I have had exactly the same thing happen to me in the past.
There is a simple explanation.
Muscle has greater density than fat and so weighs more - you are getting more Arnie and less Homer.
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muscle is 10x more dense than fat.
are you losing inches? weight gain/loss needs to be taken in context with your goals, diet and your exercise regime.
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Don’t know being honest but some muscle gain is likely I guess. Nothing noticeably visible but it is still early in the journey. I’m deliberately staying away from the scales more often than not to be honest. Focussing more on discipline and how I feel. Just need to apply the same philosophy to diet. Getting there as yesterday was a good day. I found some on line diets that laid out a low calorie meal plan. While not strictly following any I’ve grabbed a few meal suggestions and more importantly taken on the portion sizes.
I’m not stressing about it as I’m enjoying the benefits of the new regime.
Another area that I’m really struggling with is getting the food I want in the supermarket. Some simple stuff just isn’t available locally. That is really frustrating at the moment.
Muscle doesn’t weigh more than fat anymore than a ton of feathers weighs more than a ton of bricks.
You’re probably just in an energy surplus, or if it’s a small fluctuation then it could be water weight.
Do the right things consistently and you’ll get the results. Measuring your waist and around your hips is a good idea though. If you’ve got a bit to lose there, and you see no changes over 6 weeks or so, you’ll know you probably need to adjust your diet.
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Absolutely correct.
Which is why I clearly stated that muscle has a greater density than fat - not that it just weighs more.
I will explain it for you so that we dont have to engage again in a long pointless discussion again.
A square metre of sponge (pretend that is fat) weighs less than a square metre of granite (pretend granite is muscle)
Therefore by increasing muscle - denser remember - a person will weigh more.
My cult taught me that.
Should be cubic metre sorry, but your argument is correct with regard to comparative densities
Is that the reason for my slight weight gain? Who knows, but to be fair @ILLOK must also be right in that my calorie in calorie out balance must not be low enough to initiate any weight loss.
That’s great actually as I know what I need to adjust, somehow. That shouldn’t be a massive revelation but it does have a bit of a penny drop moment to it.
Muscle being denser than fat is completely irrelevant to your slight weight gain, and even if it wasn’t you wouldn’t build enough muscle in two weeks for it to even register really.
You’ll either be in a slight caloric surplus or maybe you’re just holding a bit more glycogen/water than the last time you weighed yourself. Even weighing yourself at different times of the day can show some big fluctuations.
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That is very noticeable for me given my kidney issues. Before really hitting the exercise trail adding 7-8 pounds in a day was possible.
Less now thankfully as I’m getting that side under control a bit better but I doubt I’ll ever eradicate it fully.
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It’s sometimes too distracting to be focussing mainly on weight.
Some years ago I weighed over 100 kg and decided to do something about it.
I exercised and ate healthily and over a 3 month period I lost 16 kg.
But, my face was gaunt and my wedding ring loose, while still retaining my spare tyre midriff.
Now, my main focus is on the feeling of healthiness.
I gauge this on how easy running 5km feels for example, and how I feel afterwards.
I haven’t weighed myself for around 5 weeks, don’t need to, I’ll know when I’ve lost weight.
As an aside though, when I did weigh myself regularly, it was always at the same time every morning.
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Well said.
And as we say in the cult, it is not so much about the number on a scale, it is about your overall health and wellness.
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had a couple of bad saturday nights with the beer,
so slowed down on the running.
back to healthy eating and and a few beers on a saturday night,
eating fruit cocktails for lunch each day and enjoying them and feel better for it,
out for a run the night, lovely cold night with no wind,
7.2 miles in 55 mins 10 seconds
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I agree with this but I do think scales can be important to some. They can give people a target and can also show progress while they may feel no different health wise.
Conversely they can also raise concern about a potential problem.
@ILLOK apropos our conversation earlier about compensation for energy expenditure, this is a smart discussion on the topic that’s worth listening to. Relevant part starts at 47:50
https://www.sbspod.com/episodes/accommodating-resistance-for-power-net-energy-cost-of-exercise
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So, arrived at work yesterday for 3 weeks of night shifts with a loose plan.
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Perform some kind of exercise every day.
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Eat as healthily as the menu on offer allows.
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Definitely no chips, and when snacking no ice cream (it’s available every meal time) or chocolate.
Hopefully I’ll see a difference in my performance at the end, and I’ll weigh myself when I get home.
Planned menu.
