We tend to get really fixated on our scale weight. (Especially women!) If you are weight training consistently and lifting a decent amount while you train (plus take in sufficient protein), you may not see the scale moving down much. That doesn't mean that your body isn't changing for the better, though. You could be adding muscle and shedding fat at the same time. If your clothes are looser or you even drop a size, but the scale is the same as before, who cares what that number is?! If you visually see your body changing for the better- smaller, leaner, and tighter- don't get so stuck on the scale. Celebrate that the fat is coming off your body while you build muscle! A comment you hear in the gym sometimes is that "muscle weighs more than fat." What's the truth?? Here's a blurb from an article that I read recently....
Does muscle really weigh more than fat? (Article by William R. Sukala, MS, CS)
"Muscle does not weigh more than fat, any more than lead weighs more than feathers. A pound is a pound is a pound. Where the misunderstanding often comes in is that muscle is much more dense than fat, so that, by volume, it seems to weigh more. That is, a pound of muscle occupies less space than a pound of fat. In addition, because a pound of muscle burns more fat than a pound of fat, even at rest, by increasing your lean muscle tissue mass, you're helping your body burn more calories.
If you only have a small amount of weight to lose, then you may feel like the weight training is not helping you move down on the scale. In fact, the number may even go up, but you will look thinner. This is due to an increase in lean body mass (muscle, bone, blood volume) and a decrease in body fat. In other words, even if the scale doesn't change much, you will probably see a difference in how your clothes fit.
On the other hand, if you have a lot of weight to lose, you will also experience an increase in lean body mass and loss of body fat. But the results on the scale will probably be more dramatic."
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So, how much does muscle weigh anyway?
According to wiki.answers.com, each liter (33 oz/4 cups) of muscle is 1.06 kg. That is the same as 2.33 pounds. (About one pound per inch) 1 liter of fat weighs 0.9 kg.
Remember, the scale is not your only indicator of success in your fitness journey. If your goal is to lose weight (fat, that is!) I recommend having your body fat taken so you can track your lean mass to fat ratio and also have your inches taken too. Work to keep your muscle by strength training....muscle is a fat burner, a metabolism lifter, a big calorie burner, and that's where your strength lies.
