Lifting heavy... and gaining a lot of weight!

happy_jax

I'm feeling really disheartened and hoping someone can advise!

I've been pretty consistent with diet/exercise the past couple of years, not loving my body but not letting myself go either, but always in search of a better physique - I started a new weight training programme six weeks ago.

I've made INCREDIBLE gains in my strength! I was feeling really proud and positive (Eg. Chest press from 20kg up to 43kg, Deadlift from 40kg to 100kg, Squat from 20kg to 60kg... getting close to my first pull up etc!) but I made the mistake of stepping onto the scales this morning and I weigh 6kg more!!! That's a KG per week!!

I'm horrified! I have, admittedly been eating more - but I've literally needed to, in order to have the strength to pull so much weight - and it's primarily been good choices, with a strong macro split.

I've been reading various articles, telling me the old cliches (muscle weighing more than fat etc) and most point out that if you look better you shouldn't worry. Only I don't look better, I definitely look 'puffier' - which is not great at all - especially as I'm off to the Caribbean in six weeks time!

I find weight loss really tough - my body is usually a very slow responder - so I'm really gutted to be at this point when I was feeling as though I was making a positive step in my fitness.

Does anyone have any thoughts? Or suggestions as to what I should do for a next step. Thank you in advance!

sijomial

You haven't mentioned how many calories you are eating apart from the vague "eating more".

Great progress in your strength but do please realise that doesn't equate to a linear increase in muscle growth especially at the beginning of a training regime - it's mostly your nervous system using your existing muscles better. That rate of strength progress will slow as you get closer to maxing out your current musculature.

As a young woman stepping on to the scales once in a while means your data point could be badly flawed, you may have picked a bad day. Alternatively you could have picked a good day. (Sorry!)

A new training program will cause inflammation / soreness and hence water retention. That's normal and to be expected.

Best guess is that your weight gain is a combination of water, fat and a very small amount of muscle.

• Water will sort itself out in its own good time.
• Fat gain in relation to your calorie surplus.
• Muscle - carry on!

livingleanlivingclean

When you've tried to lose weight in the past have you logged your intake accurately, by weighing all solids and measuring all liquids? Accounting for everything that goes in your mouth?

Are you doing that currently, and are you eating in a deficit, surplus or maintainance?

LivingtheLeanDream

If you aren't accurately recording your calorie intake then you wont be sure if you have gained fat. Its unlikely in that time frame you will have gained much muscle other than newbie gains. 6 weeks into a new programme any weight gain fluctuations from that new exercise should have gone by now.
Time to log so you can be confident you aren't eating more than you should be.

Muscleflex79

are you counting your calories? are you weighing your food? it doesn't sound like it - that would be the place to start.

mitch16

What's your goal? To lose weight, or to build muscle/strength? If it's the former, then you need to eat in a deficit, regardless of "needing to, in order to have the strength to pull so much weight." If it's the latter, then carry on.

100_PROOF_

How many calories are you eating? Are you using a food scale? How accurate is your logging?
Without that data, it's going to be hard to say.

KarenSmith2018

Assess your goals and from that determine a calorie intake. Log your calories and exercise. Track your weight. Adjust as needed.
When you start exercising its so easy to feel like you earned the extra food and the positive reinforcement of lifting more and more will encourage more food. Generally in order to keep strength gains increasing a surplus is required to adequately fuel the workouts but a surplus of food will lead to weight gain. If you want to build muscle carry on until you feel uncomfortable and then consider dieting (cutting) to reduce your body fat % back down and reveal the new muscle generated. If you don't like how you look now consider a small defect to slowly loose the weight and have a minimal impact on your lifting regime and once happy with how you look consider re-composition which is incredibly slow but is good for those of us who struggle with looking "fluffy" and don't like to cut as you eat at maintenance calories while lifting to build muscle very very slowly.

Toblave

When starting a new exercise program, especially something intense or rigorous, it's not uncommon to retain water.

