How much does muscle weigh?

[peonyinparadise]

Jumped on the scales & horrified to see I've gained 5kg in 7 days. I'm recovering from a foot injury and have been to the gym 3 times in the past week. Light cardio on the reclining bike & upper body weights. I eat healthily, not calorie counting. One Italian carby blow-out meal at the weekend. My waist band was feeling pleasingly looser yesterday & I have been really enjoy my rehab gym sessions. What's with the 5 kg??? Could it be muscle or am I deluded getting really heavy? ☹️

[SerendipityFelix]

Well 1kg of muscle weighs the same as 1kg of fat . Obviously muscle is denser - but still about 80% volume of the same mass of fat, I believe. So not the huge difference that a lot of people think.

Honestly if you feel better - looser waistband and enjoying exercise - then what do numbers on the scale matter.

[peonyinparadise]

Thanks Serendipity, of course! 😅 My post this morning was written in total shock. How is it even possible to gain 5 kg in one week? Especially when exercising & eating pretty well. I'm anxious at the mo & peri menopausal. I was hoping to have shed 1 kg not hit my heaviest weight ever. ☹️

[Ohyesiam]

The only things that I can think of is fluid, I can be 4kg heavier the week before my period.
Or dodgy scales.

[SerendipityFelix]

Inaccurate scales, water retention, menstrual cycle, different time of day, combination of all of the above! Just off the top of my head.

Congrats on the 3 gym visits (that is impressive) and feeling healthier.

An eating plan I have followed before always concentrated on 'NSVs' (non-scale victories) like sticking to plan, measurements, clothing fit, exercise goals (distance/time/reps etc), energy, emotional wellbeing etc. Writing those things down helped me focus on the bigger picture rather than just how much I weigh. I hardly ever weigh myself any more, it's just not a relavent parameter for most things. It's transformed now I feel about my body.

[peonyinparadise]

I like your NSV mindset Serendipity. My recent gym sessions have been a revelation. I've been going purely to get my body moving after 6 weeks in a foot cast. Last week I found myself looking forward to doing a workout. My anxiety disappears post exercise (returns next morning 🙄) which is defo a NSV. My period is due but might not make an appearance due to perimenopause. Plus DD was jumping around on the scales. Waistband definately looser. I go in hope!

[FindoGask]

It's not going to be muscle, I'm afraid! It takes ages to put on muscle for a woman. I've been lifting heavy for well over a year whilst eating well and not doing much cardio, and I've put on a stone in that time. I estimate that maybe half of the weight I've gained (so roughly 6kg) is muscle.

I like the NSV mindset too. I agree that if there has been any gain, it's more likely to be water retention, that has a significant effect. I notice that myfitnesspal says any weight fluctuation within the first three weeks of trying to lose weight is to be disregarded as it's not a linear process.