I have GAINED weight!!!!

Leadfoot_Lewis

Get yourself on a real workout routine. Legs & arms? What about your back, chest, etc.? Get out of the mindset that because you don't like the # on the scale you need to increase your cardio, and worse, cutting your weight lifting to do so. That kind of thinking will have you spinning your wheels for months. If anything you need to get on a good lifting program and cut the cardio in 1/2.

What is under 1500 calories? 1000 calories? 800 calories? I highly doubt you're eating enough.

FrnkLft

1) Take a good look at what you might not have included in your diary, sauces, make sure any equivalent foods are accurate, portions, etc...

2) Make sure you are weighing yourself consistently, and not after big meals. (Morning after bathroom is best). Also if it wouldn't make you obsessive, consider weighing yourself every morning, and taking the 7-day low. This way you can get the best idea of what you've dropped.

3) Consider dropping calories (but don't dip below 1200)

4) IMPORTANT: Make sure you are educating yourself on this process and about bodyfat %. It will keep you from freaking out and give you a troubleshooting mindset rather than an emotional one (the latter of which seems to make this process hell for women).

Iron_Feline

How much weight?

I did weights for 2 months (new rules of lifting for women) and didn't lose a single lb. but I did lose 8", trust me, I am more than happy with that number. Get a measuring tape, ignore the scale and take photos. :flowerforyou:

CountingCaloriesSuxass

how much weight gain are we talking about?

Widadita

Gaining weight doesnt always mean gaining fat! There is a big difference, since you said you are weight training maybe you gained muscle, which is a great thing. You have to measure yourself every 2 weeks or so, or see if your clothes fit better. The scale just show you the weight, but not if you lost fat and gained muscle.

Keep that in mind! and good luck

skullshank

Gaining weight doesnt always mean gaining fat! There is a big difference, since you said you are weight training maybe you gained muscle, which is a great thing. You have to measure yourself every 2 weeks or so, or see if your clothes fit better. The scale just show you the weight, but not if you lost fat and gained muscle.

Keep that in mind! and good luck

lol did you bother to read the posts prior to yours?

kalfred22

Thanks everyone for your input and support! I wasn't expecting all this terrific advice - makes me feel alot better. The weight gain seems to have varied the last couple of mornings, but its about 4-5 lbs from the time I started my cardio and weights (4 weeks ago). While I am short (5'3) and have always been muscular, I just thought something didn't seem right. I was really expecting a loss, but it seems like I need to do the following to get the results I'm striving for:

1. Increase water intake (I'm drinking about 64 oz but know I could add more)
2. Start taking pictures and measurements (I've only done that once)
3. Continue my cardio and weights, but also add weight training for other parts of the body.
4. Limit getting on the scale as often as I have
5. Continue what I'm doing and not quit.

Thanks again!

cmcollins001

It has varied the last couple of mornings, but its about 4-5 lbs from the time I started my cardio and weights (4 weeks ago)

When did you weigh, was it at the same time of day as before, wearing (or not wearing in some cases) the same thing? Same scale??

There are SO many factors when using the scale as a source of progress...I have "gained" upwards to a pound just brushing my teeth. I've gained and lost about 1/2 a pound taking a leak...depending on the day. Think about that, lose fluid from the body...gain weight. The scale is good for trending over time, that's pretty much it. It will fluctuations as much as +/- a pound in the course of 10 mins sometimes.

Personally, anything around 5 lbs or less to me is what I would call "within normal operating parameters" to be cheesy and quote sci-fi. Give it some more time and look at things like measurements, the way clothes fit, take pictures for comparison. Take today for instance, I'm wearing a shirt that seemed a little too tight last week...however, the scale is higher this morning than it was when I tried this shirt on last week.

cwolfman13

Thanks everyone for your input and support! I wasn't expecting all this terrific advice - makes me feel alot better. The weight gain seems to have varied the last couple of mornings, but its about 4-5 lbs from the time I started my cardio and weights (4 weeks ago). While I am short (5'3) and have always been muscular, I just thought something didn't seem right. I was really expecting a loss, but it seems like I need to do the following to get the results I'm striving for:

1. Increase water intake (I'm drinking about 64 oz but know I could add more)
2. Start taking pictures and measurements (I've only done that once)
3. Continue my cardio and weights, but also add weight training for other parts of the body.
4. Limit getting on the scale as often as I have
5. Continue what I'm doing and not quit.

Thanks again!

Make sure when you weigh in that you're doing at roughly the same time and under the same conditions. If you haven't used the toilette, etc you also have to take into account the waste in your intestines...yes, it has weight. Also, if you've eaten or drink anything before you weigh in, that is going to have weight as well and all of this shows up on the scale. I would also advise not weighing yourself daily unless you understand daily weight fluctuations. These are completely natural and most people can fluctuate 3-5 Lbs day to day...sometimes more. I was 6 Lbs more on this past Monday than I was last Friday...and I'm 4 Lbs down today...that's all water and natural body weight fluctuations.

When you work out, you also do retain more water...this is a good thing and means your body is having a training response and holding onto water for muscle repair. If you weren't holding any water from working out it would mean that you are completely wasting your time with your exercise and you'd be just as well served to go sit your *kitten* in front of the t.v.

Also, I'm getting the distinct feeling you don't really know how much you're eating...you're just assuming you're at or around 1500 calories. You probably eyeball portions...grab hand fulls of this or that, etc and don't log it. You need to weigh and measure everything and log it; people have ****ty judgement and can be hundreds of calories off (either way) from where they think they are.

