Exercise causing weight gain

Mrlegoman18

I was tracking on mfp for all of last month and I lost 15 lbs (now 215) so I decided to take it a step further and start incorporating some strength exercise and cardio to get to my goal faster but after the first week I gained 3 lbs. It's hard to tell if it's muscle or just variance from water but any input or encouragement is greatly appreciated!

nossmf

After one week it's 100% water weight, not muscular gain. As a newbie lifter you'll be able to gain strength radically fast, and gain muscle at a far faster rate than somebody like me who's been lifting for decades, but it'll still be measured in weeks and months, not days. The muscle gain, that is. The strength for noobs usually increases from one week to the next, even from one day to the next as your brain becomes accustomed to ordering your muscles through new motions.

dvdiamond11

Chances you will gain weight from muscles you are building is extremely minimal. What will happen is that those muscles will help your metabolism. Women simply do not put on a lot of muscle unless it is worked at with dedication and purpose and time, even then its hard to maintain.
The above poster is right - it is all water. Your body is adjusting.

AnnPT77

dvdiamond11 wrote: »

Chances you will gain weight from muscles you are building is extremely minimal. What will happen is that those muscles will help your metabolism. Women simply do not put on a lot of muscle unless it is worked at with dedication and purpose and time, even then its hard to maintain.
The above poster is right - it is all water. Your body is adjusting.

Um . . . OP appears to be male from photo, profile says "male"?

Yes, a week or few is not going to show much muscle mass gain for anyone (either sex), but will add water weight (for muscle repair) that masks continuing fat loss on the scale, for a week easily, but potentially even longer depending on details.

Hang in there, @Mrlegoman18, your continuing fat loss will stop playing peek-a-boo on the scale with that water weight, probably within a couple of weeks.

To the quoted post: Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you wrote, but even if he were female, it's absolutely possible for women to add more than "extremely minimal" muscle in the long run, with a reasonable program and good nutrition. Maybe that's what you mean by "dedication and purpose and time", but decent results can potentially be achieved with non-extreme but patient commitments of time and attention to that goal.

I think many women do choose to get smaller at the same weight (leaner), vs. choose to simply get heavier. But adding muscle mass isn't out of reach, with patient persistence. I got a size or two smaller at roughly the same weight, even as a woman in my 40s and beyond, and even without a huge lot of actual weight lifting in the mix. (Yeah, it was slow. So what? I was having fun, not trying to gain mass. But it happened.)

Expecting muscle mass gains (in a week or few) is too optimistic for pretty much anyone, but expecting "extremely minimal" results for women in the long run is too pessimistic (and discouraging), and much can be achieved via a routine that's compatible with a normal life (i.e., not extreme in time commitment). At least that's been my experience, and that's buttressed by seeing posts from other women here who've made excellent progress.

springlering62

It’s very common to gain weight after beginning a new workout routine, or anything that causes muscle soreness.

Lots of stuff affects weight “overnight”. Air travel, extended car travel, salty foods, heavy carbs (a big pasta dish for example) illness or injury. These gains are temporary.

Simplified explanation:

When you do an unfamiliar or new workout, you get sore. That soreness is basically micro tears in muscle. Your body heals those tears, rinse, repeat, and that’s how you build muscle.

How does your body heal? By retaining and directing water to injury, including those micro tears.

Ever cut yourself and see clear liquid flowing from the wound? Part of that is water your body has directed there for healing purposes. Your body is an amazing engineering feat.

Did a new leg routine and doing the Duck Walk of Pain? You’ll probably add a few temporary pounds of water weight.

Hang in there. Eventually you’re going to release (weewee) it out. Knowing this kept me on track.

Had some kind person not explained to me, I probably would have given up in frustration the first couple of weeks.

That’s the value of haunting these boards. You’ll learn so much.

ninerbuff

Weight gain starting a new program or exercise will usually result in weight gain. Totally normal.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

VesperTV

Mrlegoman18 wrote: »

I was tracking on mfp for all of last month and I lost 15 lbs (now 215) so I decided to take it a step further and start incorporating some strength exercise and cardio to get to my goal faster but after the first week I gained 3 lbs. It's hard to tell if it's muscle or just variance from water but any input or encouragement is greatly appreciated!

Hello,

I can recommand something: DO NOT increase your calories intake.
Your body doesn't "need it", especially if you expect it to burn some fat.

Now, water subject:
It's possible that when you don't exercise, you're often dehydrated, when you began to move to stronger exercises, you felt the need for more water, and your body simply (legitly) abosrbed that water.

Just take a habit of drinking 1.5-2L daily at least.
Start from that "new weight", down the road.