Evening meal.
Protein shake for midnight meal.
Fresh fruit and cereal at end of shift.
Started well, baked fish and cold meat salad last 2 evenings, and a satisfying 5km speed march on the treadmill today.
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Ok I’m finally moving forward.
A smidge under 13st now which is 5-6lbs down in 8 days. I was basically eating too much, along with too many empty calories. Cut them out, reduced portion sizes, and added a heap of control and discipline. Feeling flatter, harder, less bloated etc.
Fell off the wagon a bit on Thursday but didn’t go too crazy. Still sorting the training regime though.
I did 5 early morning gym sessions this last week, only one run but two of the gym sessions were HIRTish and Tabata to finish on both.
By Friday’s session I was really weak. Not helped by Thursday I think. So probably over did it which wasn’t helped by a couple of poor night’s sleep. The routine requires massive discipline and timing to be spot on just to fit it in around life / work. Forget something and it goes to rat shit pretty quick.
The isn’t sustainable. People who are consistent are so not because they are more disciplined, but because they’ve made it a priority and set their life up in a way that reflects that, which seems a nit picky difference but it is an important one.
However, even something that is a priority can be difficult to do and so the key comes in what can you do to remove the biggest obstacles. How can you set your day up so when the biggest obstacles are already taken care of things tend to flow downhill a bit more. For me it has often been about having enough time in the morning to get it done and be at work when was needed. That meant as soon as I got home every evening the first thing I did was prepare everything I needed so that once my alarm went off I could be out of the house in 5 mins.
- I’d pack my gym bag, collect my work clothes and put them in the car ready to go
- I bought a coffee maker that had an automatic timer so the coffee could be fully brewed ready to drink by the time I walked into the kitchen
- I put out my gym clothes and leave them on the bathroom counter so as soon as I stumble in there weary eyed in the morning to pee I see them and it reminds to get moving.
- I prep all my food for the day and put it all in my work cooler and put that aside in the fridge ready to jus grab and go
- Even the act of getting out of bed early enough when my alarm went off was facilitated by placing my phone on the dressed out of arms reach so I had to get out of bed to turn it off.
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I agree, the change has been so big that in its current form it isn’t sustainable.
So I’m working hard on building that routine and doing many things that you mention in your post. Gym bag ready etc etc. I haven’t got that down yet.
Food prep is my biggest challenge. Getting the time to prep everything to eat at work. That’s 2 meals, 2 snacks, and then having a plan for my evening meal prep etc. There’s also other simple things like sorting my meds and being consistent with taking them. That extends to my gym routines too. Not quite nailed those yet but it’s coming.
It will come and can be made to work but I’m not quite there yet.
Listen to @Limiescouse , he’s hit the nail on the head here.
There’s more to it than discipline. You’ve got to WANT it. What’s your goal? It can’t just be “lose weight” or “get fit”. Has to be something specific like “can perform for 60 minutes in a 5-a-side kickabout”.
Then tailor your diet and fitness regime accordingly.
It helps if you enjoy the process. For example, I like the pump from weight training.
But if you don’t, at least having a defined goal gives you something to aim for.
To his other points…other than work, my days are structured towards fitness (and guitar practice, but that’s not relevant here). If I go for a dinner party I am strict with myself about what and how much I eat. If I have to choose between a social function and my fitness regime, I will unabashedly choose the latter every time.
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FML, just read on the label that 2 scoops is almost 1700 calories.
Probably be healthier having a chip butty and an ice cream.
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Yep, I know what you mean and I do have some targets but they are probably not as well defined as yours, mainly because I don’t know where my limits are or what is achievable for me.
I’d like to get below 12 and a half stone, closer to 12 if I can. At that weight I get into a good range for cycling and that weight feels right for the kite surfing kit I have. Plus I hope to be going snowboarding in mid January. And of course the return to climbing. It all works better with a leaner, lighter, stronger physique.
And all that will help with my health issues.
Training discipline I’ve always found easy when I find something that works. It becomes habit very quickly and hate missing sessions. It’s more difficult and awkward at 6am I admit but the benefits mentally have been enormous already. And I can see a routine change coming in the Summer when we get the longer daylight hours. So that should help mitigate any monotony
Eating correctly is where I’ll struggle longer term. I do need to learn what works for me diet wise and what causes me problems and I’ve doubt that will involve sacrifices. I hate diet sacrifices, I’ve already got more than enough of those on my plate.