Can I have put in 6lb of muscle?

[pogglewump]

Hello everyone, I'm new to Mumsnet so please forgive any etiquette breaches.

I have put on almost half a stone in the past 6 months and no matter how hard I try and how strict I am I just can't lose it. I am by no means overweight but my clothes don't feel right and I don't like my body. I'm 51 and 10 years post menopause as I went through it very early. 5 ft 6 and 9 and a half stone.

I started going to the gym about a year ago and strength training 4 times a week so it COULD be that but surely I wouldn't be able to gain that much muscle over a year of working out? I lift as heavy as I can but I'm still basically a beginner. Do I just have to accept that I will weigh more as I get older? My waist measurement has stayed the same despite menopause and weighing more.

I would like to not care but a lifetime of weighing myself is a hard habit to break.

Where in your body do your clothes not feel right?

All over really. I just feel bigger.

But not your waist?

no, waist is the same but stomach below waist feels bloated

How do you train? There is a difference between training for hypertrophy (muscle size) and strength . I see a trend in the gym of people working toward big gluts and big legs, and tiny waist. From your description this might be the way you train? 10-12 reps? short break below 2 min between sets or different exercises?

The muscle damage that causes size increase also causes local inflammation and water retention.
And how is your diet?
If you can't lose, you are eating more than what is needed to lose. People often misjudge their calorie needs. What is a typical day for you? Do you have protein powders, bars for example?

I'm in my 40s and have gained upper body muscle in the last 9 months. I can see it, my clothes are tighter across my back, shoulders and arms and it's not fatty tissue gained.

Tired mscles often hold more water so that can easily add a kg or so to body mass

People can end up over-compensating for calorie burn when doing exercise so that's another possibility.

Were you quite sedentary before? Yes it could be muscle. I could work thru the calculations to show you.

Fatter lower abdomen has to do with fat redistribution as we get older, probably.

6 lbs is abt 2.5 kg, or just under 5% of your total 60 kg mass. If you (typical sort of height and metabolism, & see your age group) start out with low muscle mass, it's possible to end up 'gaining' 2.5 kg that is pure muscle. It's physiologically possible.

We never really lose only fat or gain only muscle.
Even when pro body builders go through a bulking and cutting process, the bulking implies excess calories to build and then careful cutting.
If you don't like how your body looks now, a year after you started lifting, change workout.

There's a big trend now for women lifting weights, it's brilliant and essential for menopausal women like me But you need to do cardio also, it seems to be unpopular ATM but it shifts the weight.

Thank you so much all of you for taking the time to help.

In terms of how I train, I do 3 sets of 15 - range of exercises, eg bicep curls, pull up assist, leg press, tricep pull downs, lateral raises to name some of them. Rest 1 min in between sets.

Diet, I definitely don't eat more than 1000 calories a day and I worry that I have ruined my metabolism with years of dieting. If I increase calories at all, I gain weight quickly. The gym going has been part of trying to have a healthier body image as well as for bone density and toning.

I am quite sedentary as wfh full time. I do a 5km run once a week but otherwise sit down all day!

The wrecking metabolism is really complicated and doesn't really apply to a normal person.
We do need less calories as we age. Our body shape changes as well. This doesn't' mean we can't do anything about it.

You are lifting, and say you are still a beginner, does it mean you are still lifting the same after a year? Have you changed exercises, variations on them, changed the weight? Do you feel difficulty in finishing the set or could you add 1 or 2 more reps in it? Do you have a system (upper body one day, lower body next, or push-pull,...) or you do you follow a sheet, and it hasn't changed in 12 months.
Maybe a change to strength or mixed with cardio is worth trying. Do you feel your heart rate go up and do you sweat a bit? So instead of a leg press, you do box jumps and then you can go to box jumps, step back, burpee and box jump again.
Or would you try lifting heavier and only doing a max of 4-5 reps with a 2 min rest.

