I did my first push-ups after failing for months

[annmarkerls]

I am F 5’3 168 pounds currently and I’ve been taking the gym more seriously except I haven’t attempted push-ups in months due to constant failure and I finally managed to do 6 push-ups while my legs are still sore from working out. Although I do feel stronger i’m not losing weight. My calorie intake is about 1,500 without exercise and with heavy exercise i eat about 2,300 and try to reach my protein intake about 100g a day. I want to assume it’s because of my water weight as i’ve increased my water intake to a gallon a day. Every time I weigh myself i’m gaining more and more weight. What should I do? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[thomm]

@annmarkerls I have a few things to hit on this

First: push ups are hard. In general it's a better idea to go with an easier variation (such as incline pushups) with full sets/reps with good form instead of throwing yourself at a variation that is too difficult for your current strength level. Try doing 3 sets of 8-12 pushups at like, kitchen counter height, and if you can do that with good form then try dropping down to weight bench height for your pushup sets

Secondly, if you're comparing 1 pound of muscle to 1 pound of fat? The muscle takes up way less space than the fat despite the weight being the same. Weight isn't a great heuristic, but it's easy to measure so people use it. I wouldn't bother weighing yourself more than once a week since basic things like when you last ate, drank water, or used the restroom can make your weight fluctuate 2-5 lbs easy, and since you're female any hormone cycle related fluctuations can also impact it via water retention

Thirdly, recheck your TDEE figures. The light exercise TDEE for your height/weight/gender is likely ~2,000 so you likely need to be targeting around 1,500-1,800 kcal a day (again on average, your body doesn't care if some days you're slightly over/under that target)

You didn't mention how long you've been working out, but it can definitely take 2-3 months or so to start seeing visible results when you start working out more seriously. I wouldn't focus on the scale, I would focus on how you feel and how your clothes fit since the same weight with a lower body fat percentage is a win

 

[melvin190909]

@thomm

I wouldn't bother weighing yourself more than once a week ...

I agree with everything you said, and to an extent this too, but I'd like to add to it:
Alternatively, weigh yourself often (eg twice a day) for a week and take the average once a week, if you want a more accurate figure.

 

[thomm]

@melvin190909 Fair! I was presuming that the original poster might be at risk for developing an eating disorder given the focus on the scale over other metrics for fitness/improvement. I've seen a lot of people screw up their own progress at the gym when they hyper focus on the scale so in general I think it's better for people to interact with the scale less. How their clothes fit, how they feel, how they're progressing with their exercises are all muuuuch better metrics than weight

 

[reality777]

@melvin190909 And also, weigh consistently. Always first thing, right after you wake up and take your morning pee, for instance.

 

[sarangapani]

@thomm

I wouldn't bother weighing yourself more than once a week since basic things like when you last ate, drank water, or used the restroom can make your weight fluctuate 2-5 lbs easy, and since you're female any hormone cycle related fluctuations can also impact it via water retention

That’s why you take the weight every morning, naked, after peeing and take the average over a few days. That way – at least for me and the GF – the fluctuations are usually only ±500g per day to begin with.

 

[thegoodgirl101]

@sarangapani Interesting. I work from home so I strip naked every half hour and use a combo weight/body fat scale that goes to one thousandth of a gram, and I make sure to be entirely shaved at all times. I also bathe before each weighing to make sure dirt and oils aren't throwing off my measurements.

 

[nataliem]

@thomm What do you mean by “muscle takes up way less space than fat”? How much less?

 

[agent23]

@nataliem “Muscle is much denser than fat, which means muscle occupies less space (volume) in the body compared to fat. Muscle has a leaner appearance due to its high density whereas fat occupies more space (volume) in the body.”
link

 

[beckyboop28]

@agent23 That article's first line is awful.

"Muscle weights more than fat" is true. When people say that they mean "for the same volume, because muscle has more density" not *OnE PoUNd wEIghS MoRE tHaN oNE pOunD."

 

[nataliem]

@agent23 You sent me the link to TRUE OR FALSE: MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT. That’s obvious that weighs are the same. I asked “how much less space does the muscle take in comparison to fat?”. That was my question.

 

[godsend11]

@nataliem

This difference in volume is due to the fact that the density of muscle is approximately 1.055 g/mL (Ward & Lieber, 2005) while the density of fat is approximately 0.90 g/mL (Fidanza, 2003). In other words, muscle is about 15% denser than fat.

https://dexalytics.com/news/muscle-density-muscle-quality/

 

[nataliem]

@godsend11 Yup

 

[sarangapani]

@nataliem Actually not much less. Otherwise people with high muscle mass and low body fat would have a much much harder time staying afloat in water. IIRC it’s something like 1.1kg/dm³ vs 0.9kg/dm³.

 

[dawn16]

@sarangapani as a very muscular person who cannot swim, i have been claiming that im "just not buoyant" for years, so im going to pretend i didnt read this.

 

[nataliem]

@sarangapani That’s exactly why I asked. I saw lots of BS pictures about fat vs muscle, for example https://lookingjoligood.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/fat-vs-muscles.jpg . I wanted to know how much less did the commenter above mean, but I’ve never received numbers I know that difference not as big, even from the practical side, for example, in my home country we have food Salo which is basically fat and it’s pretty dense, it’s comparable in size to meat.

 

[beckyboop28]

@nataliem I hate that pic and whoever made it. It's so misleading.

 

[nataliem]

@beckyboop28 As much misleading as these posts “fat takes way more space than muscle” with no explanation how much more space. Also posts about muscles replacing fat. Like if a person starts going to gym, he/she will replace their fat with muscles in couple months. It’s very misleading and do more harm than good.

 

[vanztyn]

@nataliem image of 5 pounds fat vs 5 pounds muscle

5 pounds of fat takes up more space in the body than 5 pounds of muscle but if you get rid of the fat and gain muscle, you will weigh the same: bodyweight - 5 pounds + 5 pounds = bodyweight. If you want to see changes, you have to measure your body like you'rebuying a suit, not weigh yourself.

 

[nataliem]

@vanztyn It’s just 15% difference in volume. As for gaining muscle and losing fat, it’s not that easy. Looks like opinions are split on whether you can gain muscle on calorie deficit or not. Nevertheless, muscles do not grow rapidly. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a research I read about this, but couple sources on the internet mentioned growth rate 0.5-1 pound of lean muscle for women and 1-2 pound for men in a month. It’s easier to lose fat than “replace” fat with muscles as you suggested. It would take at least 5 months to build 5 pound of muscles from your example