"Gaining Muscle"

I've been pretty good about working out regularly but recently I have stepped it up. Admittedly I haven't been eating as well as I could be, but I have gained about 3-4 lbs since I started working out more.

Is there any truth to the theory about gaining muscle, or is that just something people say when they don't want to admit they've gained weight? Will I ever be able to lose the weight or do I have to be happy with a higher number on the scale? Do I need to make a conscious effort to diet to see if that works?

My clothes fit exactly the same or some slightly looser.

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

Depends on your body type and your exercise level.

A beginner can add a few pounds of muscle in a few months.

But in a few weeks - very unlikely that you can gain muscle in that time frame. The muscles do retain water though and that goes away after you train consistently.

eta - if i'm wrong, someone correct me

Message edited 1/7/2011 3:33:41 PM.

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

It takes at least 6 weeks to build a pound of muscle, and usually closer to 8 weeks for women. So when people say "oh, you're gaining weight from building muscle", it's only true if it's over the course of a few months.
As mentioned, your muscles will swell with fluid after a workout and while sore causing the number on the scale to be higher without you actually having "gained weight". It's difficult, but try to not go by the number on the scale, just be aware of what you eat, how often you exercise and how you look and feel, and you'll be good :)

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

There is SOME truth to this but not really. It takes a lot of time for women to build pounds of muscle. It also takes a large caloric surplus. WHen you first start upping your workouts, you can see an increase in scale weight based on storing extra water. Unfortunately, this is not muscle that has been built that quickly. Of course muscle weighs more than fat, but it also takes a long time to build so if its just in a few weeks, i would say it's not muscle but temporary water weight.

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

Thanks girls. I have been gradually upping my intensity/times per week/workout time since November. I'm really proud of how I'm doing so I'm trying not to over-think it, but I also think I'm somewhat guilty of eating too much because working out hard makes me hungry.

I made an appointment to see a nutritionist in hopes of optimizing my eating. I will try to pay less attention to the scale but for some reason I can't get the specific numbers out of my head

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

OK...
#1 the scale is the LAST thing you want to look at....

#2 gaining a pound of muscle doesnt really take THAT long... a beginner can expect to gain a FEW pounds of muscle in the first 4-6 months. infact, the first time you ever pick up a weight, it's quite possible that you could easily gain several pounds of muscle per week.
since you said you have started to "up" your workouts since november i assume you have been working out for around 4-6 months at this point? the actual rate at which you will gain muscle mass highly depends on how intelligent your training is.

#3 muscle does weight more then fat. so it is possible to be heavier and skinnier... and have your clothes fit looser.

the most important thing is to LEARN... learn how to do the workouts the correct way and eat right....

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

Honestly, your gain is probably one of two things:

A) as you mentioned your eating habits are not as healthy as they could be, so it's possible you're truly gaining weight from not paying attention to your food intake,

OR

B) you're working out so much harder that your muscles are retaining water. When we begin working out or increase our workouts, our muscles retain water to help repair themselves.

It's highly unlikely that you've gained a significant amount of muscle mass in such a short period of time.

And jus for the record (because it's my biggest pet peeve), muscle DOES NOT weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat and weighs the same as a pound of feathers. Muscle is MORE DENSE than fat, so it takes up less space. So yes, its possible for someone who weighs say 150 pounds and be very tone to wear a size 4 when a person who weighs 150 pounds and is not tone might wear a size 8. But to say that a muscle weighs more is inaccurate. If you put a pound of each on a scale, they both weigh a pound.

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

absolutely true... a pound is a pound... you cant argue that... going by volume muscle is heavier than fat.... fat takes up more space for the same amount of weight...

so you can weigh more and be skinnier

Message edited 1/8/2011 2:58:08 AM.

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

Message edited 1/8/2011 9:14:04 AM.

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

Re: "Gaining Muscle"

Definitely going to work on eating better (I don't eat THAT badly but I could stand to improve) and sounds like I need to hide the scale for awhile!