WHY AM I GAINING?!

deksgrl

If you are just starting working out, you are building muscle mass.

No.

Iron_Lotus

If you are just starting working out, you are building muscle mass.

Muscle mass will hold more water as well.

Muscle mass will increase your BMR

It will be easier to lose non-lean mass now that you are building more dense lean mass.

Good gains = Good Losses

So much much muscle does one build in a month or so? 10lbs worth?

Of course! Don't you know that fat turns into muscle as soon as you start anything (I am being sarcastic for those that are a bit late to the game)

chunkymonkey0223

If you are just starting working out, you are building muscle mass.

Muscle mass will hold more water as well.

Muscle mass will increase your BMR

It will be easier to lose non-lean mass now that you are building more dense lean mass.

Good gains = Good Losses

Sorry, but you're going to have a hard time trying to convince others that she's gained 10lbs of muscle in a month on an even larger deficit then she was on previously and acheving it via cardio. That's not how the body works. You need a surplus in fuel to grow denser tissue.

And I have no idea where the muscle mass will hold more water thing is coming from. Not ready to refute it but I sweat a whole lot easier when I was the weight I was now and a higher body fat.

I don't think I've gained 10 lbs in muscle in a month. I haven't been working out for a month. Only a little over a week. I am sure its the pills and double period thing I had.

I forgot that the pill makes you gain and the 10 lbs happened over a months time. So, it has to be the pill. I am okay now. I freaked for a second. I have started drinking more water and working out. So, hopefully, that 10 lbs will be gone soon and I can start back where I was. I think after about 3-4 of starting a new bc pill, you'll regulate and stop gaining.

chunkymonkey0223

If you are just starting working out, you are building muscle mass.

No.

I know I won't start gaining AS SOON AS I START working out. I know its the pill now that I've thought about it and read others posts. Also, I read online that when you start working out, you start retaining water easier when muscle gain? Maybe the muscles are holding onto nutrients I'm taking in?

CarmenSRT

BC, ugh. That can be your problem. Back in the day I was put on Loestrin FE to regulate me. Gained (on 1200 freaking cals a day the whole time, plus exercise) just under a pound a week for 4 months. Finally stopped trusting the doctor's "Give it time, it'll stop. You must be eating too much. Are you eating in your sleep maybe?" and stopped taking it. Back then my average calorie burn was 19 cals per pound of total body weight. I worked out a lot and it paid off. It took about a month for that rate to return after quitting the Loestrin. That is the only time in my life I had any sort of Special Snowflake status, and it sucked.

I'd give it a couple more weeks and then reassess. If it continues to go up - and you are SURE you aren't just kidding yourself in some way - then ask for another med.

deksgrl

If you are just starting working out, you are building muscle mass.

No.

I know I won't start gaining AS SOON AS I START working out. I know its the pill now that I've thought about it and read others posts. Also, I read online that when you start working out, you start retaining water easier when muscle gain? Maybe the muscles are holding onto nutrients I'm taking in?

If you are eating at a calorie deficit, you are not building or gaining muscle. You are strengthening your muscles. It's totally different. In a calorie deficit, you are burning fat and as the fat lessens, you can see the muscles and they appear bigger. It doesn't mean that you have added muscle.

Yes, your muscles do retain water for the repair process. I'm not sure that 10 pounds worth is all muscle water retention. But you may have other water retention issues, because of course you are female.

Also, check the sodium levels in the foods you eat. Excess sodium causes water retention as well.

CoderGal

If you are just starting working out, you are building muscle mass.

No.

I know I won't start gaining AS SOON AS I START working out. I know its the pill now that I've thought about it and read others posts. Also, I read online that when you start working out, you start retaining water easier when muscle gain? Maybe the muscles are holding onto nutrients I'm taking in?

The thing is, a lot of people think you gain muscle just by gaining strength or exercising. This is not how it works. When people try to grow muscles, they go on a calorie surplus. When people want to lose fat, they go on a calorie deficit. I got to be skinny but still had fat (I didn't lift anything at all) and no muscle so I had to go on a calorie surplus and lift to gain some muscle before cutting calories to lose fat. And while on a deficit, I will not be gaining muscle, I'll be losing fat and probably some muscle if I don't lift heavy enough or get enough protein.

For the most part, you're going to be losing muscle when you exercise at a deficit. Minus newbie gains if you're really really overweight and those effects are minimal and only last a short period of time before you start losing muscle again.

The reason people do things such as weight lifting on a calorie deficit is so they can retain more of their LBM, not grow it. They're just trying to lose fat, not grow anything.

CoderGal

If you are just starting working out, you are building muscle mass.

Muscle mass will hold more water as well.

Muscle mass will increase your BMR

It will be easier to lose non-lean mass now that you are building more dense lean mass.

Good gains = Good Losses

Sorry, but you're going to have a hard time trying to convince others that she's gained 10lbs of muscle in a month on an even larger deficit then she was on previously and acheving it via cardio. That's not how the body works. You need a surplus in fuel to grow denser tissue.

And I have no idea where the muscle mass will hold more water thing is coming from. Not ready to refute it but I sweat a whole lot easier when I was the weight I was now and a higher body fat.

I don't think I've gained 10 lbs in muscle in a month. I haven't been working out for a month. Only a little over a week. I am sure its the pills and double period thing I had.

I forgot that the pill makes you gain and the 10 lbs happened over a months time. So, it has to be the pill. I am okay now. I freaked for a second. I have started drinking more water and working out. So, hopefully, that 10 lbs will be gone soon and I can start back where I was. I think after about 3-4 of starting a new bc pill, you'll regulate and stop gaining.

The pill often makes people gain because it makes you hungry thus it makes people want to eat more. I wouldn't contribute it to the pill. If you've only weighed yourself once and you're still eating the same and you're on a larger deficit, I'd contribute the weight to repairs. The only reason I gained on the pill was because I ate more, not because the pills were over 35000 calories (the surplus needed to gain 10lbs of fat). They mess with your hormones yes...but mostly the I feel like eating hormone, not shutting down your organs so you're not burning calories hormones

dunnodunno

Do you measure your food with a digital food scale? It's so easy to think you're eating one cup of ice cream, when really it could be a lot more. I measure almost everything (the only exceptions are frozen meals & some yogurts). I even measure chips that say you can have 23 for so many grams, because sometimes it seems like the counts are way off.

4theking

Birth control pills will cause estrogen dominance which will cause thyroxine-binding globulin to increase. When this happes, your metabolism will slow down making it difficult to lose weight and quite easy to gain.