Losing Fat and Gaining Muscle

Louise12
Louise12 Posts: 389 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
So at the moment I have lost the weight I want to .. im 5"7 and 148 .. id like to be 140 but that is more of a dream .. i am a medium-large frame.

Anyways I am wanting to be less flabby and more firm .

For those of you who have mastered the muscle over flab how did you handle seeing the scale go up a few pounds when you started to become more firm ?

or does the scale in fact not go up? .. and yes i am aware that 1 pound muscle is the same as 1 pound of fat and that the muscle just looks smaller.

I do get confused :)

Replies

  • Louise12
    Louise12 Posts: 389 Member
    Have I infact answered my own question ... the scale will not go up ? i will just look smaller?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    the scales went up, but my jeans got smaller!! so that made me happy!! i tend not to weigh as often any more, i go by how my clothes feel.

    i am about 4/5lbs heavier than my lowest goal weight, but i am smaller than i was at that goal... it does take a bit of getting your head round, but losing inches is much better!!
  • Louise12
    Louise12 Posts: 389 Member
    ok .. so can you tell me why the scale goes up ?

    thanks for the response!
  • leahhugh
    leahhugh Posts: 144 Member
    My scale didn't move for months, until recently. My jeans didn't quite fit better, but My stomach, arms, and legs looked way more toned!!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    i was hoping someone would help me out with the scientific-ness of it all!!!
  • leahhugh
    leahhugh Posts: 144 Member
    Your building muscle when you weight train, which is why the scale would go up.
  • kalynn06
    kalynn06 Posts: 368 Member
    When I lift weights, especially when I up the weight or change my routine, the scale goes up, because muscles retain water as part of the healing process (the water translates to scale weight). When eating at a deficit, you are not going to gain appreciable muscle mass. Even at a surplus, gaining actual muscle mass is slow. Since I'm still eating at a deficit, I'm still losing weight but much more slowly per the scale.

    For example, in the past month, I lost a little less than pound on the scale, but lost a quarter of an inch from my natural waist, half an inch from my hips,a small amount from each thigh and an inch and a half from around my belly button. That constituted more body fat loss (by calipers and 2 circumference calculation methods) than when I lost around 4 pounds of scale weight the month before.
  • Akious
    Akious Posts: 71
    When you start lifting, you will see the scales shoot up a bit. It took a while for me to get used to. I lost 112lbs of fat and then hit the gym and freaked when I saw the number rising. My clothes were getting looser but my weight went up. It had me confused at first. You just have to remind yourself that it is muscle, not fat.
  • persian_star
    persian_star Posts: 197 Member
    I've found it very strange because I'm lifting heavy (using Stronglifts5x5, although not as regularly as the program says, but it still seems to be plenty for me!) and eating at maintenance, but every time I have a really good weights session (on average once a week, life tends to get in the way) I find the next day that the scale has gone DOWN. And that's confusing, because as someone else says, when muscles are rebuilding they hold on to water.

    So my advice is to try not to think about the scale, take your lifting one session at a time, and be pleased with whichever way your body reacts, because whatever your weight does, your body will be getting stronger and firmer.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,060 Member
    If you're on calorie deficit, the likely hood of gaining muscle is pretty nil. You can't build muscle without supplying the energy needed to build it and a calorie deficit is a reduction in energy.
    Why most people hold or gain weight is because water is being used to repair muscle and also stored along with glycogen (refueling cells with energy) with anticipation of working the muscle out again.
    If calorie deficit is consistent and NOT EXTREME, then weight should keep reducing to your body's set point.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • kpnuts23
    kpnuts23 Posts: 960 Member
    Im at 142lbs at the moment - 5 7" and have started lifting weights more often at the gym more recently so i get that toned feeling.. I would ideally like to get down to 133lbs as 126lbs seems a little too unrealistic, but i will continue...
  • katejkelley
    katejkelley Posts: 839 Member
    1 pound of muscle does, indeed, weigh exactly the same as 1 pound of fat; however muscle is much more dense than fat, so 1 pound of muscle is much, much smaller than one pound of fat. The way to overcome the scale issue is to keep track of your measurements. The scale may not move - or may even go up, but your measurements will go down. I can tell my how my clothes fit. Everything I have now is loose :bigsmile: but I'm not quite into the next smaller size yet. I'm actually enjoyiing the bagging clothes right now - they remind me of what I've accomplished.
  • LexyDB
    LexyDB Posts: 261
    Why do people always assume that you're eating under your bmr to lose weight? What if you are eating correctly, feed yourself with enough protein ensuring the macronutrients are correct, say 1.5 or 2.0 g per kg lean mass weight? And training correctly to encourage muscle growth. Add cardio to burning of excess body fat on different days.

    Why can't you lose fat and add muscle? I know of a few people, including myself who are able to accomplish this. As posted in another thread, managing macronutrients on a weekly basis and adjusting to your workout assists no end. It can be done, just needs time and effort.
  • Louise12
    Louise12 Posts: 389 Member
    I understand the concept that muscle and fat way the same its just muscle is denser...

    So at first when i start weight training .. The scale will go up and my muscle build as they will be using water to repair themselves and eventually they will release that water ? or will they not release the water and my inches will just go down ?
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