I've been lifting weights for 5 weeks but I'm 10 pounds heavier, please help!

kimleebur

Hello! I'm a 5'5 ft 21 year old female. I used to weight 135, and my original goal was 125-130Ibs. I went from having a sedentary life style into lifting weights 4 times a week. I also live on a large campus with a lot of hills, so I do a lot of walking (roughly 15,000 steps). I eat between 1100-1350 calories a day with a relatively healthy diet,drink 8-10 cups of water, and I started counting my macros a week ago. I'm a mesomorph, so my ratios are 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat.

Here's a sample of my recorded diet:

Breakfast: 1.5 Tbsp of peanut butter, 1 cup Non fat vanilla Greek yogurt

Lunch: grilled Zucchini cooked in 1/3 tbsp of olive oil w/ 1 tbsp of Parmesan, 2/3 cup of non fat Greek yogurt

Dinner: 6 oz of over baked chicken marinated in light Italian dressing, 133g sweet potato w/ smart balance butter (0.3 Tbsp), 2/3 cup of green peas.

My macros that day were:
128g carbs (43%)
90g protein (30%)
35g fat (27%)

I've been working out for a total of 5 weeks. From my understanding, water retention from a new work out usually goes away around this time. I'm just not sure if I'm doing anything wrong or if this is normal I would love some insight.

lindsey1979

It's not uncommon to increase some weight when you start a new heavy lifting regime. Water gets pulled into the cells for recovery, so the increased initial weight is to be expected (I'm also heavier the day after lifting by 2-3 lbs). Most do start to even out at 5-6 weeks, but I have heard of cases where it went on for 8-10 weeks.

All I'd say is make sure that you're really eating what you think you're eating -- weigh and measure everything to be sure as it's really easy to overeat and not realize it if you're not weighing everything. I'd also suggest upping your protein. Eating enough protein will help you maintain you LBM in a caloric deficit (lifting also helps with this). A good rule of thumb is 1 g per 1 lb of LBM -- it looks like you may be close, but you could probably use a little more. Also, just to help with satiation and get more nutrition, try to work in more non-starchy veggies. Their calories are usually pretty low, high fiber and chock full of tons of good nutrients, especially the dark leafy kind.

pmm3437

If you are constantly working out ( regular routine ), then your muscles are constantly trying to repair. The water retention associated with the repair process doesn't stop until after the need to repair stops. The amount will increase or decrease based on the intensity and frequency of your workouts. The only time it will go away completely is if you stop training.

Fluctuations in Sodium and carb intake will effect your water retention levels as well.

For 21yr F 5'5" 135 lbs., your Sed TDEE is ~ 1650. From your stated intake, your at a deficit, and should be losing ~ 0.5lbs./week. Check your tracking, make sure it is accurate and complete.

You should only eat < 1200 cals while under medical supervision. You need to increase your minimums.

lindsey1979

pmm3437 wrote: »

If you are constantly working out ( regular routine ), then your muscles are constantly trying to repair. The water retention associated with the repair process doesn't stop until after the need to repair stops. The amount will increase or decrease based on the intensity and frequency of your workouts. The only time it will go away completely is if you stop training.

Fluctuations in Sodium and carb intake will effect your water retention levels as well.

For 21yr F 5'5" 135 lbs., your Sed TDEE is ~ 1650. From your stated intake, your at a deficit, and should be losing ~ 0.5lbs./week. Check your tracking, make sure it is accurate and complete.

You should only eat < 1200 cals while under medical supervision. You need to increase your minimums.

Yes, but the idea is the she's also cutting -- not at maintenance. So after a while, the scale would go down because although the water retention is still there, she'll be losing more fat over time. But, it is a slow process.

And the water retention is usually worst at the beginning of a new program because you're going through your biggest gains/repair period -- the ever lovely newbie gains. Once those fade, you won't be repairing nearly as much and so the water weight will reduce accordingly. That's what most of us mean when we say it evens out.

ntinkham88

You are probably gaining muscle! I switched up my diet and exercise program and gained 20 pounds! You can start measuring your progress by your body fat rather than the scale though. That's what I do now.

DeguelloTex

ntinkham88 wrote: »

You are probably gaining muscle! I switched up my diet and exercise program and gained 20 pounds! You can start measuring your progress by your body fat rather than the scale though. That's what I do now.

