Continual Weight Gain from Exercise

fastfoodietofitcutie

I'm so frustrated. Even the smallest amount of activity results in a gain on the scale for me. I lose better if I sit home and do nothing but I know that's not good for me.

Since I have so much weight to lose and bad osteoarthritis in my knee, any walking results in inflammation. If I go grocery shopping, the next day I'm up a pound. I know if I were to stick with it for weeks at a time it should work itself out but it's hard to justify a weight gain to the doctor and even myself.

I know swimming would probably be good but I don't have access to a pool. I just don't know if it's best not to exercise at all and keep losing a pound or two a week (although it's taking forever that way!) or keep being active but not losing. Maybe I should do some strength training instead of cardio/walking.

Just venting, discouraged today....

MissAnjy

I feel your pain sister. I retain all my water when I'm working out (strength training). It was also a problem I had during pregnancy (excessive water retention). I've been eating clean and working out for 4 weeks and I'm up 8lbs on the scale. As usual, I won't lose it until I stop working out and my muscles release the water. It's seriously annoying and I know what you mean. It's discouraging. Keep track of your inches lost instead

hill8570

How 'bout focusing on non-scale measurements (waist, hips, how much better a certain pair of skinny jeans fit, etc.?). When the number on the scale is getting in the way of doing the right thing, then the scale needs to be pitched.

subversive99

I agree, if the scale is messing with your head, reduce the amount of times you step on it. If you are eating in a deficit then the weight will come off eventually. Trust the process and don't focus so much on daily fluctuations.

ninerbuff

Toss the scale. Living and dying by it hampers many a person's journey. I always tell my clients:
If you fit the clothes you'd like to wear, get compliments on your physique and look the way you want to look...........................then does what the scale say REALLY matter?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ahoier

focus on your water intake.......females retain and expel water at certain tmes of the month.....and that could be the weight gain you're seeing.....if you're body is starving for water, it will hold it in......secondly, do you have a digital kitchen scale? if not, get one......it could be, that you are over-estimating what you are actually eating......especially if it's something that is not individual wrapped......stuff like cereal, potatos, grapes, cucumbers, celery, PEANUT BUTTER etc......are all gonna be very hard to measure "accurately" without a digital kitchen scale......

also keep in mind, muscle weighs more than fat.......so as you gain muscle, you will start to "plateau"

thirdy? how's your digestion? gas? bloating? hiccups? perhaps look into starting a probiotic regime......get something cheap from your local pharmacy/vitamin aisle.....acidophilus comes to mine......i've tried them all, align, INsync, and typically rotate the products, since strains do tend to vary from product to product......it could be your body is simply not properly digesting the food you are giving to it......the probiotic enzymes will help.

sofaking6

Do you wrap the knee up and ice it right away?

I guess my thinking is, inflammation is not actual weight gain. I think of water weight the same way - I love salt, I have great BP and no worries about my sodium intake. So at any given time, I am totally likely to be retaining water. But as long as it's consistent, it's just factored into my weight already.
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I just can't imagine that your doctor would prefer you to never exercise over gaining a tiny bit of short-term weight. That seems self-defeating in the long run.

And I agree with the mob <g> - stop weighing yourself so much. Go for every week *at most*.

FitPhillygirl

ahoier wrote: »

muscle weighs more than fat.

This is incorrect. Muscle does not weigh more than fat. One pound of muscle occupies less space (volume) within the body than one pound of fat.

rosebette

I checked out your diary, OP, and your diet is very high in sodium. It's possible that the sodium is making you retain water, and since exercise can also cause some water retention, that might be aggravating it. You might want to eat less processed food to reduce your sodium and see what happens. I've noticed myself that if I eat soup (and we've had a lot of snowstorms so I have been eating more canned goods), I will weigh more the next day, even if I'm well under my calorie limit.

999tigger

When you are exercising you are burning calories. The only way you can be gaining is if you are eating further calories or retaining water. If you are keeping hydrated and drinking lots of water then thats fine, its just water retention.

The logic that you are considering stoping exercise is bonkers.

For osteoarthritis then exercise is very importnat including both cardio and strength.

ninerbuff

Eileen_S wrote: »

ahoier wrote: »

muscle weighs more than fat.

This is incorrect. Muscle does not weigh more than fat. One pound of muscle occupies less space (volume) within the body than one pound of fat.

Scientific measure would have one compare VOLUME of one material vs another to identify weight and density. So muscle DOES weigh more than fat if you're going to compare say a liter of muscle versus a liter of fat.
It makes no sense to weigh a material vs another material if the WEIGHT of both is exactly the same.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

FitPhillygirl

ninerbuff wrote: »

Eileen_S wrote: »

ahoier wrote: »

muscle weighs more than fat.

This is incorrect. Muscle does not weigh more than fat. One pound of muscle occupies less space (volume) within the body than one pound of fat.

Scientific measure would have one compare VOLUME of one material vs another to identify weight and density. So muscle DOES weigh more than fat if you're going to compare say a liter of muscle versus a liter of fat.
It makes no sense to weigh a material vs another material if the WEIGHT of both is exactly the same.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

There is no need for you to put all caps in your words, as I can see just fine, thanks. Also, I've read a lot about this and despite what you posted here, muscle does not weigh more than fat.

AllanMisner

Please don’t let the scale be the only input you use. It is one of the worst measures of health and fitness. I have a real beef with MPF having weight lost such a prominent feature of the site. You can lose 11 lbs tonight (just cut your head off). Not the smartest thing to do, but the scale won’t lie. You lost 11 lbs.

Instead, measure yourself (neck, chest, upper arms, waist, stomach, hips and upper legs). Make these smaller (especially waist, stomach and hips) and you’re doing something.

Also, why do people go nuts when Tuesday is not Monday? Gaining weight in one day has nothing to do with gaining fat (you can’t gain a pound of fat in a day, not remotely possible).

Instead, if you’re going to measure weight or anything, look at the long term trend. Down two, up one, down two and so on. That’s much more of reality that just a consistent 1 - 2 lbs lost per week.

And yes, a given volume of muscle (e.g., waist size) weighs more than fat. Focus on body composition and you’ll be ten times better off.

DirrtyH

Eileen_S wrote: »

ninerbuff wrote: »

Eileen_S wrote: »

ahoier wrote: »

muscle weighs more than fat.

This is incorrect. Muscle does not weigh more than fat. One pound of muscle occupies less space (volume) within the body than one pound of fat.

Scientific measure would have one compare VOLUME of one material vs another to identify weight and density. So muscle DOES weigh more than fat if you're going to compare say a liter of muscle versus a liter of fat.
It makes no sense to weigh a material vs another material if the WEIGHT of both is exactly the same.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

There is no need for you to put all caps in your words, as I can see just fine, thanks. Also, I've read a lot about this and despite what you posted here, muscle does not weigh more than fat.

That's right. The sky isn't above the ground. The ground is below the sky!!!