skydiverjim's Journal, 21 May 2021

Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. I don't know why people believe this; they both weigh the same! One just has more mass than the other, and can make you look bigger as a result. Hang tight, Jim. We are rooting for you, and do not let that pound ruin your day, because it will probably be gone tomorrow. ⚖ 

if you’re gaining something like .3-.5lbs a week, (1-2lbs a month roughly) but losing fat and looking leaner, that’s what you want. you’re body is going to adapt to the stimulation of working out, your weight will probably not show much of a change on the scale, but! If you’re getting stronger in the gym, and your weight is slowly decreasing or you’re noticing less fat density, then you’re doing just fine. Simple way would be taking a 7 day average of weigh ins, add up each day, divide by 7, if you notice small increases, don’t worry about them. You can also measure your waistline and arms 1-3 times a week and that’ll help you determine what direction you’re heading in. Just keep lifting, it’ll sort itself out. 

Pound your water and keep going!! 

JustBananas— I have to hope that people really understand the pound/pound concept. A pound of feathers vs a pound of lead. As you said— the mass, the volume is way different but a pound is still a pound. 

I gain a lot of weight when I start lifting weights too 

Big scale fluctuations in a short space of time are more likely due to changes in water retention rather than fat gain/loss or muscle gain/loss, unless you've been massively overeating or undereating for a while. So I won't say the "muscle weighs more than fat" line or ascribe it to muscle gain. Still think it's not something to be fussed about. When people say that muscle weighs more than fat, they mean that the same volume of muscle is heavier (weighs more) than the same volume of fat because it is denser. It's a shorthand. Similarly, mass is technically the correct term for what we popularly call "weight", but I think most of us understand what people mean. 

Deadpool...exactly! 

@ JustBananas, I think the idea that idea behind the saying "Muscle weighs more than fat" is a way people express the difference in volume, not really weight.  

@ DEADPOOL12345, the idea of simply watching the scale had become so dominant in my thought process, I had let the more important item of measurements fall off of my radar. I think this is something I really need to get back to - - logging my measurements. Thank you for the reality check.  

EAMFIT - yes! that is the plan! 

@ SunnyBoy__ , a couple of years ago when I did resistance training I recall the same experience. It seems to be more irritating this time around though - I think perhaps the reason is in my youth, I was less focused on my appearance. As we get older one of the things we have to adjust to is that we are not as attractive as we were in our youth, and because of that every little thing that affects our appearance may bother us more. The other side of that would be to just let ourselves go, and most of us here do not want to do that - right?  

@LaughingChevre, EXACTLY!  

SDJ. I understand your frustration. The same thing has happened to me. I started seriously this May. Week 1 diet with no exercise - I dropped, Week 2 diet with excerised - no loss in lbs, Week 3 diet with no excerise - I dropped. I'm going to readd excerise, but I dont get the science. Excerise equals calorie burn. Is it the type of excerise I'm doing? I'm doing calisthenics and up/down on bleachers. 

@Skydiverjim, it can be hard to find the balance between not letting everything slide and becoming obsessive about controlling everything, sometimes to the detriment of our health. I tend to get obsessive about the scale, so learning the fact that it is affected greatly by water in the short-term (and to some extent by fat and muscle) has stopped me from doing harmful things to myself just to control the daily reading. I see a lot of people blaming a reading on a piece of cake or celebrating a loss after suddenly dropping their sodium or eating barely anything for a day. Neither makes any sense. That's crying over primarily water retention and increased glycogen, or rejoicing about the loss of water and glycogen.  

I won’t enter the debate but just say; keep doing what you’re doing. It will work out.🌸