No, she's not gaining muscle weight in this scenario. Certainly not two pounds a week.

kathrynjean_

ntinkham88 wrote: »

You are probably gaining muscle! I switched up my diet and exercise program and gained 20 pounds! You can start measuring your progress by your body fat rather than the scale though. That's what I do now.

Barring some small noob gains, gaining muscle requires eating at a caloric surplus, which it doesn't sound like the OP is doing. It's not something that usually happens by accident - it is a purposeful and challenging process. This is especially true for women.

+1 for water weight. Also, are you weighing your food? You're pretty small to begin with so inaccurate logging can really add up and make a difference. That being said, if you are logging accurately, I would suggest eating more. 1100 is definitely too low for everything you're doing.

kimleebur

Yes, I weigh my food. I have a scale and I also measure out my portion! I try to be really careful with how much I eat. I know that on my worst days I don't go over 1600 calories. I keep track of what I'm eating and I always plug it into MFP. So it's a little confusing as to why I'm still up 10 pounds. I will say that I am usually pretty sore, and that it hasn't changed for me yet. I haven't passed the threshold where I don't get sore after my workouts.

IsaackGMOON

ntinkham88 wrote: »

You are probably gaining muscle! I switched up my diet and exercise program and gained 20 pounds! You can start measuring your progress by your body fat rather than the scale though. That's what I do now.

Yeah gaining 10lb's of muscle in 5 weeks.

Gotta be taking some serious gear there, lmao.

Of course she's not gaining muscle.

kimleebur

lindsey1979 wrote: »

It's not uncommon to increase some weight when you start a new heavy lifting regime. Water gets pulled into the cells for recovery, so the increased initial weight is to be expected (I'm also heavier the day after lifting by 2-3 lbs). Most do start to even out at 5-6 weeks, but I have heard of cases where it went on for 8-10 weeks.

All I'd say is make sure that you're really eating what you think you're eating -- weigh and measure everything to be sure as it's really easy to overeat and not realize it if you're not weighing everything. I'd also suggest upping your protein. Eating enough protein will help you maintain you LBM in a caloric deficit (lifting also helps with this). A good rule of thumb is 1 g per 1 lb of LBM -- it looks like you may be close, but you could probably use a little more. Also, just to help with satiation and get more nutrition, try to work in more non-starchy veggies. Their calories are usually pretty low, high fiber and chock full of tons of good nutrients, especially the dark leafy kind.

Yes, I weigh my food. I have a scale and I also measure out my portion! I try to be really careful with how much I eat. I know that on my worst days I don't go over 1600 calories. I keep track of what I'm eating and I always plug it into MFP. So it's a little confusing as to why I'm still up 10 pounds. I will say that I am usually pretty sore, and that it hasn't changed for me yet. I haven't passed the threshold where I don't get sore after my workouts.

ReeseG4350

kathrynjean_ wrote: »

Barring some small noob gains, gaining muscle requires eating at a caloric surplus, which it doesn't sound like the OP is doing. It's not something that usually happens by accident - it is a purposeful and challenging process. This is especially true for women.

+1 for water weight. Also, are you weighing your food? You're pretty small to begin with so inaccurate logging can really add up and make a difference. That being said, if you are logging accurately, I would suggest eating more. 1100 is definitely too low for everything you're doing.

Well, I would have to say NONE of what you have read is 100% true.
Yes. When you start a new workout program, you can expect a bit of water weight gain as your body tries to compensate.
No. You are not going to see a massive water weight gain that will miraculously fall away after a month or sho.

Likewise, yes, you most certainly are going to be gaining weight if you are on a concentrated workout/lifting/running/jogging program. (Anyone who says otherwise doesn't have all of the right information.) NOTE: when you start working out, you will very gradually start seeing more muscle tightness - butt, legs, delts, biceps - you will certainly see more tone in whatever parts of the body you are working.

HOWEVER, again, you will not likely see a large weight gain just from lifting weights and walking long distances.

But there is a point where the two disciplines of thought come together. And that, more often than not, is wherein the truth lies. (oxymorons notwithstanding)

While you are GAINING water weight to help your body grow muscle, you are going to gain weight.
You are also going to be gaining some muscle weight as your body begins to tighten and tone those muscles. How much toning and muscle weight depends upon you and your weight lifting regimen.

