have rest days you WILL injure yourself.

I'll break it down easy.

You work out and tear muscle.
The body uses nutrients from food to repair the muscle.
This takes anywhere from 24-48 hours for a workout that lasted about 20mins to an hour.
The next day you work out again and create more tears on already damaged muscle.
You do the same the next day because you dont understand that the human body can only lose so much weight in a week.
So 2 weeks from now you tear your ACL.
This puts you in a cast for 3 weeks.

I actually had the most weight loss after switching routines to a 3 day workout with 2 days of very light cardio.

I'm sure Jillian M has info in the 30DS about rest days but you are heading down the path of injury.

This ^^^

I'm about the same weight as you, Gatorgirl. You sound as if you're thrilled with the results of bodyfat loss and so you should be but you really need to get your head into the space where that thrill is going to be replaced with the need and understanding for lots and lots of repetitive, hard work and consistent, accurate diary logging.

I'm two months into my programme properly. I don't miss logging in for a single day and I log absolutely everything I eat. I try to go to the gym three times a week - if I can't - I manage at least twice. My programme is this:

Cycling warmup 5 minutes, strength training with the heaviest weights I can manage 30 minutes, rowing 10 minutes then 45-60 minutes in the pool swimming (that really does help with muscle ache the next day).

I do that three times a week - or at least twice.

If I miss my Monday, Wednesday, Friday slot - I do a Tuesday and Thursday slot or some other combo.

On the days that I don't strength train, I cycle at home 30 minutes, or do Billy Blanks for 40 minutes and walk where I can.

I've had comments on my shape changing, my clothes fit better and I feel very much fitter - but I haven't had major losses on the scale given the amount of weight I have to lose. I can live with that - I must - it's going to take time... and more time... and every day is going to be much like the last but I'll be a bit closer to my goal - whether I can see the results or not.

Try not to keep weighing yourself - once a week is ample - and try not to get obsessed with this programme - it's a way of life and a complete change in thinking and trying to micro-manage it and guess and second-guess will very likely only lead to disappointment and ultimately, failure.

There's a huge amount of support here and some really knowledgeable and helpful people to turn to - I thank my lucky stars to have found this site.

Very best of luck, Gatorgirl, you CAN do this! :-D

MrsRawwwr · March 2012

A couple of summers ago, there were many people doing the 30DS that were determined to do it for 30 days straight, changing levels after 10 days, no matter what their bodies were saying. I found I was more successful taking a rest day every week. After resting, I was able to work out harder. I also didn't change my levels until I felt completely ready.And while I didn't lose weight, I lost a ton of inches. My advice is to listen to your body. Good luck!

Shannota · March 2012

I too am under a lot of excess poundage. I started here at 292 and started TurboFire and ChaLean Extreme in February. Thankfully, I noticed a big change in the way my pants fit because I was stuck on the scale and could not get below 280. I would go from 280.4 to 284.6. This lasted for about a month! I don't know if I would have been able to keep it up if I hadn't taken measurements and saw the body fat coming down.

That all being said, you will also want to make sure that you are eating enough to fuel you through the Jillian workouts...she is a tough cookie. Make sure you are eating at least your RMR. Once I gave up the 1400 calories per day and upped to 2060 (my RMR), I finally saw a change on the scale. It could be that the extra water I had finally started to release or my muscle development leveled out, or the increase in calories...whatever it was...I'll take it! Good luck on your journey!

Azdak · March 2012

Let me just add that 1 week is not enough time to detect any measurable changes in body composition--it is not enough time for any significant changes to occur.

As others have said, there are a number of short-term adaptations that occur when starting an exercise program after being sedentary that can show up as "gains" on the scale. These are not increases in muscle. They are due to various fluid shifts, increased muscle glycogen storage, and increased plasma volume. Not everyone experiences these changes in a mesureable way, but they can occur and can account for the scale changes you have described.

The method of estimating body fat that you describe is notoriously inaccurate. It also cannot detect changes in a week's time. Taking circumference measurements is an excellent way to track fat loss, but only as a relative measure--i.e. a decrease in waist size of 5" over 3 months means you are definitely losing fat, regardless of scale weight. I strongly recommend recording a variety of circumference measurements. However, they will not give you a reliable "body fat percentage" number.

Stick with your program--you are taking the first steps to a healthier body and healthier life.

alienblonde1 · March 2012

Take measurements. Muscle takes up less area in body then fat does. Lots of times when I wasn't losing weight I lost in inches. I weigh once a week and measure once a month. I did the recommended areas listed on here at first and added more later. Wish I had beginning measurements of more body areas. Like for example chest area. After a while I started measuring under chest area since I was losing inches in chest area and when I started measuring under chest I realized that those inches lost were actually on back and sides.

Understanding Muscle Gain: Exercising.

Replies

Categories