Fact or Myth? Not Losing Weight b/c Gaining Muscle

[HisGirl]

Many times when someone complains of not losing weight, people will often respond "it's because you are gaining muscle". The conversation mostly goes like this:

"I have been eating right and exercising for the last week and I didn't lose a single pound!"
"You are most likely gaining muscle while losing fat"

Recently, this has began to bother me....ok ok I got into an argument with someone over this theory and was curious about what you all think. I see you all talk ALOT about how difficult it is to gain muscle mass. So is it TRULY likely that a woman (it's often women) can be replacing fat with muscle pound for pound in such a short time frame? (i.e. a week or two weeks?) Especially when 90% of these women do zero strength training and all cardio. Seems to me that many of you take months to gain muscle mass. So when someone tells another person they are gaining muscle and that is why the scale isn't moving, is it fact or myth?

Can't wait to hear what you all have to say!

[JayFive]

Well, that depends on how long you've been working out for. Newbie gains can come and hit like a truck and you may end up gaining muscle and losing fat even if you aren't doing "much" strength training and if you're diet is in a deficit. It's kind of an odd phenomenon. I think in these cases (where you aren't losing weight even though you are eating correctly and exercising) you should check %s and measurements. The scale is misleading (especially if you've drank water, ate, had too little or too much sodium, had a meal with carbs, fat, and liquid recently, etc. etc)

[PhiSigPhi]

I get into this arguement all the time with my girlfriend. Women need to get OFF the scale. It doesn't accurately portray anything. BF% and/or circumfrence measurements are the only way to go.

Additionally, I think in a majority of the cases, the women are just not losing weight. The most likely culprits: not eating ENOUGH food/the right kinds of foods (yes i watch most women snacking on bagels, frozen meals, alcoholic drinks, etc. and saying this to me) and/or they AREN'T lifting weights. Those I think are the 2 biggest reasons women have a hard time changing their bodies...IMO

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by HisGirl

So is it TRULY likely that a woman (it's often women) can be replacing fat with muscle pound for pound in such a short time frame? !

If the woman is doing the following, then yes, perhaps she has lost some fat by way adding some muscle

* High protein diet
* Dedicated Weight lifting program
* Low to moderate cardio only
* Several weeks and months of the above


However, I see another scenario where a woman will decide she is going to lose weight. She joins a gym, starts a cardio regimine, doesnt really lift weights, has a mediocre to a poor diet and then after a few weeks the scale doesnt move and she wonders why. This is where the myth would apply by someone trying to tell her it's because she is adding muscle....She needs to fix her damn diet, thats the real truth here.

But you touch on some good points though, because women DO NOT gain muscle as easily as people think.

I think the term really more so applies to men in general over women

[TheHorseman]

Nobody gains muscle as easily as they think. Gaining real lbm is a long, slow process and most people convince themselves that lack of weight loss, tighter clothes and even weight gain MUST be muscle gain.

BS. It isnt difficult to lose 6, 7 or even 10lbs of fat in 4-6 weeks, but 99% of people wont gain 5-10lbs of solid muscle in a year.

I see guys here talking about 20-30lbs in a year and I just think about how fat theyll be.

[skullmurdoc]

Originally Posted by TheHorseman

Nobody gains muscle as easily as they think. Gaining real lbm is a long, slow process and most people convince themselves that lack of weight loss, tighter clothes and even weight gain MUST be muscle gain.

BS. It isnt difficult to lose 6, 7 or even 10lbs of fat in 4-6 weeks, but 99% of people wont gain 5-10lbs of solid muscle in a year.

I see guys here talking about 20-30lbs in a year and I just think about how fat theyll be.

Really just 5-10lbs a year! It seems low but I guess you would know!
Ill aim for 5-10lbs then! loll

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by skullmurdoc

Really just 5-10lbs a year! It seems low but I guess you would know!
Ill aim for 5-10lbs then! loll

He's completely right.....
10 lbs of pure muscle! Just think about how that would make you look.

Most people who go on a "bulker", get a 50/50 average of muscle to fat.
5-10 bs of muscle, with 5-10 lbs of fat.

[TheHorseman]

Originally Posted by BiggerGuns=LongerDrives

He's completely right.....
10 lbs of pure muscle! Just think about how that would make you look.

Most people who go on a "bulker", get a 50/50 average of muscle to fat.
5-10 bs of muscle, with 5-10 lbs of fat.

I'd say most people gain more fat than muscle.

It's a slow process for sure... And Tommy is right, when mfers start bulking, cutting, bulking, cutting, and do that for a year or two, they're rarely any better than when they started, or just slightly better.

I've decided that I'm taking the gradual approach. Only slowly adding muscle and no fat. I train heavy, eat a lot of good ****, and work my ass off.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by TheHorseman

I've decided that I'm taking the gradual approach. Only slowly adding muscle and no fat. I train heavy, eat a lot of good ****, and work my ass off.

And I seriousluy believe this to be the very best approach.
Put it on quick, it comes off quick too...but if done gradually, I think you have alot more chance of retaining it.