Now, bear in mind that muscle takes up less space than fat so, while a pound of fat may take up the space of a gallon jug, the same amount muscle will only occupy about a third to a fourth of that space. So that means that you should be paying more attention to the measuring tape than to the scales. Years ago, there was a Mr. Universe - an Italian guy. He was probably no more than 5'6". And he could lift over half a ton of weight. Strong? Oh, yeh. Muscled? HELZ yeh. And he weight over 400#. But he was almost all solidly muscle. Not fat, mind you. Just bulked with muscle.

I just wanted to illustrate that not all "overweight" weight is a bad thing. And you need to focus on more important issues than what the scales show. Like... has your waist measurement changed? Gone up appreciably? You still wear the same size clothing or maybe gone down? Or... What's your stamina like? can you climb a very tall hill now without getting winded whereas before, maybe, you had to stop and take a breather at the top? Or you could feel your heart pounding a little too much?

What about running a distance on a semi-flat surface? Can you run further - longer - without getting winded? And, how's your lifting going? Do you feel as though you are having an easier time of it now lifting the same weight? Or have you upped the weight you are now lifting beyond where you started a few weeks ago? Or, maybe you can do more reps now than you could before?

There are all sorts of things to look at as far as your health is concerned. It's not all about the number on the scale.

lindsey1979

kimleebur wrote: »

lindsey1979 wrote: »

It's not uncommon to increase some weight when you start a new heavy lifting regime. Water gets pulled into the cells for recovery, so the increased initial weight is to be expected (I'm also heavier the day after lifting by 2-3 lbs). Most do start to even out at 5-6 weeks, but I have heard of cases where it went on for 8-10 weeks.

All I'd say is make sure that you're really eating what you think you're eating -- weigh and measure everything to be sure as it's really easy to overeat and not realize it if you're not weighing everything. I'd also suggest upping your protein. Eating enough protein will help you maintain you LBM in a caloric deficit (lifting also helps with this). A good rule of thumb is 1 g per 1 lb of LBM -- it looks like you may be close, but you could probably use a little more. Also, just to help with satiation and get more nutrition, try to work in more non-starchy veggies. Their calories are usually pretty low, high fiber and chock full of tons of good nutrients, especially the dark leafy kind.

Yes, I weigh my food. I have a scale and I also measure out my portion! I try to be really careful with how much I eat. I know that on my worst days I don't go over 1600 calories. I keep track of what I'm eating and I always plug it into MFP. So it's a little confusing as to why I'm still up 10 pounds. I will say that I am usually pretty sore, and that it hasn't changed for me yet. I haven't passed the threshold where I don't get sore after my workouts.

My guess is that you're someone that is just affected greatly by water retention. That's all --- it happens. You may also want to chart your weight with your cycle (measure same time in cycle against that same time the month prior). Some women also see really big water weight swings due to such hormones, so that could be part of it too.

If after 8 weeks, it still hasn't changed, probably time to start looking into other issues -- changing macros, carb/cal cycling, medical issues, etc.

Mischievous_Rascal

DeguelloTex wrote: »

ntinkham88 wrote: »

You are probably gaining muscle! I switched up my diet and exercise program and gained 20 pounds! You can start measuring your progress by your body fat rather than the scale though. That's what I do now.

No, she's not gaining muscle weight in this scenario. Certainly not two pounds a week.

Agreed, not with that caloric intake. OP: I'm curious...what lifting program have you started?

kimleebur

I do a variety of things, for example:

3x of 10 reps on deadlifts
3x of 10 reps on the squat rack
3x of 10 on bench press
3x of 10-15 curl ups
3x of 15 dumbbell rows
3x of 10 lap pull downs

There's a lot more exercises I do as well, depending on the day

Always_Smiling_D

I believe this has to do with diet - consuming two little.

lindsey1979

You probably need to increase the weight and decrease the reps. 3x10 on a deadlift is crazy high reps. I'd say the same for squats.

Check out something like Starting Strength, StrongLifts, 5/3/1, etc. Generally your accessory lifts (if you're doing them) can be high rep numbers like that (I do a lot of 5x10 for my accessory stuff in 5/3/1 -- but started on Starting Strength), but not on my major lifts (i.e. squat, deadlifts, bench, OHP).

maidentl

Always_Smiling_D wrote: »

I believe this has to do with diet - consuming two little.