Or from time to time, do sprints on the treadmill. 30s full on and 2 min rest then again 30seconds at an Olympic pace (well your version of it) and 2 min rest.

In other words, change and shake your routine.

Now to diet. 1000 a day and you putting weight on, makes me wonder if you are absolutely sure it is 1000, as in I have measured every morsel sure. Calories go up very quickly. However you sound quite determined, so it is possible.
Then, here as well, you might have to change what you eat in those 1000 calories.

I was asking about the protein bars or shakes, because I can't believe the amount of people eating/drinking them on their way to the gym carpark. Maybe watch your salt. Maybe increase the fibre, and make one meal a day a vegetables only meal. In the same way you change the workout , you change the diet, and see how you react.

We can't eat the same in our 50s then we did in our 20s or 30s. The easiest change is to eliminate sugar. Even within your daily calories. I am not saying carbs, I eat plenty of them. But sugar, nope, and sweeteners the same. This includes sauces, breads, even baked beans. You stop and read labels. I drink soya milk and very few brands are unsweetened. Protein shakes and bars are filled with sweeteners. Sugar out and fibre in. Count them as much as your calories. Put in more fibre.

So again change and shake your diet. My way is to eliminate sugar and most packages. And takeaways.

If you have been doing something for a year and you are not happy with the results, change that something. Keep lifting, but lift different and change the diet.

Thank you again! - lots to think about there and I'm grateful.

In terms of lifting, I have increased the weight I lift over the year but not really varied the exercises. Mainly because I'm not sure what to do. For example, I started off with 40kg on the leg press and am now up to 80kg. Started with 3kg for lateral raises and now on 5kg. Maybe I should have a session with a PT for some new exercises. I always struggle with the last few reps. I don't really have a system but make sure each muscle area is exercised 2-3 times per week. I likk your idea about mixing in some cardio.

Diet - definitely not over 1000 calories and no protein bars/shakes. Protein intake mainly comes form chicken breast or Fage 0% Greek yoghurt which is high in protein. You have given me some things to consider around fibre and sugar.

It's also possible that I just have to face reality at my age!

Of course we do change with age and nothing is wrong with that.
We respond to inflammation differently, be it from diet or exercise. Our body is less forgiving with salt.

Try the no sugar/sweetener for a month starting tomorrow morning. and that includes honey, Marple syrup, ...Make space in your pantry for a no sugar shelf. And fill it with quinoa, butter beans, lentils, flaxseeds, rolled oats... Careful with nuts and seeds, calories shoots up. Look at the ingredients in spice mix, so many have added sugar, even what looks like pure dry herbs, 20% sugar in it.

Fill your fridge with colours, peppers, onions, fennel, carrots, .. think soup, salads, a variety of greens, including bitter ones, ...
You like yoghurt, have a mixed variety of berries and sprinkle some flaxseed on top.

You have changed the weights, so that's good, now introduce some HIIT in it. Create your own circuit. Step ups with dumbbells and if you feel safe on top of the bench/box, add a single arm overhead press with opposite knee lift.
I like dynamic workout. Grab a 10 or 20 kgs plate and carry it high over your head with straight arms and walk around and ideally up and down stairs. Or lunge forward with a plate and twist to side. Push back up, change leg. Do a set of skaters, .... the list is infinite.

If your gym has a barre studio, do some classic ballet barre exercises. I can do a 60 min Les Mills body pump class with 1000 reps and not have a single drop of sweat, but a real ballet barre will have me dripping after 30 min. Maria Khoreva has a lot of barre exercises or if barre is not your thing, she has tons of bodyweight workout. As we age, balance and flexibility is important as well.

The key word is change and variety. In your diet and workout. And having fun whilst you do so. Your version of fun might be different than mine. Ballet not your thing, looks for older shred or beach body videos.

And last, I swear by dry brushing. Great for circulation and skin, and also body awareness. The brushing (whole body, not just legs) and applying body cream afterwards also fights water retention.