Am I gaining weight or muscle? Someone please help.....

I have been really counting my calories and watching what I eat like crazy. When I weighed this morning, the scale did not say what I wanted it to at all. Now I have been working out every single morning doing crunches, leg lifts, leg squats, and lifting a few weights. Someone told me that It may be because I have gained muscle. I did notice that my pants do seem looser, but when I got on the scale, it did not reflect the same. It is a little discouraging to get on the scale and not see the number that you want to see. Well, do you think that it is because I have gained muscle or what? Thank you in advance, and please be truthful......

Based on what you said, you are NOT gaining muscle. You're not lifting enough and it sounds like you're just starting a program. What's happening if you're new to body weight exercises is your muscles are retaining water which will add a few pounds. That goes away after 4-6 weeks.

there's also the sad possibility you are gaining actual weight, but you would know that by what you're eating. Doesn't sound like it if clothes are fitting better, though

I have worked in the health and fitness world for over 10 years. It sounds like you could be gaining muscle.I would recommend takeing measurements of your body to know for sure.When you do resistance training such as weights/squats/crunches, you work the muscle by "ripping"it.Thus where the term getting ripped came from.Once the muscle heals,your body absorbs protein from the food you eat and supplements you take into the muscle fibers.This is how you tone.Toneing is a good thing.F.Y.I ,each pound of muscle burns an extra 30 calories per day(aprox). Since muscle weighs more then fat,you may see the number on the scale actually get bigger as you tone.Again,start measureing your biceps,waist ,ect...You will notice a decrease of inches in some areas and an increase in others.The decrease is the burned fat.The increase is the new tissue.Good luck!!

Whoa!  Each pound of muscle doesn't burn anything close to 300 cals/day!  I think it's reasonable to say that every adult has at least 10 pounds of muscle throughout their whole body - but many of us maintain our weight on much less than 3000 cals/day - and that wouldn't even include the caloric needs of the rest of our body.

Current research shows that each pound of muscle burns about 6 calories/day (vs. 2 calories/day for a pound of fat).  This is a much smaller number than the previously accepted 30-50 cals/day which, I think, came from not accounting for the fact that trained muscle burns more calories than untrained (~7.5 cals/day for trained?) so when people first started working out, their increased metabolism wasn't just from gaining a pound or two of muscle; it was from training all the rest of their muscle too.

Well, if muscle burned 300kcal/lbs, I'd probably burst into flames about now - on the upside I'd have to get in about 30,000 kcal/day just to feed the muscle ;)

Original Post by electa1980:

I have worked in the health and fitness world for over 10 years. It sounds like you could be gaining muscle.I would recommend takeing measurements of your body to know for sure.When you do resistance training such as weights/squats/crunches, you work the muscle by "ripping"it.Thus where the term getting ripped came from.Once the muscle heals,your body absorbs protein from the food you eat and supplements you take into the muscle fibers.This is how you tone.Toneing is a good thing.F.Y.I ,each pound of muscle burns an extra 300 calories per day(aprox). Since muscle weighs more then fat,you may see the number on the scale actually get bigger as you tone.Again,start measureing your biceps,waist ,ect...You will notice a decrease of inches in some areas and an increase in others.The decrease is the burned fat.The increase is the new tissue.Good luck!!

 Not sure where you got the 300 calories a day figure but that is not even close to correct. Muscle does burn more calories than fat but not that much. Muscle does not "weigh" more than fat. Weight is weight. Muscle is more dense than fat but a LB is a LB.

 http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle- to-fat.html

http://exercise.about.com/od/exerciseworkouts /f/muscle.htm

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/4572 21/how_many_calories_does_one_pound_of.html

To the original poster, when you say watching what you eat like crazy what does that mean? How many calories a day and what kind of food is what matters. Many people think it is all about the calories and it does not matter the type of food. While that may be somewhat true you can loose weight eating junk if  you stay within a certain calorie range you will not see the same results as you would eating a clean/balanced/nutritious diet.

Hey Reice, it sounds like you are on the right track. I have to confess I wasn't always this fat!!! I too spent many years at the gym and was at one time competition body building ready - though too chicken to actually go there!! Through the years I have had to start all over and get my body back!!! Loose weight and get my muscled body back!!! I am there again only with  a record breaking goal in front of me!!! I say all that so that you will know I have been there done that.

I don't know how many calories a pound of muscle burns. I just know it is more than fat and looks a lot better!   I do know that in the past I have always avoided working out until I had lost a certain amount of weight - because I did not want to be discouraged.  I'm doing it different this time.

I have seen my scale jump up 3 pounds and 2 days later drops 5.  I have noticed that when I did start back at the gym it always meant and extra 3 pounds on the scale!!! Very frustrating!!

However, this time I am lifting weights from the beginning and not relying so much on the scale.  If you are eating the right foods - avoiding processed flour, sugar, etc and following the guide lines for your calorie intake this site suggests then you are  probably loosing fat.  There is a reason why body builders always say I lost 20 pounds of fat and gained 25 muscle.

I would agree with the earlier post and do measurements.  You can also get a % fat test done at most gyms and then another one in a month or so and that will tell you for sure.  I think the best judge is the cloths - they never lie.  Also you might be about to see a big drop on the scale.  That always seemed to happen in the past for me.  So hang tough - analyze your food and see what might be causing you problems - maybe even step up aerobic and don't let it get you!!!

Couple more things  real quick.  There is little talk of sodium and sodium will cause you to retain fluid.  We seem to eat far more than our body needs - a whole lot more!!! IE. I had a Healthy Choice frozen meal yesterday and consumed 430 grams of sodium - that is enough to last me a week - maybe 2 or 3!!!! It really matters.  Also are you drinking enough water?  That is really - really important.  Also Green tea is awesome.  It is loaded with antioxidants and seems to help with retained water.  Just another thought. 

Thank all of you for your help. When I say that I have been watching what I eat like crazy, I am saying that I have only been eating between 1600-2000 calories per day. I am 29 years old, and I currently weigh 243 lbs. I probably could stand to drop my calorie intake by a little more though. I did bring out the tape measure, and as of right now, I have lost 3 inches off of my waist. In the past, I never took into consideration anything outside of the number that shows up on the scale, but I am starting to find out that it is about more than that. I'm gonna try to decrease my calorie intake a little more, maybe by a couple of hundred and see how that works out. Thank all of you for your help......

I think your caloric intake is plenty low enough, especially for your size.  I would start doing a bit of cardio though if I were you.  Try walking on a treadmill at 3-3.5 mph.  Being on the treadmill really helps you keep track of your pace.  Try to go for a decent length of time/distance too. 

If you have dropped 3 inches off your waist, you have definitely lost fat then.  I think its time for you to start tracking your body fat %.  Go to a professional, or get the digital self tester.