I've put on weight?!

melissabell1984

Hi All ... I've been a member for about 2 weeks, and I LOVE myfinesspal as a tool! I've reduced my calorie intake and increased my exercise; not a lot, but it's more than I used to do. I weighed myself today and I've put on a pound!

I'm not feeling very encouraged right now. :-( So any advice or help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!
M

jenniferg83

Give it time!!! Might be water retention from your body healing your muscles. drink more water over the next couple days and see what happens! welcome to mfp too

hanna1210

Happened to me when I started working out, too. Like everyone says all over this site, just keep your water intake up. I went from gaining a pound after starting a real workout regimen, to losing a little over 2 the next week. It'll all start working out. Oh, and just be careful not to go too low on your calories, it can actually be counter-productive.

Oh, and welcome!!

mierla

Loads of things could be it:
Muscles?
Water retention- do you have high sodium levels?
Times of the month your weight fluctuates
And there's so much more! Keep at it and you'll soon see results!!

Hernandezedw

Make sure you are measuring yourself. It's a much better indication of how things are going.

giammarcor

I definitely agree with that last poster. Same thing happened to me when I first started. I gained and lost everyday. Don't get discouraged, you're doing the right things so the weight will come off.

yupergirl2003

That pound of weight gain could also be muscle as muscle weighs more than fat and you tend to build that before burning fat. I know that when I first started working out seriously I gained about 3 pounds before I started losing anything. Hang in there, your journey has only just begun, and even if the scale doesn't show it, trust that your body is making some positive changes. Remember, water, water, water. Best of luck.

RNewton4269

It happens! Could be any number of things...you will find the right combination it just takes a bit and the weight will come off. Good luck to you!

Helice

Im assuming that they weight you have put on is from muscle gain.
Remember that muscle is alot heavier than fat!
And if your exercising more your certainly building more!
So dont get too discouraged!

But it could also be from the new diet, your body could be a little scared with the sudden change and temporarily holding onto anything you eat until it's gotten use to your new eating habbits, or until you go back to your old ones..
Give it time. If this is the case soon your body will let go of this stored food and reasonably quickly!

Good luck on your weight loss journey!

mmargraf

Don't add the calories burned by your exercise to your daily totals. That could put you over the edge. Try drinking only water and green tea for a week and watch salty foods. Drink lots of water.

ldydestiny

Don't fret too much over it. It's completely normal for your weight to fluctuate a little bit and as other posters have mentioned it's most likely due to water retention. Contrary to popular belief, muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat.... they both weigh a pound lol. Muscle is denser than fat though so it takes a lot less muscle to make up a pound than it does for fat. As you exercise, you may notice that you'll have gained some weight from time to time but as long as your measurements themselves are dropping then it'll give you a better indication that you are in fact losing the weight from fat, which is what we all want! Remember also to not weigh yourself every day. Every couple weeks, at the same time of day, gives you a better indication of poundage lost (imo). Good luck and keep at it!

Helice

Contrary to popular belief, muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat.... they both weigh a pound lol.

But is a pound of muscle the same size as a pound of fat.....
Im definately sure that you have to have a larger mass of fat for it to be a pound than you do with muscle...
But i might be wrong.

rileysowner

That pound of weight gain could also be muscle as muscle weighs more than fat and you tend to build that before burning fat. I know that when I first started working out seriously I gained about 3 pounds before I started losing anything. Hang in there, your journey has only just begun, and even if the scale doesn't show it, trust that your body is making some positive changes. Remember, water, water, water. Best of luck.

Very unlikely it is muscle since I don't know anyone who can put on that amount of muscle in two weeks. It is likely your muscles holding extra water to aid in recovery. Here is a very good article on that process http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/200544-why-do-you-sometimes-gain-weight-when-starting-a-new-exercis

While I know you can put on muscle from resistance training even in a calorie deficit (usually only with untrained sedentary people who start exercising) it is VERY slow. Even with a caloric surplus it takes a very long time to put on muscle mass.

The long and short of it is start measuring yourself with a measuring tape instead of just the scale and know that this weight is likely not fat. It would help if we could see your diary or even knew how many calories a day you have in your budget.

Justamom410

I too, have only been doing this for 2 weeks. The first week, I lost 4 lbs...then I weighed myself this morning for my second week...and I gained 2!! So I know how you're feeling. The only thing I can think of for my weight gain is because it's "that time" for me. But it's really discouraging being so new into this and having a great first week...only to gain weight again. Long story short...I feel ya!

GameOn2011

Just because the scale isn't moving, doesn't mean you aren't making progress!!! The scale is not moving very fast for me these days, but my summer clothes FIT!!! That is all the proof I need that I am doing right!

melissabell1984

WOW! I am overwhelmed by everyone's encouragment and advice!

Thank you sooo very much! What a supportive community.
Thank you everyone for your reminders about water and measurements!! I guess sometimes when you're 'in' the moment it's hard to remember or see all the other things :-).I'm making good changes to my lifestyle, and it will just take some time.

Thanks again everyone! It means a lot!
M

melissabell1984

Thank you so much for the article! I've book marked to remind me