Why isn't it working?

sdgsdfg

If you are building muscle you might not be losing weight but losing body fat.

jenniewb

Feral_Moon wrote: »

Can I just dispel the myth that muscle weighs more than fat? It doesn't, it weighs exactly the same, in the way a pound of feathers weighs exactly the same as a pound of iron.

The difference is in DENSITY. Muscle is far more dense than fat, therefore has less volume. Hence why a well toned person could weigh exactly the same as a fat person but be several clothes sizes smaller.

Ditch the scales and use a tape measure if you want to monitor body change. Or just go by how well your clothes fit you.

I agree with this but...
The thing with muscle is that it can and will retain water (or fluids would be a better name) when in use and for a time after being used. Muscles do this naturally when being used as the body created lactic acid in your muscles when they are being pushed or you are training. It's then the bodies job to get rid of this lactic acid to prevent it building up and causing damage, it gets rid of this fluid/acid by effectively flushing through with water or fluids to neutralise the build up.


(Please excuse me for the lack of technical terms- it's late and I'm trying to explain things in simplified layman's terms as I'm not sure what understanding of the study of exercise anatomy you or anyone else may have!)


If you are continually exercising, this is great as the acid is continually being pushed through but once you stop, well your body doesn't immediately stop it's flushing through of muscles and this fluid meant for flushing through no longer does as your circulation calms down as you've stopped exercising, hence fluids can build up in muscles where as they would not do this for body fat. It's a different tissue and works differently. You'll notice this muscle-filled look when you see people who have just worked out and have the "pumped" or "ripped" look where all their muscles are showing- if they were to stop exercising for a few days, the muscles would no longer look as "ripped". Not because the muscles have gone anywhere but because they are no longer being used and so do not require immediate reaction to displace the lactic acid bought on my exercise.


This is why it is not such a good idea to keep tabs on your weight alone and to look at things overall rather than just taking down a number with no other references.#


I hope all that makes sense! Yes a pound of muscle weighs exactly what a pound of fat does, but a pound of fat is less likely to retain fluids in the same way muscle does and so is less likely to affect body weight on a daily basis the way muscle does.

thor

Conrad wrote: »

often for example leaving out that hoovering up of thier kids leftovers when doing thier daily count.

Now sweating buckets can suggest hard excercise but not always, some people just sweat at the slightest effort. Can you be sure you really train hard.?

Agreed and agreed on both points. Nearly everyone I know who is trying to lose weight, underestimate the number of calories they consume and overestimate the amount of calories burned.