work out question

Hey ya'll. I am on my 6  month supervised diet, will see my surgeon in september for the first time.  I have lost 18 lbs in 3 months by just eating less.  I started working out 3 weeks ago and i am doing a great job.  treadmill, eliptical and core every time i work out and alternating lower and upper body. 

My question is, How can i keep from adding muscle where theres fat and keep the scale from going up?  I know muscle weighs more than fat, so i dont want to show a gain when i weigh in on the 24th.  any suggestions?  I can do about 35 minutes total on the eliptical and treadmill, and another 30 minutes for core and arms/legs. 

Hi Renee!  Actually, a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat.  But muscle takes up less space in your body than fat.  So you will look smaller with the more muscle you build.  And adding muscle mass will boost your metabolism so that is a good thing!  It sounds like you have a good combination of exercise going!  Great job!  --Deanna  :)

Like Deanna said, the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn at rest.  Even if you did put on more muscle you will be using it to burn more fat.  Congrats on the 18 lbs.

Don't worry about it.  You are training .... for recovery from surgery; the better shape you are in pre-op, the easier your recovery will be.

Keep doing what you are doing.

J

Hello Renee,
A couple of things to consider here.....

- You have stated that you have been working out for about 3 weeks now, and your next weigh-in is another 10 days or so on the 24th. When you first start participating in an exercise program it generally takes about 10-12 weeks to actually expereince muscle growth or hypertrophy.  So, by the 24th of this month you probably will no have been exercising long enough to accumulate enough muscle tissue that it will actually increase your body weight.

- It is difficult to build muscle tissue while also on a calorically restricted diet. Exercise is simply going to push you further into a caloric deficit which is obviously a good thing when you are trying to lose weight.

You are on the right track. Keep it up!

 

Thank you so much!  I an totaly LOVING the work outs.  last night i did 4 miles on the recumbant bike, 12 minutes on the eliptical with a resistance of 10, 350 crunches on the ab machine, and abvout 30 minutes of arms and legs.  THEN after I got home i was so pumped up i walked my dog (or more like he walked me) for another 20 minutes.  It felt so good I just didnt want to stop.  I have NEVER felt like this before, so i know this is my time.  I guess because all of my kids are grown and i can actually commit to taking care of me, and not worrying about kids homework, cooking dinner, ballgames EVERY night etc.  I never could totally commit, now i can and it just feels GREAT!
Thanks so much for the encouragement.  I am really excited!