I am exercising hard and gaining weight fast... three weeks now!?

Question

First, I have very tight legs and always have. I have two children and am heavier then I would want to be. I have not gained any weight in over a year and did not exercise during the last year other then normal running of the house and kids.... I will go sledding and slightly active at times. Did not gain weight or lose weight over the last year. Well, three weeks ago I joined a gym. I have been exercising through cardio (about 30-60 minutes 4-5 times a week buring about 420 calories in cardio) Then I do strength training every other day so about 2-3 days a week. I also use a 4 lb medicine ball every time I exercise doing ab exercises. I have gained 10 lbs in the last three weeks... remember I have not gained or lost any weight in the last year.... I ate freely during that time and had a few glasses of wine each week. I have quit the wine and have watched what I have been eating on top of the exercise... yet I have gained so much weight. What's up??? What should I do? Thanks

Answer 1

Stay away from the scale, it will LIE to you. What you are experiencing is perfectly normal. When you work out, your muscle cells will fill with fluid and in fact, hold more water. It's OK.

Please, do yourself a favor and DO NOT weigh yourself for another 90 days. Stick with the mirror and make a commitment. The mirror never lies, scales are nasty beasts.

Answer 2

Firstly, congrats on making an effort toward your own physical health! Done correctly, you will find it will do wonders for many aspects of your life.

To the point at hand... You are either doing something right, something wrong, or maybe even nothing (or so you think) at all!

Something right: I suspect the weight you gained is mainly because of a little bit of muscle gain (in combination with water weight, which I'll describe in a bit). Almost anytime one lifts weights for the first time (or after a long layoff), he/she will gain muscle mass at a rapid pace. This is known as "newbie gains."

Something wrong: Another theory is that your body is in starvation mode: Perhaps you're not eating enough to compensate for your physical activity, and therefore your body is storing fat for use as energy as a survival mechanism.

Nothing at all (or so you think): Lastly, whether you gained fat or muscle, most, if not all, of the weight gained is probably water weight! One's water weight may waver by as many as even a dozen pounds in some cases! Changes in water intake, carb intake, sodium intake, physical activity, and even SLEEP will make an impact on one's weight. Most athletes realize this ( any wrestlers or powerlifters out there trying to make a cutoff weight? ;) ). Try going without carbs for a few days, and watch you "miraculously" lose 5-10 lb. Re-enter carbs into your system and watch how fast the "miracle" dissipates!

As everyone has said: LISTEN TO THE MIRROR (or measurements), NOT THE SCALE! Toss the scale and invest in flexible measuring tape. :)

Here's an example: I weigh 210 lb but can still see my abdominals, albeit slightly. I have also been an amateur bodybuilder for years. Weight means nothing, as many athletes know!

Without photos or measurements, only you can tell if you've gained for the worst (fat) or for the better (muscle)!

Good luck! Hope this helps!

Answer 3

10 lbs in 3 weeks is a big increase.

You said you ate freely before you watched what you are eating. Your body probably thinks food is plentiful and therefore has not stored as much as fat as when you started exercising.

Few possibilities here are that it could be muscle(highly unlikely).

You decreased what you ate so much drastically that your body went into "body fat storage" mode which is when the body thinks it is starving so alot of the foods(carbs and fats) that you eat are stored as fat. It could be also that you are burning alot of calories and eating so very little that your body is storing more fat than usual.

Water weight. Could be also your diet.

More than likely it is your diet. Carefully assess your diet. I am almost positive that it is your diet.

EDIT: Muscle does not weigh more than fat. It is myth. Just like a ONE POUND of feather does not weight more than ONE POUND OF bricks. Muscle is denser which gives you the "toned" look while fat is flabby which gives you the soft or flabby look.

Gaining 10 lbs of muscle in 3 weeks is extremely hard unless you are on steroids and eating your *** off. Even then, the most genetically gifted humans can't even gain 10lbs of pure muscle in 3 weeks.

Answer 4

You're definatly building muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat does. You also may be taking in a lot more water since you've been exercising, and that adds water weight as well.

Answer 5

If you had a lot of body fat and not a lot of muscle, you may be "replacing" your fat with muscle. One pound of muscle takes up a lot less room than one pound of fat though, so you're probably losing inches. Instead of relying on the scale, bust out the tape measure and check your waist, hips, and chest - you might be surprised. But if not, don't get yourself down. Just make sure you're keeping a good diet because that's half the battle. Good luck!

Answer 6

Try having some zone bars, they don't really make you lose weight if you're eating a lot of them. You should also try eating actual meals. 5 drinks of instant breakfast isn't going to make you gain weight. Look at how many calories you're eating, and eat more. It is important to listen to how hungry you actually are though. Don't stuff yourself. But if you need to gain weight you need to eat more stuff that has more calories (and you don't have to eat unhealthy stuff, it's just harder to do with low calorie food).

Answer 7

Muscle weighs more than fat. Try not to weight yourself so much or you'll go crazy. You're buring fat. Have you noticed a change in your apperance? Ask any trainer, they will tell you the same. Good luck :)

Answer 8

You are building muscle mass as you lose fat. Fat cells are like airfilled balloons and muscle cells are more solid. Although the scale shows higher numbers you will be losing inches. The flabby fat is being replaced by toned muscle which in reality weighs more.

Answer 9

Don't worry about your weight, worry about how you look! Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are gaining weight chances are you are losing fat and gaining muscle ;)

Answer 10

Do not judge this by the scale it is going to be mainly how you feel at first you will feel more energetic and your body is just building muscle. The scale is not something you should even think about right now