gained weight working out!!!?

ashleyjea1985

for the past week and 1/2 i have started eating healthier.

i am 5'3 23 yrs old and 130 lbs.


i just started running a week and a half ago.. ( after 8 yr os NO fitness!)

i have been doing the eliptical.. and doing crunches..


i stepped on the scale today and I GAINED 5 lbs!!

i heard about gaining "mucle mass" but i am going to KEEP gaining??!

my point was to LOSE weight!!

ashleyjea1985

for the past week and 1/2 i have started eating healthier.

i am 5'3 23 yrs old and 130 lbs.


i just started running a week and a half ago.. ( after 8 yr os NO fitness!)

i have been doing the eliptical.. and doing crunches..


i stepped on the scale today and I GAINED 5 lbs!!

i heard about gaining "mucle mass" but i am going to KEEP gaining??!

my point was to LOSE weight!!

lisabeavers

You didn't say anything about your eating habits. What's your nutrition like? If you've just started exercising, you could be holding water, especially if you don't drink enough. Something about muscles hanging onto water when you work out. I don't remember the details, but Banks had a great post about it, and how sometimes when you start a weight loss/fitness program, you will see the scales go the wrong way in the beginning and why, i've seen it posted recently.

sweetpea03b

You burn more by gaining muscle... so if this is the case and you are gaining muscle mass... it will go down after a while. Also you could be retaining water from starting new weighloss regime. Of course there's that old calorie issue. Make sure you eat all your calories... if not all stay pretty close. Keep with it.... at the beginning its all pretty wacky.. scales go up and down... if you stick with it you will see the results you desire... promise!

alf1163

Not an expert here but I don't think you gain so much muscle mass from doing cardio and crunches unless you are doing some serious weight training (heavy weights). I agree with the other member that you might be retaining water. Also we tend (and I include myself) to eat more or reward ourselves with "not so good" food when we increase the exercise. I did not hear anything about alcohol...are you monitoring that??? Best wishes!! :flowerforyou:

firegirlred

You know how you hear about 300 count sheets vs 150 count sheets? Muscles are like this. Depending on what you use them for will determine your personal composition. When you do cardio, your muscle becomes more like a 300 count sheet. There will be an initial gain.

Now on the weight loss, someone may need to advise you further. When I started running again, I initially lost a few pounds, but went back up and stayed there. I posted about it and others said it was some time before they started losing weight regularly. I remember hearing "Give any workout program 3 weeks before you start expecting to see any changes." You will sculpt your body, but may not see any weight loss at first. Try measuring yourself. Measure your arm just below your armpit. Measure your thighs just a few inches below your groin. Especially measure your waist and hips. If your eating habits are where they should be, and you are actively exercising, your body will "refine" itself, and you will see the measure tape start moving.

If your water intake is not where it should be, and your electrolytes are not in balance as well, you will retain water. There have been several posts on here about retaining water during that time of the month. It seems there is a range in weight gain from 2-8 pounds on average.

Don't stress about it. If you are eating right and exercising well, you will be successful. Remember to give it time.

And check some of the older posts. Banks has some great links in them.