Could I Possibly be Gaining Muscle While Losing Weight??

BikiniBound2011

BikiniBound2011

New member
Hi everyone. I'm hoping y'all can set me straight here.

Prior to joining this site I always thought I could gain muscle while losing weight/being in a calorie deficit. But since I've been a member here I have read some posts that have said it is practically impossible to do so unless you're either really obese or have never strength trained before. So as I am on the path to losing weight again of course I've been measuring my progress in various ways, i.e. the scale and inches lost. I sometimes have issues where I feel defeated if the scale doesn't move so I measure fairly often to see if inches have been lost. Here are my stats:

5'4", female, age 24, starting weight 194.8, current weight 186.8.

As you can see, I have only lost 8 pounds, however I seem to have lost a lot of inches (or at least it seems so to me). I measure several places but I'll only mention a few: Waist: 1 1/2 inches lost, Bellybutton: 5 inches lost, Hips: 2 1/2 inches lost, Thighs: 1 1/4 inches from each. (I differentiate between "bellybutton" and "waist" because my true waist (smallest part) is not where my bellybutton is. I guess it shouldn't matter what I call it, the point is the inches are gone.)

This seems like a lot of inches lost for 8 measly pounds. In the past I would have thought "I'm gaining muscle." but now I'm not sure if that's possible. This is not my first time strength training, I started strength training in 2005, and have done so fairly infrequently since then, until June of this year, and since June I've done so on a consistent basis. (If this has anything to do with it.)

So am I gaining muscle? Or am I just maintaining the muscle I have and losing mostly pure fat? I am thrilled I have lost so many inches already, but I am just wondering how it can be possible with only 8 pounds lost. I am hoping I'm not inaccurate with my measuring....

Sorry if I rambled. Thanks for reading! :)
 
I think you are, the way your losing the pounds that is ideal since muscle is heavy than fat. It is similar to what I am going through right now I am losing very little week by week, but I am seeing muscles develop as I look myself in the mirror. Have a before/after pic in my diary as back up =)
 
Well, you *might* be gaining muscle. When you first start working out you get "NOOB GAINS." The noob gains quickly taper off. It's really, really hard to build muscle, even for guys... so especially for women. 8 pounds makes a huge difference when it comes to losing inches.
 
I think when they talk about beginners, that would include people who are out of shape now, whether or not they have trained in the past. So, it's possible that you could gain some muscle while losing weight. That said, if you have only been training since June, I'd be very surprised if you had gained any measurable amount of muscle.
 
Well first off, I think it would be better to say, "Gaining muscle, while losing fat"

But yes, I had lost a LOT of weight, easily. Even right up to a period from 4 to 2 weeks ago, where I lost another 7 lbs ! Then, in the last couple weeks, my weight seems to have slammed to a halt. However, in the same 2 weeks, I'm seeing a bunch of new muscle growth, and vacsularity ! (which I'm totally stoked about ;))
So, I'd like to think that I am still losing a little fat, but that my muscle gains are kind of canceling out that loss on the scale. Which is all fine and good, as in 3 years, I want to be at least 25 lbs heavier than I am right now, and with about half, the body fat % (from 18% to 9%)

BTW, they say that it's only possible for newbies to lose fat (while they still have a bunch to lose) and gain muscle, at the same time (since the first small gains are much easier) but that for people who are more advanced, it's almost always done in cycles of fat loss, and then muscle gain.

Peace,
Fish
 
I think a more likely explanation for the inches lost is that once you started eating less you're less bloated. Though that wouldn't apply to your hips. Also if you're switching from a diet of refined carbohydrates and salt to a healthier diet, you're going to lose a lot of water because carbs and salt both cause you to retain water.


Of course this would all depend how long it's been since you started. If it's since June of this year that you've seen this change,maybe it's more likely stomach contents/water loss. But if you're been strength training seriously for a long time, it may well be muscle. But like others have said, muscle is hard to put on especially for women. Men struggle with building muscle, and have to eat a lot while lifting heavy weights to bulk up. Women rarely get bulky, we just get leaner.

You could always get a scale that measures body fat %, as that would allow you to know how much fat you've lost.
 
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Thanks guys for your input. I guess I am just suprised by how many inches have been lost for only 8 pounds. But this is my first time measuring so often, so maybe in the past I wasn't aware of all the inches lost while losing weight. I also think some of it may be due to being less bloated, like biggestloser mentioned.

I know I have a lot left to lose, but I am just worried about losing weight/fat, the best way possible. I want to lose as much fat and retain as much muscle as I can while losing the pounds. A few years ago I lost about 15 pounds by changing my diet and doing cardio and weights and got down to 135 and I was a size 8, and I was very happy, but my stomach still looked fat and lumpy, just a lot smaller. I hope when I get to this point again I will know what to do to fix it. I'm guessing when I'm finished losing the fat I will have to start building muscle to get the toned look I want.

Thanks again for your replies!
 
biggestloser105 said:
You could always get a scale that measures body fat %, as that would allow you to know how much fat you've lost.
Click to expand...

I do have a scale that measure body fat %, but it fluctuates so much that it's hard to see if it's going down. Maybe I need to start recording that along with my weight. From my memory, I think it has only went down maybe 2%.

My scale is a Tanita, and seems reliable for measuring my weight, but I am afraid to trust it for my body fat %. It says my body fat % is around 42%. That is awfully high. But maybe it is true?!? :ack2:
 
BikiniBound2011 said:
I do have a scale that measure body fat %, but it fluctuates so much that it's hard to see if it's going down. Maybe I need to start recording that along with my weight. From my memory, I think it has only went down maybe 2%.

My scale is a Tanita, and seems reliable for measuring my weight, but I am afraid to trust it for my body fat %. It says my body fat % is around 42%. That is awfully high. But maybe it is true?!? :ack2:
Click to expand...

It sounds right for your weight and height. I had my body fat measured by a Tanita scale which I have, but also by a machine a nutritionist had and they gave similar readings.

The key to getting consistent readings is to take your measurement at the same time every day after doing the same things. If your skin is damp such as after washing up in the morning, it will affect your reading. I measure my body fat the first thing in the morning before I wash my hands or drink water.

My body fat was 45.5% at 225 pounds, and now it's 42% at 195 pounds.

Which would mean that at 225 pounds I had 102.4 pounds of fat and now I have 81.9 pounds of fat.

So of the 30 pounds I lost, 20.5 were pounds of fat. But it doesn't mean the rest came from muscle. Water, fluids, skin, cartilage and so on are all needed to support a bigger size.

If you do resistance training while losing weight, you should be able to retain most of your muscle.
 
biggestloser105 said:
It sounds right for your weight and height. I had my body fat measured by a Tanita scale which I have, but also by a machine a nutritionist had and they gave similar readings.

The key to getting consistent readings is to take your measurement at the same time every day after doing the same things. If your skin is damp such as after washing up in the morning, it will affect your reading. I measure my body fat the first thing in the morning before I wash my hands or drink water.

My body fat was 45.5% at 225 pounds, and now it's 42% at 195 pounds.

Which would mean that at 225 pounds I had 102.4 pounds of fat and now I have 81.9 pounds of fat.

So of the 30 pounds I lost, 20.5 were pounds of fat. But it doesn't mean the rest came from muscle. Water, fluids, skin, cartilage and so on are all needed to support a bigger size.

If you do resistance training while losing weight, you should be able to retain most of your muscle.
Click to expand...

That was a very helpful explanation. I never would have thought of it that way. Thanks for your help!
 
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