When will I stop gaining muscle?

Until about 6 weeks ago I lived a very sedentary life style. I started at 285-290 pounds. In the last 6 weeks I’ve been eating very healthy, about 2500 calories of lean protein, brown rice, etc…(Good food). I know I’ve lost a lot of fat and gained a lot of muscle since.

For the last two weeks my weight has not changed. The only thing I can think of is that I’m gaining muscle faster then I’m losing fat. There is no way I am over eating.

Am I wrong in my thinking?

If not, when can I expect the muscle gain to slow down to where I am losing more fat then gaining muscle?

I feel so much better. Feel so much stronger. It’s getting frustrating that I’m working so hard and going no where on the scale.

I realize the health factor is more important, but I still have a lot of weight to lose.

F.Y.I. My weight training is upper, lower, off, upper, lower, off, off. I do some cardio almost every day.

It could be your body composition is changing. Are you able to measure your body fat and track that in addition to weight?

Your body adapts very quickly. I might suggest changing up your workout. Change the type of training (new weight routine) or a new form of cardo. Usually when you hit a plateau it means your body has adapted to what your doing and you need a change to get things going again.

Thanks Pamela,

I was thinking of changing it up a bit. Maybe doing two days of full body work-outs and doing more days of 60 minute cardio.

im having the same problem!! my WEIGHT loss has stopped but my clothes are fitting better. i lost 3kg the fist week but since then i have actually gained a little more that that! so how much muscle gain is likely/realistic??

Have you ever tried high intensity interval training for your cardio? That might something new to consider. A lot of people seem to respond well to it.

Yes. I’ve been doing it two sometimes three times a week.

Forget the scale!

Much more important is to check if your clothes do fit better. Do you measure you waist, e.g., once a week?

You should be happy that you are increasing muscles. More muscles, means more calories needed. And if you don’t increase the calorie intake accordingly your fat will melt faster eventually.

I agree, forget the scale and focus on the clothes, body comp, and measurements. I know this is hard to do since we are all so programmed to focus on the scale.

Also, keep in mind that gaining muscle and losing fat is not an either or. They are hopefully happening at the same time! Lots of people trying to lose weight end up losing a lot of muscle in the process. This is bad for a couple of reasons. One, muscle burns more calories at rest than does fat. Two, muscles help you perform daily activities easier. Three, muscle takes up much less space in your body than does fat. Do a quick internet search for muscle and fat pictures and you’ll see what I mean.

Adding variety into your routine is also good, like mentioned above. The really neat think about exercise is that you can be as creative as you want with it. Challenge yourself to try new movements. Change up the number of sets, reps, days per week. Do all body weight exercises one week, bands another, just cardio another, heavy weights the next, and high reps the next. I think you get my point, the options are limitless.

Anyway, keep moving, stay motivated, and keep up the good work!

As laurenak said, maybe you should change your workout routine. You’ll hear frequently that a weight training program should be changed every 4-6 weeks.

Also maybe your body got used to your diet. A cheat day with a higher calorie count could help – but I wouldn’t go for McD for this :-).

I’m in the similar situation as well. My weight sways about 1-2kg (2-4lb) depending on the day of week. I think i’m still losing bodyfat while gaining muscle.

I recommend using the MyoTape Body Tape Measure ($3.80 on amazon.com). Very easy to use by yourself to measure waist, thigh, chest, biceps, forearm, calves, etc. I also have body fat calipers (Accu-Measure Fitness 3000 Personal Body Fat Tester – $5.91 as of this morning on amazon.com). I recommend not using Accu-Measures single point measurement but instead use multiple sites and then use http://www.linear-software.com/online.html to calculate bodyfat.

I think you need both a tape measure and bodyfat measurements if you are doing any strength training or bodybuilding because some of your measurements may increase. However, unless you are doing insane core exercises (or already have low bodyfat), your waist should decrease as bodyfat decreases.

I have the same issue. I have ceased losing weight, but my old cloths that are a size smaller actually fit. Must be doing something right.

MBT shoes