Also, judging by your profile images, are your goals realistic? You appear to be at a healthy weight.

https://www.livestrong.com/article/277259-strength-training-cause-water-retention/

Lesscookies12

What's your current height and weight? how many calories are you eating? Are you using a food scale to measure your intake? Something tells me you're just eating more checked your weight and realized you've gained weight.

JBApplebee

Always record your food intake. That way, if you have a bad day, you can look back at what you ate & almost always pinpoint where it occurred.

The first time I lost weight in 2015, I was coming off shoulder surgery. I lost almost 50 pounds (started out at 247), but I couldn't wait until I could start lifting again. When I did, I gradually gained weight, some because of the extra muscle, but mostly because of my diet. I ended up at 235 pounds in late January. This time I've taken a new approach.

In addition to eating better & sticking to it, I joined 9Round, a kickboxing workout gym. It only takes 30-35 minutes a workout & it burns a lot more calories than just lifting & it's way more fun than running. I'm down almost 40 pounds (38.3, hope to hit 40 this weekend & at least 50 total before my 50th B-day this year). It still builds muscle & burns fat, but not only is it fun, it's therapeutic. I cannot recommend something like this strongly enough.

cqbkaju

Generally, most people can eat to gain about 2 lbs of weight *per month* (1 kg per MONTH) and still make your lifts in beginner strength programs, at least for the first few months.
Some need more (maybe *1 lb per week*) while others can get away with less for a while if they have a lot of extra body fat.

You will not be able to make your lifts on a strength program for long if you are not eating a surplus unless you are fat.
How much of a surplus can be trial and error for a while.

+1kg = ~ 2lbs so you are probably eating too much *if* you are gaining that much every week.
You probably need to trend your weight and take the average for the week.

You haven't said how much you are eating but in general, it sounds like you may be eating 500 - 750 calories a day MORE than you might need.

Without knowing your specific TDEE, body fat percentage, etc. I can only guess.

collectingblues

A couple of thoughts.

• Water retention is common after starting a new workout routine, lifting included. For me, swings tend to be around 3.05 percent (OK, so ditch the "around" there), and that seems similar to what other people report for a weight increase related to water. Can take around six weeks to come off.
• When you say you're eating more, what are you eating? Are you tracking? Are you weighing and measuring? You may not *need* to eat more, but you're doing it anyway.
• What are your stats?

crosbylee

Get off the scale and use a tape measure.

middlehaitch

Like others have said, some water some fat probably. Congrats on your lifting progress.

With a holiday in 6 weeks, start logging and eating at maintenance, or a little below (up to 250 just to halt any fat gains).

I have just come back from a holiday and stopped lifting the week before I left just so I could drop the water weight in comfort- there is nothing like having to pee every 5 min when on a 9hr flight, you may want to consider doing this.

Cheers, h.

Keladelphia

cqbkaju wrote: »

Generally, most people can eat to gain about 2 lbs of weight *per month* (1 kg per MONTH) and still make your lifts in beginner strength programs, at least for the first few months.
Some need more (maybe *1 lb per week*) while others can get away with less for a while if they have a lot of extra body fat.

You will not be able to make your lifts on a strength program for long if you are not eating a surplus unless you are fat.
How much of a surplus can be trial and error for a while.

+1kg = ~ 2lbs so you are probably eating too much *if* you are gaining that much every week.
You probably need to trend your weight and take the average for the week.

You haven't said how much you are eating but in general, it sounds like you may be eating 500 - 750 calories a day MORE than you might need.

Without knowing your specific TDEE, body fat percentage, etc. I can only guess.

The bolded part is not true. You can make strength gains for a LONG time eating at maintenance calories even if you aren't "fat." I am a perfect example of this.

LivingtheLeanDream

middlehaitch wrote: »

Like others have said, some water some fat probably. Congrats on your lifting progress.

With a holiday in 6 weeks, start logging and eating at maintenance, or a little below (up to 250 just to halt any fat gains).

I have just come back from a holiday and stopped lifting the week before I left just so I could drop the water weight in comfort- there is nothing like having to pee every 5 min when on a 9hr flight, you may want to consider doing this.