[Meta]

would you guys suggest keeping some cardio in your routine... not going on a straight bulk... but eating big but healthy at the same time

I've been bulking... but getting a little gut on me from eating so much... I just wanna shred it down a little bit without losing muscle... it seems whenever I go on a hardcore cut I lose too much muscle, plus I'm not worried about becoming super shredded right now... just losing a few pounds of the gut

I've been cuttin a little on cals... but I don't wanna drop em too much

[JayFive]

Originally Posted by Meta

would you guys suggest keeping some cardio in your routine... not going on a straight bulk... but eating big but healthy at the same time

I've been bulking... but getting a little gut on me from eating so much... I just wanna shred it down a little bit without losing muscle... it seems whenever I go on a hardcore cut I lose too much muscle, plus I'm not worried about becoming super shredded right now... just losing a few pounds of the gut

I've been cuttin a little on cals... but I don't wanna drop em too much

I actually started gaining more strength {edit: previous phrasing made it seem like I was gaining more fat} after I put some cardio in. I'll usually do it on off days or do some very light cardio after my workout but it's helped me out (probably because a year and a half ago I was an obese smoker) and I feel a lot stronger lately. I've seen Boyd say that it helps with recovery too so I'd give it a shot.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by Meta

would you guys suggest keeping some cardio in your routine... not going on a straight bulk... but eating big but healthy at the same time

I've been bulking... but getting a little gut on me from eating so much... I just wanna shred it down a little bit without losing muscle... it seems whenever I go on a hardcore cut I lose too much muscle, plus I'm not worried about becoming super shredded right now... just losing a few pounds of the gut

I've been cuttin a little on cals... but I don't wanna drop em too much

Yes, definitely keep some cardio in your routine, though nothing real intense.

Get rid of the whole "bulking" and "cutting" way of doing things, it's dated and there are better ways of achieving progress through other methods....

[HisGirl]

Very interesting stuff. Unless a woman is a mega beast, I just don't see how for instance if she lost 2 pounds of fat in a week, that she would also gain 2 pounds of muscle that very same week especially when no woman I know does any strength training (except me thanks to you all). But when I try to refute the whole "you are gaining muscle" theory, people get their feelings hurt.

[jennyd]

I think that something to take into consideration is that exercising and working out is very 'mental'.
These women probably feel a little better about themselves after they start exercising, so they are carrying themselves a little differently, and thinking 'I must've made some improvement'....but then they step on the scale, and don't notice any change, people might suggest that it's muscle gain - when it more than likely isn't that.

But...I can't see where that hurts sometimes because these women that also step on scales all the time are more than likely insecure about the way they look and feel....so not seeing any results could be very discouraging for them....lol....so let them think they're gaining muscle. Otherwise, lots of women (especially women) will stop exercising all together if they don't think they're making progress right away.

Until they realize that they need to get off the scale, and that if they're following a decent nutritional diet and training program, everything will come in time...I think that there could be worse things for beginners than thinking this way.

I would never ever tell someone that, but if they think it...more power to them.

By the way....I weigh like 180lbs of PURE MUSCLE.....hahahaha....just kidding.

[HisGirl]

Originally Posted by jennyd

I think that something to take into consideration is that exercising and working out is very 'mental'.
These women probably feel a little better about themselves after they start exercising, so they are carrying themselves a little differently, and thinking 'I must've made some improvement'....but then they step on the scale, and don't notice any change, people might suggest that it's muscle gain - when it more than likely isn't that.

But...I can't see where that hurts sometimes because these women that also step on scales all the time are more than likely insecure about the way they look and feel....so not seeing any results could be very discouraging for them....lol....so let them think they're gaining muscle. Otherwise, lots of women (especially women) will stop exercising all together if they don't think they're making progress right away.

Until they realize that they need to get off the scale, and that if they're following a decent nutritional diet and training program, everything will come in time...I think that there could be worse things for beginners than thinking this way.

I would never ever tell someone that, but if they think it...more power to them.

By the way....I weigh like 180lbs of PURE MUSCLE.....hahahaha....just kidding.

Really? B/c I have 8% bf...lol And on a SERIOUS note. I do agree with you that we (women) often need that extra push to stay in the game. But I think in the long run it's harmful to feed misinformation b/c then we aren't really learning anything like the importance of strength training. Often time we equate skinny with being healthy, but I have a lot of friends who are very slim in pre-hypertension stage b/c they don't understand the importance of nutrition. I also have friends that weigh 20-30 pounds LESS than me, but we wear the same size b/c they are skinny fat. These are women that haven't even hit 30 yet, so I can only imagine without change how their bodies will look in 10, 20, 30 years. I just feel for them.....now time for me to get back to my 250lb bench press :-)

[TheHorseman]

Misinformation, skinny-fat people, desire to be "SKINNY" (and not thinking "LEAN") - these are all problems that are plaguing chicks everywhere.

[PhiSigPhi]

Originally Posted by TheHorseman

Misinformation, skinny-fat people, desire to be "SKINNY" (and not thinking "LEAN") - these are all problems that are plaguing chicks everywhere.

Tell me about it. And the worst part about it is, you can not talk to them about it all (even thought hey watch to b!tch to you about it). There's almost nothing you can do to convince them. My favorite remark usually is "how do you know? Women are not like men." DUH!

[jennyd]

While I totally agree with all of you, I'm just saying that as a woman who is just beginning exercising and working out...a good deal of that is all a mental game.
So, if they feel better about themselves, because they're holding their head higher, their posture is better, and their clothes feel better on them...why rain on their parade?
When they step on the scale and see no difference, it's not hurting anyone for them to assume that they might just be gaining muscle...to me, if we shatter a beginner's pride by saying NOPE...you didn't make any difference and then feeding them the ins and outs of nutrition and weight training, and cardio, and blah blah blah...they're either going to be discouraged or lose interest, which in turn could force them to give up all together.
Once they're on a legit program, they can learn all of the fitness rules and nutrition rules as they go.
I do NOT promote feeding them misinformation....but I also don't promote stomping on their ego.

[jennyd]

Originally Posted by TheHorseman

Misinformation, skinny-fat people, desire to be "SKINNY" (and not thinking "LEAN") - these are all problems that are plaguing chicks everywhere.

Chicks suck!

[Anticor]

Originally Posted by jennyd

Chicks suck!

Until you marry them, then that stops....wait what?