Yesterday was the first day that I didn't go to the gym and I didn't really eat all that great. I didnt' feel like I completely pigged out though. Today I went to the gym and did my workout and figured I'd go ahead and weigh in while I was there. The scales kept going up and up until it settled on a number that was two pounds more than what I had weighed Friday! Maybe I shouldn't have weighed myself so soon but I was upset that I had gained after working out so good the past week, with the exception of yesterday. I also didn't think what I ate yesterday would warrant a two pound gain! I think my best bet is to just stick with one day a week to weigh myself on and that way these day to day fluctuations won't have my nerves so tore up! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday!

Amy

You also should try to weigh youself before you workout. Ideally, you should weigh yourself right after getting up and going to the bathroom, before putting anything in your body...

remember that ANYTHING including the weather can make you weigh more...i.e. more humidity etc. i personally dont weigh and judge by the mirror and my clothes. also remember that when you first start working out you will gain on the scale.

also this is something that i always tell folks when beginning strength training. that i personally believe its best to lose weight with weights by longer reps/less weight and lots of cardio. you dont want to build the muscle on top of the fat. at least thats the way i was trained.

hang in there!

one day of overindulgence should not cancel out your previous work/efforts. It takes 24 or more hours (more for meat) to digest. You should not let one day's reading on the sacle scare you!

Doesn't muscle build *under* the fat? I mean if you look at a fat person, they already have all their muscles, under the fatty layers... and if those muscles get bigger, they are still going to be under the fat, are they not?

If you ate salty foods that alone can make a gain of two pounds. Two pounds in a day is not real weight. It is water weight. Don't sweat it. Drink a lot of water and weigh in the morning AFTER you go to the bathroom.

I hardly ever weigh. Weighing makes me mean!

Karma

i am not completely sure. i was just always told it was best to lose more fat before you started doing any real strength training because it actually would make you bigger and all that. who knows ? not me, i just know that its always worked for me and whoever i told that to. it always seemed to make the definition that much more well, defined.

the lighter weights/more reps helps burn that fat is what i was told, then you can build up to heavier weights if you so choose. i may be completely off base but it works for me!

I learned that the more muscle tissue you have, the more fat you burn 24/7, and it really it depends more on what you want to look like at your goal.

The definition seems more defined because you are burning off the fat that is covering the muscle, thus making the muscle easier to see. This is an effect of a decreasing percentage of body fat, not of using light weights as opposed to heavy ones.

For informed discussion about weight lifting try the Ladies who Lift forum here at 3FC.

The more muscle you build, the more efficient you become at burning fat. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, and you will burn fat at rest and become much more efficient.

I have weight trained pretty much from the beginning. For a while my arms especially got bigger (I measure as well as weigh) however, I got loads of comments about how great and slim my arms looked! The muscle helped give the fat some definition.

The advice I got was to keep building muscle, and that's what I have done, and I am really pleased with the results so far.