Cheers, h.

oh the peeing every 5 mins is SUCH a pain @middlehaitch

ps hope you had a fab time away on the cruise with plenty of cheeky little cocktails

Ruth x

Francl27

That's why a lot of people bulk then cut. It's impossible to only gain muscle when you're eating at a surplus (which you are probably doing).

cqbkaju

Keladelphia wrote: »

The bolded part is not true. You can make strength gains for a LONG time eating at maintenance calories even if you aren't "fat." I am a perfect example of this.

You can claim it is not true, I don't care.
I will say that your assertion is lacking on a few counts:

#1 I didn't define "long" here, but neither did you.
Since I am referring to Beginner Strength Programs, your use of it implies something incongruous. My use has a definable duration based on the length of the program.

#2 I did not say "strength gains", I said BEGINNER STRENGTH PROGRAM.
Not the same thing. Not interchangeable terms. FAIL.

#3 The idea that you "can" do something is not a guarantee that you WILL, nor that anyone else WILL

#4 YNDTP, by definition. If you don't know that acronym then I would question your experience with Beginner Strength Programs.

#5 You may not be lifting in the target ranges and intensity for a Strength Program

#6 You were previously carrying higher levels of body fat (as I said) that you didn't account for in your initial calculations

#7 You may not be not progressing in your lifts as would be expected

#8 Your current TDEE calculations could be high (very common)

#9 You are a sample size of *1 person*, not the general population.

Maybe provide some numbers with your assertions next time.

I gave numbers and recommendations based on the official guidelines for a couple of well-known beginner's Strength Programs and I have a certified coach for one of those well-known and highly respected programs on my staff.

Your decision to cherry-pick one part of one statement I made about "maintaining weight" --when the question was about gaining too much weight-- is just confusing the issue.

If you are actually deadlifting ~ 280+ lbs and squatting around 230 lbs at about 140 to 150 lbs body weight -all without gaining a bit of weight every few weeks and without PEDs- on a Beginner's Strength Program then congratulations!
You hit the genetic lottery!

Great for you, seriously.
But please don't derail the discussion and confuse the locals.

** "Woo" means "Too good to be true".
What part of my explanation is "Too good to be true"?!

Trying to use "Woo" to imply you disagree with something is intellectually dishonest, at best.

Keladelphia

cqbkaju wrote: »

Keladelphia wrote: »

The bolded part is not true. You can make strength gains for a LONG time eating at maintenance calories even if you aren't "fat." I am a perfect example of this.

You can claim it is not true, I don't care.
I will say that your assertion is lacking on a few counts:

#1 I didn't define "long" here, neither did you

#2 I did not say "strength gains", I said STRENGTH PROGRAM. Not the same thing. Not interchangeable terms. FAIL.

#3 The idea that you "can" do something is not a guarantee that you WILL, nor that anyone else WILL

#4 YNDTP, by definition. If you don't know that acronym then I would question your experience.

#5 You may not be lifting in the target ranges and intensity for a Strength Program

#6 You were previously carrying levels of high levels of body fat (as I said) that you didn't account for in your initial calculations

#7 You are not progressing in your lifts as would be expected

#8 Your current TDEE calculations are actually high (very common)

Maybe provide some numbers with your assertions next time.

I gave numbers and recommendations based on the official guidelines for a couple of well-known Strength Programs and I have a certified coach for one of those well-known and highly respected programs on my staff.

Your decision to cherry-pick one part of one statement I made about "maintaining weight" when the question was about gaining too much weight is just confusing the issue.

If you are actually deadlifting almost 400 lbs and squatting around 300 lbs at about 140 to 150 lbs body weight -all without gaining a bit of weight every few weeks and without PEDs- on a beginner's Strength Program then congratulations!
You hit the genetic lottery!

Great for you, seriously.
But please don't derail the discussion and confuse the locals.

