HELP..Gaining weight with exercise, losing without it.

jaci232

i know this sounds weird but whenever i exercise i always seem to gain weight. and not because i'm building muscle, because for example i've been working out consistently for the past 2 weeks, not enough time to gain any muscle, yet i've hovered around the same weight if not gained some the past few weeks. whenever i stop exercising i tend to lose weight consistently. i drink plenty of water and usually eat 1300 calories a day..should i be eating more? i've lost about 22 pounds (went from 181 to 159.5 as of this morning) and have kept my calories at 1300 the whole time..have i hit a plateau?? how do i start losing weight again???

Iceprincessk25

You may not be gaining weight but when you work out your body holds on to a little water weight. The benefits far outweight the negatives so you should keep at it.

Throw the scale out. Use your measure tape.

amylynne26

eat your exercise calories. You'll find many many many successful people on MFP swear by it. You'll get there!

lisawest

I'm no scientist, but this is what may be happening (as I understand it!):

When you start working out again after a break, you reactivate muscle fibers. Those muscle fibers need energy. That energy comes from glycogen (which is basically water). These newly awakened muscles store a bunch of this for anywhere between a week and a month. Eventually the muscles will not need to hoard that anymore and they will shed that weight. Every body is different, so it is done at different rates. Keep exercising! Eventually you will see the pounds literally MELT away. If you stop before that happens, those muscles will shed the water, but not be any more effective at burning calories. (Which means longer until your goal!) Plus, when you start working out again, you'll have to start back from the beginning.

Also, what was previously mentioned about eating back the calories holds some truth. There will be a spot (no exercise calories, some exercise calories, all exercise calories) that your body will lose most efficiently. You will have to search for that. While you're doing that, be sure to give each new method AT LEAST a month before trying something different.

Good luck finding what works for you!