Also, do not weigh yourself after big meals until it's been... "dumped", it can takes a few days.

kshama2001

My scale went up 7 pounds when I started weight lifting again. It took a few weeks to come back off, and keep dropping, as I continued to exercise and maintain a calorie deficit.

AnnPT77

VesperTV wrote: »

Mrlegoman18 wrote: »

I was tracking on mfp for all of last month and I lost 15 lbs (now 215) so I decided to take it a step further and start incorporating some strength exercise and cardio to get to my goal faster but after the first week I gained 3 lbs. It's hard to tell if it's muscle or just variance from water but any input or encouragement is greatly appreciated!

Hello,

I can recommand something: DO NOT increase your calories intake.
Your body doesn't "need it", especiall if you expect it to burn some fat.

Wait, what? If you keep eating the same number of calories, and add more total activity, you'll generally burn more calories and lose weight faster.

If already losing weight fast, that's not necessarily a good thing. It can increase health risks, compromise energy level, and more.

If losing weight quite slowly before the exercise (as averaged over at least 4-6 previous weeks), then it may be OK to let moderate exercise calories increase the weight loss rate, as long as the total loss rate is reasonable based on circumstances.

On top of that, if someone has fitness or muscle/strength gain goals, underfueling (and undernutrition) from too-low calories is very counterproductive.

As long as your average daily calorie intake is less than your total average daily calorie burn from all sources - being alive, daily life chores, exercise - over a day or few, then your body will burn some stored fat.

Now, water subject:
It's possible that when you don't exercise, you're often dehydrated, when you began to move to stronger exercises, you felt the need for more water, and your body simply (legitly) abosrbed that water.

Yeah, there's water retention, loosely for muscle repair, with new exercise as others have said. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being dehydrated before.

Just take a habit of drinking 1.5-2L daily at least.
Start from that "new weight", down the road.

There's no specific universal minimum of water (or fluid) intake. Some people need more, some need less; all fluid intake counts, including fluids in things like soups or juicy fruit/veg; even things like coffee or tea count, according to more recent research, because they're more hydrating than diuretic in effect.

It's true that some people do seem to misperceive thirst symptoms as hunger symptoms, according to their reports here. In that case, drinking more water can help feel better at reduced calories.

If a person's urine is pale yellow, not dark, they're likely getting enough fluid. (It could even be kind of fluorescent light yellow if excreting an excess of certain water soluble vitamins, and that's OK . . . but dark color likely indicated dehydration. Totally clear would not be good, either - overhydrated.)

Also, do not weigh yourself after big meals until it's been... "dumped", it can takes a few days.

Or, weigh yourself every single day, first thing in the morning, after bathroom, before eating/drinking, in the same state of (un-)dress every time, and record the results. Over time, a person can learn to understand the random day to day weight fluctuations from things like a big meal, new exercise, menstrual cycles, etc. - how their personal body behaves. That can be quite reassuring knowledge, IME.

There are some people who react with strong negative emotions (dismay, anxiety, etc.) to daily weight ups/downs. Those people maybe should weigh less often.

But those who can learn to be calm about the fluctuations, look at the long-term trend . . . they can learn about their bodies by weighing daily. That was true for me, for sure. There's no need to be stressed by a scale weight increase that isn't body fat, IMO.

yirara

VesperTV wrote: »

Mrlegoman18 wrote: »

I was tracking on mfp for all of last month and I lost 15 lbs (now 215) so I decided to take it a step further and start incorporating some strength exercise and cardio to get to my goal faster but after the first week I gained 3 lbs. It's hard to tell if it's muscle or just variance from water but any input or encouragement is greatly appreciated!

Hello,

I can recommand something: DO NOT increase your calories intake.
Your body doesn't "need it", especially if you expect it to burn some fat.

TO has lost 15lbs in a month? That's very fast, that's more than 3lbs per week. Why not eat exercise calories back if you're already losing at a very fast rate? The body can only burn so much fat per day, and then starts munching on muscles for energy at a higher rate. Yeah, if you lose weight you lost fat and muscles, but it's best to limit the amount of muscles you lose because it's a hell of a difficult task to get them back. TO should DEFINITELY eat more for the exercise she does.

Also, MFP does not use a TDEE method where exercise is part of the calorie goal. You're supposed to log your exercise and eat those calories back. You get rewarded for building healthier habits by having more calories to play with. Ok, for strength training the calorie burn is likely not very high, depending on what TO does, but a few extra calories are not punishment, but reward for going out there and working out.

You're quite new here thus you might not have been aware of how MFP works. That's why AnnP and me (and probably others) are explaining it. Stick around. It's a friendly and helpful community. One that is keen to debunk diet and exercise myths, yeah. But friendly and helpful.