I don't care that you don't care. My intent was for the OP (who seems to be concerned about gaining weight) to realize that she doesn't need to eat at a surplus to make gains on a strength program for a good period of time ESPECIALLY as a beginner lifter. You seem to be overly sensitive to someone challenging you statement by your very attack like response (FAILS, PED Etc.)

Anyway, I'm not here to argue all of your points as I don't really understand how things such as my personal TDEE have anything to do with this discussion, talk about a derail. I personally don't believe my statement was derailing (i'm sorry to the OP if she feels it was) I made no other comment on the rest of your post because I didn't have issue with it, however your blanket statement of "You will not be able to make your lifts on a strength program for long if you are not eating a surplus unless you are fat" is what will "confuse the locals". Also note you didn't say anything about "previously carrying high levels of bodyfat" prior to lifting you simply said "unless you are fat."

Stating this insinuates that in order to continue making gains on a strength program the OP must eat at a surplus which is untrue despite what you may say. I didn't say the OP WILL continue to make progress on a strength program I said she can...as in it is possible to do so.

As far as putting out numbers I will provide mine if that will support my point that it is indeed possible to the OP. I wont debate your rage post again.

Me-A female certified Olympic weightlifting coach who does not take PED's and who for the first 2.5 years of training maintained 64kg-66.5kg (normal weight fluctuations) and made consistent strength increases (with plateaus for periods of time of course) throughout those 2.5 years. I personally consider this a long time, if you meant longer than 2.5 years again I apologize. My current numbers are a bit irrelevant as I have bulked and cut since them but I will list my numbers from start, 2.5 years into training which would be the scenario where I was not eating at a surplus and now post bulk/cut.

Back squat- Initially 125lbs 2.5 years into training 250lbs Currently 275lbs
Snatch- Initially 65lbs 2.5 years into training 145lbs Currently 175 lbs
Clean- Initially 85lbs 2.5 years into training 180lbs Currently 211lbs
Deadlift- Initially 175lbs 2.5 years into training 300lbs Currently 315lbs.

Keladelphia

cqbkaju wrote: »

Keladelphia wrote: »

The bolded part is not true. You can make strength gains for a LONG time eating at maintenance calories even if you aren't "fat." I am a perfect example of this.

You can claim it is not true, I don't care.
I will say that your assertion is lacking on a few counts:

#1 I didn't define "long" here, but neither did you.
Since I am referring to Beginner Strength Programs, your use of it implies something incongruous. My use has a definable duration based on the length of the program.

#2 I did not say "strength gains", I said BEGINNER STRENGTH PROGRAM.
Not the same thing. Not interchangeable terms. FAIL.

#3 The idea that you "can" do something is not a guarantee that you WILL, nor that anyone else WILL

#4 YNDTP, by definition. If you don't know that acronym then I would question your experience with Beginner Strength Programs.

#5 You may not be lifting in the target ranges and intensity for a Strength Program

#6 You were previously carrying higher levels of body fat (as I said) that you didn't account for in your initial calculations

#7 You may not be not progressing in your lifts as would be expected

#8 Your current TDEE calculations could be high (very common)

#9 You are a sample size of *1 person*, not the general population.

Maybe provide some numbers with your assertions next time.

I gave numbers and recommendations based on the official guidelines for a couple of well-known beginner's Strength Programs and I have a certified coach for one of those well-known and highly respected programs on my staff.

Your decision to cherry-pick one part of one statement I made about "maintaining weight" --when the question was about gaining too much weight-- is just confusing the issue.

If you are actually deadlifting ~ 280+ lbs and squatting around 230 lbs at about 140 to 150 lbs body weight -all without gaining a bit of weight every few weeks and without PEDs- on a Beginner's Strength Program then congratulations!
You hit the genetic lottery!

Great for you, seriously.
But please don't derail the discussion and confuse the locals.

** "Woo" means "Too good to be true".
What part of my explanation is "Too good to be true"?!

Trying to use "Woo" to imply you disagree with something is intellectually dishonest, at best.

Relax bud, I wasn't the one that "woo'd" your post.