About to cry.

[Blackinese27]

I have a question. I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place, but here goes. I've really started kicking butt in the exercise department. But my weight is creaping up!! Eventho I feel alot lighter. I could cry actually at this point, I steeped on the scale and it said I was 10lbs heavier. What do I do? Anyone had this horror happen?

[kellypa2678]

Re: About to cry.

Please remember that when you are exercising more that you are building muscle and that weighs more than fat. The best thing to do is take your measurements and go by that, not your weight, because as you keep exercising, you are going to turn your fat into muscle, which weighs more.

Kelly

[cheers2you]

Re: About to cry.

Dont cry *passes a tissue*. Kelly is right, muscle definately weighs more than fat. If you feel lighter, Im sure you are getting the atkins cut, I like to call it. I take measurements to see how many inches you have lost from here on out.
Also maybe search your menu for hidden carbs. I had to do that with even my cooking seasonings. Perhaps you are retaining water too. There are several explainations.
Dont give up.

[WarOnTypeII]

Re: About to cry.

Well I wouldn't say muscle weighs MORE than fat, 1lb of muscle = 1lb of fat = 1lb of sand. Muscle is more dense though. I think that means that 1lb of muscle takes up less volume than 1lb of fat.

If you're building muscle faster than losing fat, you will notice a weight gain ... but the more muscle mass you have the more your body needs to use energy to feed those muscles and with this WOL, it will get that energy by metabolizing the FAT.

The key thing, as has been said, is take an honest look at what you're eating, when you're eating and how much water you're drinking. I didn't realize that NOT drinking water would cause my body to RETAIN water ... makes sense, but I didn't realize it until I read it here.

Lastly and most importantly DON'T GIVE UP.


Good luck.

[kellypa2678]

Re: About to cry.

Okay now I am confused. I was always told that muscle weighs more than fat and that if I were to increase my exercise, that I was to pay attention to my measurements and not the scale because of building muscle mass would weigh more than the fat that it replaced.

Kelly

[ValidRouge]

Re: About to cry.

It's the whole you say Potaytoes I say Potahtoes thing...

1 lb of fat = 1 lb of muscle
The muscle is smaller though. Kind of like 1 lb of cotton weighs the same as 1 lb of steel. The steel is a much smaller though and can you imagine how big a 1 POUND bag of cotton balls would be??

On our bodies, fat is fluffier and takes up a lot of room. Muscle is dense and takes up less room. If you lose 1 lb of fat and gain 1 lb of muscle you WILL WEIGH EXACTLY THE SAME, but you will be smaller somewhere. You might even lose 1 lb of FAT and gain 2 lbs of muscle and actually GAIN weight on the scale, but you WILL BE SMALLER somewhere.

Keep in mind too, that anytime you tax your muscles they will retain water in a defense mechanism. Sometimes too, our bodies when fat is lost, will replace that space with water until it decides that it doesn't need that space for fat again. Eventually water will release and the scale will reflect that.

[WarOnTypeII]

Re: About to cry.

Don't be confused it's semantics.

1lb of muscle = 1lb
1lb of fat = 1lb

Conceptually think of it this way though and you'll see ...

1in of muscle = 2lb
1in of fat = 1lb

Now I'm pretty sure that's not accurate in terms of precise numbers but it is conceptually accurate. Muscle tissue is more dense and takes up less space. While you're building muscle mass, you're adding the weight of muscle tissue and as you're metabolizing fat ... you're losing the weight of fat tissue. Even though you won't see it right away .... you've added MORE muscle mass and gotten rid of MORE fat mass.

The net result in weight could be a gain. This gain in weight is muscle mass but it isn't because muscle weight mores than fat. It's because muscle is more dense than fat.


Am I helping or hurting the situation ? lol, let me know.

[kellypa2678]

Re: About to cry.

Gotcha, thank you Joy & War!!

[Buddyjay]

Re: About to cry.

I have a question. I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place, but here goes. I've really started kicking butt in the exercise department. But my weight is creaping up!! Eventho I feel alot lighter. I could cry actually at this point, I steeped on the scale and it said I was 10lbs heavier. What do I do? Anyone had this horror happen?

Looking at you signature and your starting SW and CW, I am guessing that you are fairly new to Atkins and have been exercising for a fairly short time also?
If so, I would doubt that the 10lb weight is from muscle. Not in this short of time. Everyone's assessment about muscle mass is correct, but I would venture to say that your weight gain is a combination of things.
Many times in the past when I started an exercise regime, after a week or so, I too would gain a few pounds. But 10lbs....
Maybe a few is muscle but water retention is probably also occuring. Like others have said "check your menu for hidden carbs".
More importantly, do NOT give up. Keep track of how much water you are actually drinking. Are your foods high in sodium? Processed?
One last thing, although this is a stretch.... If your scale is digital, check the batteries. Low battey levels will give you false readings.

[Lyssie]

Re: About to cry.

I believe Joy said this, and I just wanted to say it again - if you're just starting exercising, your body will retain water. When you tax those muscles in ways they're not used to, they act like little sponges to suck up as much water as they can get a hold on to flush themselves out and help repair and grow bigger and stronger. So even if your diet itself hasn't changed, you could still be retaining water.

Drink *more* water!! It's good for you. Also, if I weigh myself while I'm still sore, I keep in mind that being sore pretty much means that my muscles are retaining water.

[ConfusedAndNeedHelp]

Re: About to cry.

Just to see a visual difference.