[CupOfCoffee]

I have been working out and counting calories for two weeks now (I know, only a short amount of time).

I do both cardio and weights and eat back around half my exercise calories (as a buffer in case I have miscalculated something I have eaten).

I have lost weight (26kg over 9 months) before through calorie counting and some exercise (so I know that works for me), but this time I am working out hard and really focused on body strength.

In the last 2 weeks I have only lost 500grams (300 the first week and 200 this week). I know I don't put on muscle mass fast enough for that to be the reason my weightloss is so slow, but can doing weights make weightloss slower? (I can see body changes, which I love, but I don't know why they are not showing on the scales, and am feeling a bit sad about it).

[MAGS24]

I always thought that muscle weighs more than fat so you might be losing weight but if you are increasing your muscles then you might not see the change on the scales as much. You should notice a difference in your body though.

But if you don't have a change at all for a reasonable period of time, it doesn't hurt to have your thyroid checked just in case. I was killing myself at the gym for around two hours a day five days a week and eating a calorie controlled diet for over six months and only lost 2kgs. I thought that I was doing something wrong but I found out a year later that I had developed a thyroid problem after my first child was born. I had never had any problem losing weight doing the exact same thing before hand.

This post has been edited by MAGS24: 14/01/2013, 07:40 AM

[credence]

Doing weights is the best thing for fat loss because as your muscle mass increases, your metabolism increases even when you're resting.

Of course when you gain muscle, you gain also gain weight, but you lose fat at the same time, so there's a bit of to-ing-and-froing on the scales.

[greengoddess]

I always thought that muscle weighs more than fat so you might be losing weight but if you are increasing your muscles then you might not see the change on the scales as much. You should notice a difference in your body though.

No, no, no, no!!!

1kg of one thing WEIGHS EXACTLY THE SAME as 1kg of something else. This is an irritating misunderstanding that somehow WILL NOT DIE.

What you are trying to say is that 1kg of muscle TAKES UP LESS SPACE than 1kg of fat. Muscle is more dense than fat. This means that if you are building muscle and losing fat, the number on the scale may not change much BUT your body shape will be.

So don't worry about the number on the scale. Pay more attention to how you feel, how your clothes fit and the extra notches you'll need on your belt.

And as credence said, lifting weight builds muscle, and muscle needs energy, so you end up burning more!

[bobet]

1kg of muscle weights the same as 1kg of fat, it's just that 1kg of muscle is alot more dense than 1kg of fat, therefore the muscle takes up less space than fat.

If you're close to your goal weight (within 5-10kg) you need to refocus on using measurements as milestones rather than seeing big numbers on the scales.

Resistance training will be the best thing to remove the final amount of fat you're wanting to loose.

You may have to reassess your goals to measurements rather than weight as you get stronger your body shape will change and you WILL loose fat but your weight may stabilize but you'll continue to drop dress sizes.

Sounds like you're doing brilliantly, keep up the good work.

[M!ssy]

Forget the scales and use a tape measure instead!

[Mozzie1]

As you build muscle, your body will burn more calories even at rest. So over the long term building muscle will be far better for your weight maintenance.

Yes, in the short term it can mean you will see less on the scales. Try not to let this worry you - as PPs have said, a tape measure might be a better indicator of your progress than the scales.

Congratulations on your weight loss so far!

No, no, no, no!!!

1kg of one thing WEIGHS EXACTLY THE SAME as 1kg of something else. This is an irritating misunderstanding that somehow WILL NOT DIE.

What you are trying to say is that 1kg of muscle TAKES UP LESS SPACE than 1kg of fat. Muscle is more dense than fat. This means that if you are building muscle and losing fat, the number on the scale may not change much BUT your body shape will be.

I think it's pretty obvious that this is what the PP meant....

[feliz6]

If ur doing the cardio and weight at a gym see if someone there can take some measurements for you. If not maybe a friend? You might not see a big difference on scales but be getting much more toned

[Anemonefish]

No, no, no, no!!!

1kg of one thing WEIGHS EXACTLY THE SAME as 1kg of something else. This is an irritating misunderstanding that somehow WILL NOT DIE.

I think when people say 'muscle weighs more than fat', they mean that for a given volume, muscle weighs more, i.e. muscle is denser. I know this is what I mean when I say it.

OP, if you're noticing a change in your body shape, even if you aren't losing much weight, keep doing what you're doing, it's working. When I start exercising after a period of slackness, I usually put on at least 1kg in the first week or so, then I start losing weight.

[Lainskii]

Forget the scales and use a tape measure instead!

This