You can't gain weight from eating too little.

kimleebur

ReeseG4350 wrote: »

kathrynjean_ wrote: »

Barring some small noob gains, gaining muscle requires eating at a caloric surplus, which it doesn't sound like the OP is doing. It's not something that usually happens by accident - it is a purposeful and challenging process. This is especially true for women.

+1 for water weight. Also, are you weighing your food? You're pretty small to begin with so inaccurate logging can really add up and make a difference. That being said, if you are logging accurately, I would suggest eating more. 1100 is definitely too low for everything you're doing.

Well, I would have to say NONE of what you have read is 100% true.
Yes. When you start a new workout program, you can expect a bit of water weight gain as your body tries to compensate.
No. You are not going to see a massive water weight gain that will miraculously fall away after a month or sho.

Likewise, yes, you most certainly are going to be gaining weight if you are on a concentrated workout/lifting/running/jogging program. (Anyone who says otherwise doesn't have all of the right information.) NOTE: when you start working out, you will very gradually start seeing more muscle tightness - butt, legs, delts, biceps - you will certainly see more tone in whatever parts of the body you are working.

HOWEVER, again, you will not likely see a large weight gain just from lifting weights and walking long distances.

But there is a point where the two disciplines of thought come together. And that, more often than not, is wherein the truth lies. (oxymorons notwithstanding)

While you are GAINING water weight to help your body grow muscle, you are going to gain weight.
You are also going to be gaining some muscle weight as your body begins to tighten and tone those muscles. How much toning and muscle weight depends upon you and your weight lifting regimen.

Now, bear in mind that muscle takes up less space than fat so, while a pound of fat may take up the space of a gallon jug, the same amount muscle will only occupy about a third to a fourth of that space. So that means that you should be paying more attention to the measuring tape than to the scales. Years ago, there was a Mr. Universe - an Italian guy. He was probably no more than 5'6". And he could lift over half a ton of weight. Strong? Oh, yeh. Muscled? HELZ yeh. And he weight over 400#. But he was almost all solidly muscle. Not fat, mind you. Just bulked with muscle.

I just wanted to illustrate that not all "overweight" weight is a bad thing. And you need to focus on more important issues than what the scales show. Like... has your waist measurement changed? Gone up appreciably? You still wear the same size clothing or maybe gone down? Or... What's your stamina like? can you climb a very tall hill now without getting winded whereas before, maybe, you had to stop and take a breather at the top? Or you could feel your heart pounding a little too much?

What about running a distance on a semi-flat surface? Can you run further - longer - without getting winded? And, how's your lifting going? Do you feel as though you are having an easier time of it now lifting the same weight? Or have you upped the weight you are now lifting beyond where you started a few weeks ago? Or, maybe you can do more reps now than you could before?

There are all sorts of things to look at as far as your health is concerned. It's not all about the number on the scale.

I've been going up in the amount of weight I lift. I also appear a little more toned than before. How I know that is because I'm still in the same size clothes but they fit a little better. I, unfortunately, didn't measure myself in the beginning. I did measure myself a day or two ago. The measurements were 36in in bust, 30in stomach region, 36in waist. I'll try to measure myself again in 2+ weeks from now

lisalsd1

Stop weighing yourself and keep lifting.

SLLRunner

maidentl wrote: »

Always_Smiling_D wrote: »

I believe this has to do with diet - consuming two little.

You can't gain weight from eating too little.

QFT.


OP, do you use a food scale? Weigh everything you eat? Log exercise? Eat exercse calorie back and, if so, where do you get the burns from?

If you are gaining weight, you are eating too much. Some could be water retention from weight lifting, but I doubt ten pounds.

open your diary if you want more concrete help.

callsitlikeiseeit

ntinkham88 wrote: »

You are probably gaining muscle! I switched up my diet and exercise program and gained 20 pounds! You can start measuring your progress by your body fat rather than the scale though. That's what I do now.

at her deficit, shes not gaining that much muscle.

