Hi everyone. I am new here. I started SB on March 8, 2004. The first week I lost 6 pounds and did not work out at all. This week, I have gained one pound worked out at least 20 minutes a day and have lost nothing. I am just curious if anyone else is experimenting something like this? Thanks for any help.

You are probably building muscle at the moment. It weighs more than fat. The more muscle however, the more fat you will burn in the long term so keep it up.

I sure am. I have been walking and hiking a lot and my weight loss has really slowed down. I understand the physiology of it and I know it is the best thing but it is still hard to not see that scale needle jump! I know in the long run we will lose weight better and keep it off. But yeah, building that muscle definitely slows the scale loss.

Orchid

Thanks for all the responses. I normally work out 8-10 times a week. In the morning and the evening.. Maybe I work out to much.. Cuz my scale hardly ever moves, and I just keep gaining. I know muscle weighs more than fat, but does it take up more room to? Just curious because I have had to buy bigger sizes. Again thank you.

Billie-Jo -
I am no expert, but I would think that a pound of fat is MUCH larger in volume than a pound of muscle. So even if you replaced pound for pound, you should have lost some inches. But who knows - our bodies are amazing.

I don't know... I sometimes think I lose more when I don't work out.. Thanks again.. I read this forum all the time and have just started posting. I hope to make some friends here.

i think it dpends on what type of exercise you are doing. When i first started heavy weightlifting a year ago (HEAVY- 100 TO 160 POUNDS) my pants became tighter. And then i started gaining weight (but that had nothing to do with the lifting, i was eating too much high carb, high cal food). Since starting atkins last december, and by getting harcore with my HIIT cardio 5 days a week, i have lost a lot of weight, and the muscle i have been building is really starting to be prominent.

We do not gain a HUGE amount of muscle in a short time (not enough to add a pant size...) So if you're still gaining in a couple of weeks, i think you should look towards your diet.

If you're working out 8-10 times a week, you may be over stressing your body. Muscles need a 48 hour break in between workouts to repair and rejuvenate. Stress of any kind - mental or physical - throws your body into a state of panic. A body that is panicked will not readily give up fat. What you're doing could actually be causing more harm then good.

So you never - for example - do your legs or back two days in a row. Intense cardio is fine, but you don't have to do it every day either.

If you haven't read one of the more popular guides to excercise like Body For Life or Body Rx, it may be time to do it. Get into the groove of a manageble routine that will give you results as well as enhance your low-carb experience and not cause you any damage.

Karen

The type of exercise I am doing is Pilates and Taboe 2004. I don't really lift weights. I normally do Taboe in the morning and pilates at night. Thanks for all the advice.

You started SB 10 days ago, lost 6 lbs. It is more than 30% of the excess weight. The reason for not losing, "gaining" probably simply your body readjust, rest.

Neither Taboe, nor Pilates are fast muscle builders, so I do not think this one lb is from muscle gain, much more possible water restrain. Many people who (re)start an intense training program experience similar thing. BUT water restrain usually do not show up as inch gain, so I second lili - maybe you should look towards your diet. Have you visited the SB forum? To post your menu, maybe others can help with advices. I second Karen too, to ease your exercise regime can be helpful too:-)