i started going to the gym. i do cardio as well as weight exercise then how come i gained weight instead?

Question

my eating habit is controlled, though i eat whatever i want. but mostly in small quantities, i find this weird.

Answer 1

You gained weight because you are eating more calories, whether you think so or not. You could not possibly have gained any weight from muscle growth. That takes a very long time - many months, years.

Answer 2

Are you male or female? I would have more advice for a male, but if you are a woman, then some of it may help.

Be careful with cardio. All kinds of people, even trainers and so-called "experts" will tell you that cardio is the best exercise for losing weight. It is NOT.

Strength training is the best way to burn fat. If you're overloading on cardio, try switching it up - a light cardio routine to warm up is OK, 5 minutes or so. But LIFTING is the most important.

Do your cardio AFTER a good hard lifting routine. The lifting will stimulate your metabolism in a way that when you do cardio, you'll burn more fat.

If you focus on cardio too much, your body starts eating into its own muscle for enrgy, which defeats the purpose. When you lose muscle, your body starts storing more fat.

I tried to simplify it, there's more to it. But for more info, see this book:

"The Testosterone Advantage Plan," by Lou Schuler, et al.

Love Jack

Answer 3

when a person goes from being sedentary to exercising regularly many things happen to the body. one of the first is that insulin sensitivity increases in the muscle cell as the number of glut-4 transporters are increased. these transport nutrients into the muscle cell as they are designed to do. excess blood sugar (glucose) is stored in skeletal muscle as glycogen. with each molecule glycogen stored comes 3-4 molecules of water. this is why everyone that starts to exercise gains weight on the scale initially, it is not from muscle mass. it can take months on average for a person new to resistance training to gain muscle mass with the right diet.

this is exactly why people in the fitness industry stress getting your body fat analyzed periodically. when you know what your body fat % is and see it is isn't increasing but decreasing those ever changing numbers on the scale become insignificant. try not step on the scale to often if possible, those things have ruined more lives than you could imagine.

Answer 4

Also, initial weight gain can be water weight. You usually go through an inflammatory period due to the stress on the bones and muscles. Your body responds by going through a healing process which involves fluid.

So dont be discouraged. It is usually water weight and takes a month or so to get your body used to the new stressors you have placed on it by working out.

Answer 5

Eat high calories diet.
After the exercise drink banana shake + apple
It helps to improve stamina

Answer 6

It is helpful to use a pair of jeans and a tape measure to determine your success. Weight can fluctuate for any reason. Do both weighing and sizing. Peace.

Answer 7

You probably are losing fat and the fat is being replaced by muscle. Remember muscle weighs more than fat and takes up less room than fat. So you shouldn't worry. It is most likely muscle weight and not fat weight. Hope i helped. See ya!

Answer 8

if you are weight training there is a good chance you are building muscle. muscle weighs more than fat. so even if you are losing inches you could still gain afew pounds due to muscle gain. talk to your trainer.