Exercising Question

bingefeller

HI guys,

I think that I'd posted a few threads before MR closed about my weight.  In that time I've managed to reduce my weight by 20kg and had got it down to 73kg.  I recently started exercising at home - doing 20 - 30 minutes 4 nights a week with a combination of body weight exercises and dumbbell training.  I've been doing this for about 5 weeks now and my weight is still increasing!  I did read that weight increase is normal at that start of exercising and that it should reduce but mine is still going up and I'm now 76kg.  I haven't changed my diet and my weight had been stable at 73kg for many months before I started exercising. 

It's not that I'm overweight now but I'm just wondering why my weight is still going up and for how long this will continue and what causes it exactly?  Some places say it's something to do with muscles retaining water and other places say it's to do with an increase in muslce mass and the fact that you still have some extra fat that means an increase in weight....

dafuzz

Muscle weighs more than fat apparently. Forget the scales - do you look / feel better?

BigMonka

dafuzz said:

Muscle weighs more than fat apparently. Forget the scales - do you look / feel better?

wot he said!

carlos

Measure your waist. If you're gaining muscle weight only, then that shouldn't be increasing. If you're gaining weight and waist measurement, then you need to look at your diet.

bingefeller

Thanks guys. I haven't measured my waist but my trousers don't feel tighter so I guess I'm ok. I feel a lot better but don't look a lot different yet, I am getting there though. I'm not going for really muscular , just more of a lean type physique.

Clarky

serious congrats... 20k is a lot to shed.. feels awesome don't it..

I've been through exactly the same thing.. dieting off fat, but also training to maintain / develop lean tissue..

you basically have two things working in opposite directions.. dieting off fat loses weight, and training puts weight on [but good weight that actually contributes to stuff rather than just being payload to tow around with you]

muscle does weigh more than fat.. but not much.. iirc, a cubic cm of muscle will weigh something like 1.3 times that of a blob of fat of the same size..

muscle growth is far slower than fat los / growth.. so unless your seriously pumping iron and doing steroids, things won't happen quickly

now you've stripped fat, worry less about what you weigh, and focus more on what you look like..if you're getting a little heavier but staying lean then that's a good thing..

bingefeller

Hi Clarky, good to see you here.

I have to admit that I was a bit shocked when I saw my weight rising again.  As long as it's a good weight increase I don't have anything to worry about.  It does feel good to have lost all that weight.  Congrats to you too on loosing it. 

frankus

I'd question the value of using weight as a metric of success. I personally go for functional bodyweight goals - can I do a pull up, 10 burpees in minute, a handstand push-up, 10 strict sit-ups, a toes-to-bar... 1 really good "pistol" each side ... that way the work out can vary (as it should) but the goals shift and slowly grow.

Muscle tissue is denser than fat tissue, so weight gain is to be expected.

There's also an ideal heart-rate for fat burning and another for CV workout - dependant on age and weight, acheiving that for a prolonged period will help maximise the work out... so might be worth investigating that.