Widadita

Gaining weight doesnt always mean gaining fat! There is a big difference, since you said you are weight training maybe you gained muscle, which is a great thing. You have to measure yourself every 2 weeks or so, or see if your clothes fit better. The scale just show you the weight, but not if you lost fat and gained muscle.

Keep that in mind! and good luck

lol did you bother to read the posts prior to yours?

Not really, but does it matter?

trogalicious

Gaining weight doesnt always mean gaining fat! There is a big difference, since you said you are weight training maybe you gained muscle, which is a great thing. You have to measure yourself every 2 weeks or so, or see if your clothes fit better. The scale just show you the weight, but not if you lost fat and gained muscle.

Keep that in mind! and good luck

lol did you bother to read the posts prior to yours?

Not really, but does it matter?

Since a forum is generally considered a conversation.. a back and forth.. it's nice to know that bad information has already been given and corrected. So yeah, since you didn't read.. the OP didn't gain muscle. You should consider not giving that advice out since it's wrong.

ndj1979

it's not fat you've gained. You've gained muscles already. That's the cause.

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ummmm negative ghost rider..you can't eat in a deficit and increase muscle mass....unless you are an obese beginner and get some newbie gains...

ndj1979

this thread wins the daily award for "BS Advice of the Day"

congrats!

I swear like half the responses said you can gain muscle in calorie deficit, brilliant!

MelodyandBarbells

I dunno. It's always seemed like semantics to me, whether the muscles have caused weight gain due to retaining water/glycogen, vs adding mass themselves. What am I missing?

chrisdavey

Thanks everyone for your input and support! I wasn't expecting all this terrific advice - makes me feel alot better. The weight gain seems to have varied the last couple of mornings, but its about 4-5 lbs from the time I started my cardio and weights (4 weeks ago). While I am short (5'3) and have always been muscular, I just thought something didn't seem right. I was really expecting a loss, but it seems like I need to do the following to get the results I'm striving for:

1. Increase water intake (I'm drinking about 64 oz but know I could add more)
2. Start taking pictures and measurements (I've only done that once)
3. Continue my cardio and weights, but also add weight training for other parts of the body.
4. Limit getting on the scale as often as I have
5. Continue what I'm doing and not quit.

Thanks again!

Yep.

And if you do want to keep jumping on the scale you can track a 7 day rolling average as this will account for daily fluctuations. (that is if you can detach yourself from the actual number)

http://cdnutritionandfitness.com/dont-rely-on-the-random-number-generator/

taso42

If all you care about is the scale, hold onto the towel rack when you weight yourself, the harder you push down on the towel rack, the smaller the number on the scale will be.

Cait_Sidhe

If all you care about is the scale, hold onto the towel rack when you weight yourself, the harder you push down on the towel rack, the smaller the number on the scale will be.

Alternately, you can weigh yourself on a different planet.

DawnEH612

Weight training will add muscle to your body which weighs more than fat. If you want, just try cardio for about a month to see if you maintain or lose weight. Then you'll know whether it's the weight training or not. also, as dixielawgirl said, if you're hitting the gym, you need to eat back the calories you burn so your body doesn't feel like it's starving. You don't have to eat back all of them but a very good portion ought to do.

Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle.. Just a pound. HOWEVER, muscle is more dense and therefore a more compact form of body mass. It also take a lot to gain a pound of muscle weight while losing fat.

Sarauk2sf

Thanks everyone for your input and support! I wasn't expecting all this terrific advice - makes me feel alot better. The weight gain seems to have varied the last couple of mornings, but its about 4-5 lbs from the time I started my cardio and weights (4 weeks ago). While I am short (5'3) and have always been muscular, I just thought something didn't seem right. I was really expecting a loss, but it seems like I need to do the following to get the results I'm striving for:

1. Increase water intake (I'm drinking about 64 oz but know I could add more)
2. Start taking pictures and measurements (I've only done that once)
3. Continue my cardio and weights, but also add weight training for other parts of the body.
4. Limit getting on the scale as often as I have
5. Continue what I'm doing and not quit.

Thanks again!

Make sure when you weigh in that you're doing at roughly the same time and under the same conditions. If you haven't used the toilette, etc you also have to take into account the waste in your intestines...yes, it has weight. Also, if you've eaten or drink anything before you weigh in, that is going to have weight as well and all of this shows up on the scale. I would also advise not weighing yourself daily unless you understand daily weight fluctuations. These are completely natural and most people can fluctuate 3-5 Lbs day to day...sometimes more. I was 6 Lbs more on this past Monday than I was last Friday...and I'm 4 Lbs down today...that's all water and natural body weight fluctuations.

When you work out, you also do retain more water...this is a good thing and means your body is having a training response and holding onto water for muscle repair. If you weren't holding any water from working out it would mean that you are completely wasting your time with your exercise and you'd be just as well served to go sit your *kitten* in front of the t.v.

Also, I'm getting the distinct feeling you don't really know how much you're eating...you're just assuming you're at or around 1500 calories. You probably eyeball portions...grab hand fulls of this or that, etc and don't log it. You need to weigh and measure everything and log it; people have ****ty judgement and can be hundreds of calories off (either way) from where they think they are.

^^what he said

Plus, incorporating exercise, especially weight training causes glycogen/water retention in the muscles as they repaid - this can be about 4lb or more.

However, use a food scale and weight, measure and log everything.