At the risk of sounding stupid...

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  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that.
    So she's eating too much to lose weight ?
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that. You do develop the muscles you have though and they take on water and glycogen as part of the recovery process from your workouts. So you've lost fat and gained nutrients in your muscle tissue almost like your muscle cells are sponges and they are swelling up. This is all very good. Forget the scale for now and focus on the inches! You are doing great!!

    I have seen studies (sorry don't have any links) that show that the obese can build muscle in a deficit. The heavier you are, the less dependent your body is on "fuel". Of course, as you use your fat stores and decrease your body mass, you will inevitably require food to "fuel" your energy demands.
  • cjpierce94
    cjpierce94 Posts: 11 Member
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    I was like you for a while. I'd obsess over the scale number.
    The best gauge for results is THE MIRROR.
    I dropped down to 174, then gained 4 pounds, and I was completely confused. My stomach appeared smaller. Thats when I said screw the scale, go mirror.
  • cjpierce94
    cjpierce94 Posts: 11 Member
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    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that. You do develop the muscles you have though and they take on water and glycogen as part of the recovery process from your workouts. So you've lost fat and gained nutrients in your muscle tissue almost like your muscle cells are sponges and they are swelling up. This is all very good. Forget the scale for now and focus on the inches! You are doing great!!

    I have seen studies (sorry don't have any links) that show that the obese can build muscle in a deficit. The heavier you are, the less dependent your body is on "fuel". Of course, as you use your fat stores and decrease your body mass, you will inevitably require food to "fuel" your energy demands.
    This ^. The obese have more glycogen stored up and can feed into that.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that.
    So she's eating too much to lose weight ?

    I'm not sure I understand why you'd ask this but I'd suggest she is losing fat but not weight as it's being offset so far by water and glycogen from her exercise program. Honeslty, with rare exception, is it our goal to lose weight or lose fat? The weight loss will catch up at some point because the body can only store so much water and glycogen.
  • BigBrewski
    BigBrewski Posts: 922 Member
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    Yep what they all said. :)

    Muscle weighs more than fat. Did you ever see 5lbs of fat? At the gym they use to have a big rubber blog that was the size of 5lbs of fat was rather large. It seems like you are replacing fat with muscle and that shows by your body fat % going down. Also, someone mentioned that as your weight training your muscles will hold more water to repair.

    If clothes are fitting better, body fat %, is going down your going the right direction down worry about the weight number it will start to go down again soon as you pack on that muscle it burns more calories which eventually will lead to weigh loss.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that. You do develop the muscles you have though and they take on water and glycogen as part of the recovery process from your workouts. So you've lost fat and gained nutrients in your muscle tissue almost like your muscle cells are sponges and they are swelling up. This is all very good. Forget the scale for now and focus on the inches! You are doing great!!

    I have seen studies (sorry don't have any links) that show that the obese can build muscle in a deficit. The heavier you are, the less dependent your body is on "fuel". Of course, as you use your fat stores and decrease your body mass, you will inevitably require food to "fuel" your energy demands.

    You are correct. There are generally 3 recognized situations where muscle can be gained in a deficit. If you are obese, if you are a new lifter (called newbie gains) and if you are an athelete returning to lifting after a layoff. So if the OP was obese when she started, it's possible. It's also possible she got some newbie gain but this is never much. A pound or 2 at most.
  • sniperzzzz
    sniperzzzz Posts: 282 Member
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    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that. You do develop the muscles you have though and they take on water and glycogen as part of the recovery process from your workouts. So you've lost fat and gained nutrients in your muscle tissue almost like your muscle cells are sponges and they are swelling up. This is all very good. Forget the scale for now and focus on the inches! You are doing great!!

    I have seen studies (sorry don't have any links) that show that the obese can build muscle in a deficit. The heavier you are, the less dependent your body is on "fuel". Of course, as you use your fat stores and decrease your body mass, you will inevitably require food to "fuel" your energy demands.

    You are correct. There are generally 3 recognized situations where muscle can be gained in a deficit. If you are obese, if you are a new lifter (called newbie gains) and if you are an athelete returning to lifting after a layoff. So if the OP was obese when she started, it's possible. It's also possible she got some newbie gain but this is never much. A pound or 2 at most.
    This^^
  • DonnaZee75
    DonnaZee75 Posts: 7
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    I just started on my weight loss journey, but this doesn't sound stupid at all. This sounds like a great problem to have. LOL!
  • hadesflame
    hadesflame Posts: 95 Member
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    Also I have heard that when you begin strength training (or maybe just strength training in general) that when your muscles are recovering they hold onto water, I don't know if its true, its just something that I remember reading.
    I've heard this as well. Your body needs to repair itself and get used to the new routine, during which time you may retain water but it'll go away after a little while. Just keep doing what you're doing and ignore the scale for now. You seem to be progressing in the right direction. Focus on the positives. Losing inches is awesome! :happy:
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    Yup, agreed. Losing fat and gaining water and strength. Enjoy the results. Well done.
  • LillysGranny
    LillysGranny Posts: 431
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    Stick with your plan. The scale will respond in a few weeks....bet you'll be pleasantly suprised!
  • mbrou28
    mbrou28 Posts: 132 Member
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    Thanks for all your positive input! :happy: I truly appreciate it & it helps motivate me, knowing I'm doing the right thing. I hate that society gets your head so wrapped around the idea of the scale! Scale be damned!! At some point that number will drop so until then, I'm just gonna keep on shrinking inches!

    Way to go!! I had this same question about a month ago (I've been slacking lately). But let the scale discourage me. Good for you! You've inspired me to get back to my weight training routine!
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
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    Fat and muscle have different mass. You're losing fat and gaining muscle (my guess anyway), which means you're losing mass (ie, inches) but not weight.

    Sometimes it's best to ignore the scale!

    Ditto!

    Read somewhere that muscle is 5x denser than fat. So, to hell with the scale!

    Keep on rockin'
  • skittles8810
    skittles8810 Posts: 67
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    http://www.coachcalorie.com/calories-burned-during-exercise-meaningless/
    read this, it explains a lot. And I agree with others, 10lbs of fat vs 10lbs of muscle is the same, Muscle just takes up less space. People get these two confused to much. I have lost 10lbs in 2wks, then i gained 10lbs of muscle. I have been strength training for a month now. I can see a big difference in my body comp and my clothes. So dont stress over the stupid scale.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    the scale will eventually catch up. also you may be gaining muscle as a newbie because it's not going to be pounds and pounds of it, maybe 2 pounds and i seriously doubt you've gained that much muscle in 2 weeks.

    more than likely it's water retention. as your body gets used to lifting it'll flush the excess water out. maybe drink a but more water more water .
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
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    Most of the first few posters (that was all I read) had it correct. Muscle mass is leaner than fat mass but is denser so you will lose inches but not necessarily lose pounds. In some cases you might even gain weight. And there is also water retention to think about. Soon though you should see the scale move. If you need some reassurance, see:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/580019-the-scale-is-a-lying-torture-device-i-m-proof
  • chachita7
    chachita7 Posts: 996 Member
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    fat-vs-muscle.jpg

    No not me - just an example for you to see
  • chachita7
    chachita7 Posts: 996 Member
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    fat-v-muscle.jpg
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
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    I feel you are losing fat but I disagree that you are gaining actual muscle. You started strength training 2 weeks ago you said. It's pretty hard for women to gain muscle mass in 2 weeks. It's even harder to do so in a deficit. Give it time; you are losing inches and that's what matters.

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