How to Tell?

Kickmedood · April 14th, 2008, 01:35 AM

At 5'3, I weighed 165 lbs. Through cardio, I lost 35 pounds and hit a growth spurt. I was 130 and 5'9". My question is, recently I've been hitting the weights five days a week, but I have also been eating bad.

I'm gaining weight, and I'm not sure whether it's from muscle or fat from not eating great. (I still do cardio every day, about an hour of medium-hard running, and my diet is about the same from before the weight-gain, if not a bit worse)

Is there a way to tell whether the weight I'm gaining is from muscle or fat?

**Insex** · April 14th, 2008, 01:55 AM

Welcome to EF, Kickmedood.

First off, what's your age? The younger you are, the more easily you'll be able to get away with being lean and eating poorly. Secondly, take a look at yourself in the mirror. Do you see any muscle separation and definition with any veins? Or do you just see smooth skin all around your body? If you are not sure what to tell yourself, and want the opinions of others, you can post pictures of yourself in our Pictures of Members section and let our members here offer you some constructive criticism. It's located here:

http://www.extremefitness.com/forum/pictures-members/

Also, you can get Hydrostatic Testing (Underwater Weighing) done to tell you what your body fat is (in percentages). This is a method that accurately determines what your body fat percentage is by seeing how much you float under water. Basically, the more you float the more body fat you have. You can go to your local gym or health club and see if they offer any of these services. To learn more about Hydrostatic Testing, go here:

Body fat testing - hydrostatic body fat testing - body fat equipment: FitnessWave

Once you can determine what your body fat percentage is, you can finally determine whether you are in a healthy range or not. From About.com:

Quote:

Your ideal weight and fat-lean ratio varies considerably for men and women and by age, but the minimum percent of body fat considered safe for good health is 5 percent for males and 12 percent for females. The average adult body fat is closer to 15-18 percent for men and 22-25 percent for women.

Source: Body Composition - Body Fat - Body Weight

Kickmedood · April 14th, 2008, 01:59 AM

I'm 17, about to turn 18 in June.

And there is a bit of muscle seperation, I can see 6 abs, and I'm pretty vascular on my arms and hands. (Am I using that word right?)

**Insex** · April 14th, 2008, 02:08 AM

Yes, you're using that word correctly.

If you can clearly see your six-pack, then you're definitely in a healthy body fat range. You're either at 10 percent or less. The fact that you can see veins in your arms and hands is another indicator that your body fat is low.

Kickmedood · April 14th, 2008, 02:11 AM

Ah, I see, and thanks for the help.

One more thing though, how do I tell if the weight I'm gaining is from muscle or fat? Having been a chubby kid, I have no desire to go back to where I was, so I'm extremely careful about my weight.

**Insex** · April 14th, 2008, 02:26 AM

Only you can be your best judge. I cannot answer that question for you, because I don't know you and I'm sitting at a computer far away from you. I do not know how you used to look and how you look right now.

However, the fact that you say you used to be a chubby kid, and can now see a six-pack with visible veins in the arms, and you train with weights five days a week and perform cardio everyday tells me that you've probably gained a lot of lean tissue (muscle) and very little body fat.

Lastly, have you experienced any strength gains? If you are stronger now than you were when you were 5'3" and 165 lbs., then you've probably gained muscle and hardly any fat.

**wildstang** · April 14th, 2008, 09:40 AM

well judging from the picture you provided in the other thread you started i have to agree with insex in the body fat % stated of 10 or below.
lets touch base on your weight lifting. you mentioned 5 days a week. post us an example of what your doing in that 5 day workout. rule of thumb requires at least minimum 24 hours rest to repair muscle torn from lifting. legs thats another story. i also was a gifted runner in high school, although i had decent amount of size (muscle) on body from hard ranch and farm life.
but in regards to the leg muscles, they will grow a little more regardless of all the running daily untill they hit their genetic marker on size. after that in order to get them any bigger then you need to train them like a body builder giving them rest for recovery. as far as your diet at your age you can get away with a bad diet for a little longer but why do it?
nourishment after a run or weight lifting is critical for muscle repair and to ward off muscle waste. do a little more research here and you will learn whats needed to change to this lifestyle and everything you need is in archives here just have to search and ask questions. good luck.

**gunshowbabe** · April 14th, 2008, 09:44 AM

it's most likely a combination of both, you really need to work on your diet though so you don't have that problem. Like insex has suggested there are also ways of mesuring your bodyfat percentage.

**pliny_2001** · April 14th, 2008, 09:58 AM

Everything that they said. But the easiest way to tell if weight gained is fat or muscle is to examine your lifts: if you're getting stronger, you're adding muscle. If your weight's going up and you aren't lifting more, you're adding fat.

Of course, this won't be completely accurate for your age - you're more than likely still growing a bit, as well as naturally "filling out" - you'll be adding some weight just existing.

Kickmedood · April 14th, 2008, 01:28 PM

Ah, thanks for all the responses!

My lifts are going up--so it must be muscle... Thanks again!

**cujo-1** · April 14th, 2008, 01:37 PM

from what i saw of your pic i wouldnt be overly worried about body fat right now. you came this far and lost the weight nows the time to get serious and start putting on a little muscle and clean up the diet.

Kickmedood · April 14th, 2008, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildstang

lets touch base on your weight lifting. you mentioned 5 days a week. post us an example of what your doing in that 5 day workout. rule of thumb requires at least minimum 24 hours rest to repair muscle torn from lifting.

It changes. I have a Body Conditioning class right now, and we're cycling through four different workouts every few weeks. Two workouts are definition/tone, and the other two are Mass building. I could probably get the workout if I really needed it. I haven't memorized the workouts because it's posted in every corner of the weight room.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildstang

but in regards to the leg muscles, they will grow a little more regardless of all the running daily untill they hit their genetic marker on size. after that in order to get them any bigger then you need to train them like a body builder giving them rest for recovery. as far as your diet at your age you can get away with a bad diet for a little longer but why do it?

I don't think I really need to worry about leg muscles--especially my quads, they're huge compared to the rest of me. My legs are easily the strongest part of my body, as evidenced by my two strongest lifts-- Squats and cleans.

**tooncesthecat** · April 14th, 2008, 10:09 PM

The very fact that you just told us the you do squats and cleans tells us a great deal about you...you have a good, solid idea of what to do to get bigger and stronger! BTW, I don't know if I just missed it or if you haven't posted it, but what are your goals? Size, strength, "beach body", all of the above?

Kickmedood · April 14th, 2008, 10:22 PM

Mostly beach body, although I would like to get as strong as my brother was before he left for his mission. (He was never toned, but he was strong for his size)

I think he maxed out at 200 for bench... Not exactly sure though.

**theatrain** · April 14th, 2008, 10:37 PM

Amazon.com: Accumeasure Fitness 2000 Body Fat...
Amazon.com: Accumeasure Fitness 2000 Body Fat...

using calipers will help a lot to tell what you have lost is fat or muscle, as long as you use the same pair and get some practice in its a pretty good method. The think I just gave you they are $5.00.. Those are Accumeasure, same pair I use and anywhere else on the web they are about 15.00 and more, I think bodybuilding.com has them for like 20.00.. Anyway, they're only 5bucks and hell if you can't afford the 5 dollars I'll buy you a pair lol. They're a good way to tell whats going on with your body

Also I wanna say good job on the weight loss, you've got the right mind frame and everyone here is proud to have a member like you on the forums.