I would double check your logging and use a scale, not cups. I would wager you are eating more than you think you are.

jeffpettis

ReeseG4350 wrote: »

kathrynjean_ wrote: »

Barring some small noob gains, gaining muscle requires eating at a caloric surplus, which it doesn't sound like the OP is doing. It's not something that usually happens by accident - it is a purposeful and challenging process. This is especially true for women.

+1 for water weight. Also, are you weighing your food? You're pretty small to begin with so inaccurate logging can really add up and make a difference. That being said, if you are logging accurately, I would suggest eating more. 1100 is definitely too low for everything you're doing.

Well, I would have to say NONE of what you have read is 100% true.
Yes. When you start a new workout program, you can expect a bit of water weight gain as your body tries to compensate.
No. You are not going to see a massive water weight gain that will miraculously fall away after a month or sho.

Likewise, yes, you most certainly are going to be gaining weight if you are on a concentrated workout/lifting/running/jogging program. (Anyone who says otherwise doesn't have all of the right information.) NOTE: when you start working out, you will very gradually start seeing more muscle tightness - butt, legs, delts, biceps - you will certainly see more tone in whatever parts of the body you are working.

HOWEVER, again, you will not likely see a large weight gain just from lifting weights and walking long distances.

But there is a point where the two disciplines of thought come together. And that, more often than not, is wherein the truth lies. (oxymorons notwithstanding)

While you are GAINING water weight to help your body grow muscle, you are going to gain weight.
You are also going to be gaining some muscle weight as your body begins to tighten and tone those muscles. How much toning and muscle weight depends upon you and your weight lifting regimen.

Now, bear in mind that muscle takes up less space than fat so, while a pound of fat may take up the space of a gallon jug, the same amount muscle will only occupy about a third to a fourth of that space. So that means that you should be paying more attention to the measuring tape than to the scales. Years ago, there was a Mr. Universe - an Italian guy. He was probably no more than 5'6". And he could lift over half a ton of weight. Strong? Oh, yeh. Muscled? HELZ yeh. And he weight over 400#. But he was almost all solidly muscle. Not fat, mind you. Just bulked with muscle.

I just wanted to illustrate that not all "overweight" weight is a bad thing. And you need to focus on more important issues than what the scales show. Like... has your waist measurement changed? Gone up appreciably? You still wear the same size clothing or maybe gone down? Or... What's your stamina like? can you climb a very tall hill now without getting winded whereas before, maybe, you had to stop and take a breather at the top? Or you could feel your heart pounding a little too much?

What about running a distance on a semi-flat surface? Can you run further - longer - without getting winded? And, how's your lifting going? Do you feel as though you are having an easier time of it now lifting the same weight? Or have you upped the weight you are now lifting beyond where you started a few weeks ago? Or, maybe you can do more reps now than you could before?

There are all sorts of things to look at as far as your health is concerned. It's not all about the number on the scale.

So are you trying to tell the OP that even though she is in a deficit that she is still gaining muscle? You kind of lost me in your post.

Edited to add... The "tone" you will see is not from gaining new muscle, it is from losing body fat in turn exposing the muscle that is already there.

kimleebur

SLLRunner wrote: »

maidentl wrote: »

Always_Smiling_D wrote: »

I believe this has to do with diet - consuming two little.

You can't gain weight from eating too little.

QFT.


OP, do you use a food scale? Weigh everything you eat? Log exercise? Eat exercse calorie back and, if so, where do you get the burns from?

If you are gaining weight, you are eating too much. Some could be water retention from weight lifting, but I doubt ten pounds.

open your diary if you want more concrete help.

Yes I use a good scale and weight/measure everything I eat. I don't eat back in my calories either. I'm not sure it's all weight gain because all my old, tight clothes still fit me. In fact, they fit me a little better. I don't think it's all water weight either, I'm just at a loss of what to do because I used to not eat a lot (900-1200 daily) but it had a really bad toll on my energy level and mood. So I decided I should start to eat 1200 at least but keep it below 1400. If I cut anymore calories I know I'll be unhealthy. Sure I'll look into opening up the diary

kimleebur

lisalsd1 wrote: »

Stop weighing yourself and keep lifting.

I'm thinking that's what I need to do, I'm just nervous I'll lose track of myself. However, I eat healthy and I religiously measure/weight my food and log it in so I don't think there's a real reason to worry.