What Happens to My Weight?

Hey all,

I’m 24 years old, 5.6 ft., and training in order to gain muscle, while my goal is to reach the 190 lb. area. I have been dieting and training for about 7 weeks. In the first month everything went fine. I went up from 165 lb. to 175 lb., and my measurement went as follows:
Chest: 36.6" => 37.6"
Waist (just under the navel): 33" => 34.2"
Biceps: 12.2" => 12.5" (relaxed) || 12.5" => 13.1" (flexed)
Legs: 20.5" => 22.2"

From nutrition point of view, I kept a cal. intake of 3000 cals., with 30/50/20 P/C/F. My strength gains were also satisfactory, and I continued to add weight to the bar every workout (these are update data, not from three weeks ago. No problem in this area so far…):
Squat 100 lb. => 195 lb.
Deadlift 120 lb. => 205 lb.
Bench press 75 lb. => 120 lb.
Military press 65 lb. => 100 lb.
Row 65 lb. => 110 lb.

After addressing my gains here, some advised me to try and lower my caloric intake in order to progress slower while maintaining my gut under control. I subtracted my intake with 250 cal. less overall (not in the C, P or F specifically). A week later I went down to 168 lb., a thing that wasn’t really good, to say the least. My mesurment also went down in all fields. So I decided to go back to my regular diet, and the next week went up to 172 lb. with little change in my mesurment. “O.K, so I will just stay with this surplus and see what happens next”, I thought to myself.

BUT after today’s measurements I’m really confused. You see, I went down again to 167.5… and much more surprising, my measurement are almost identical to my stats. at 175 lb., three week ago ( except from my gut, that went from 34.5" to 34.1", and my flexed biceps that went up from 13.1" to 13.2"). I know it’s kind of a good thing, but I don’t know if I should add some cals., or should I stay with my current intake. Plus, did some one experienced a weight drop that didn’t effect his measurement? dose this mean that I just lost fat and preserve my muscle? is this possible when having a caloric surplus?

Your scale weight varies significantly from day to day due to a variety of factors (water intake, food intake, Bodyfat, muscle, glycogen… will of god). It’s best not to pay too much attention to it.

What you asked specifically is [quote]did I lose fat and preserve my muscle? is this possible when having a caloric surplus?[/quote]

The answer is… maybe. Your body does crazy things. It’s best to take brief snapshots when assessing whether or not a diet/exercise-regimen is working. Like hopping on the scale once a week if you’re dieting, and once every two weeks if you’re bulking (bulking takes longer to pick up larger differences).

Oh, and who are these friends of yours who’re recommending you to eat less while bulking?