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

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.