Exercise and the Scale

RBXChas

Hi all,

I have a question about exercise and actually seeing movement on the scale. My sister's been doing Couch to 5K, and she encouraged me to join her last week. Last Sunday (a week ago today) we did a week 2 workout. On Monday we did a week 3 workout, Tuesday I did a baby and mama yoga class (45 minutes, some of which was doing stuff with my 23-pounder), Wednesday I did a 30-minute brisk walk while pushing said 23-pound baby in a jogging stroller, and on Thursday and Friday we did week 3 runs. We both took yesterday off and did the week 4 run this morning. She did the whole thing; I managed up until a minute into the last run, when it felt like someone was stabbing me in the hamstring, so rather than push it and hurt myself, I walked it off and jogged here and there to at least keep up my heart rate. We then walked about a half a mile to our respective homes. (If you're concerned, my hamstring feels fine now. Tired, but fine. I will make sure I stretch both of them a little better from here on out.)

Aaaanyway, now that you know the working out I've done for the past week (which was from nearly zero working out before, not counting the various activities I do with my son), I have a question about the scale.

Last Sunday, the first day I ran with my sister, I weighed in at 193.6 first thing in the AM, naked and post-bathroom. The nexst day I was also 193.6. Every day after that* I have weighed 195; the week prior to working out I was somewhere in the 194s, so 195 is actually an "up" for me on the scale. My eating has been fine - I have hovered around 1200 calories every day, and I have been drinking a lot of non-sodas (diluted Crystal Light, homemade sweet tea (Splenda, not sugar), and water), That is hard for me, as I am a Coke Zero addict. Not to say I haven't had any soda, but I've probably had the equivalent of 5 cans of soda all week, which is a MAJOR accomplishment for me. I probably used to drink 3-4 cans' worth a day. I'm eating the same foods, more or less, than I was before, so it's not like I'm taking in more processed or sodium-rich foods as before.

I'm not discouraged as far as working out - I plan to continue the C25K because I want to be one of those people who just decides to "go for a run" and runs a couple of miles without so much as a second thought - but I am curious as to why the scale has not only not gone down but actually gone up and stayed there. My only thought is (sorry guys) that I am due to get my period next week, but I've never had my monthly cycles mess with the scale, really.

Does anyone have any insight into this? Do you have an initial uptick in your weight when you work out? Presumably, since my eating is still fine, I will eventually start losing, but this is just odd for the scale to go up and then stay there for so long!

Thanks so much!

*I am a daily weigher. I did a month of weighing in once a week, and I hated it. I don't obsess over the scale, since I know fluctuations are normal, but I just have to look every day.

acciomuscles

The only thing I can think of is gaining muscle mass. I am training for a 10k and even with all the exercise and very controlled diet I have gained 2 pounds in the past month. I know it is frustrating, but maybe try taking measurements instead? You might find that even though you're staying the same or gaining weight-wise, you are losing inches.

ppiinnkkmmoonn

i know when you tend to first start working out the scale goes up a bit because it your muscle holding on to water weight. congrats on getting started and the lost of weight so far! (ALSO it takes months to build muscles)

NaomiLyn15

Don't stress about it! When you first start working out, your muscles will retain water because theyneed it to repair. Keep doing it like you are and the pounds will start to melt off. Don't get discouraged. This is the reason so many people give up when trying to get into shape.

minimommy1

I think it's great you've started exercising- not an easy thing with a toddler (been there-done that). My question is the amount of calories. Is 1200 what MFP suggested?. I don't know your height or anything but 1200 seems a bit low for the average person.
I have read that if you don't eat enough calories your body will not lose but will go into starvation mode and hold onto everything possible. Also are you drinking enough water? Just a thought

RBXChas

I did wonder about water weight because I've heard that when you start working out, your body retains water. I really don't know if there's any truth behind that.

As far as building muscle, I doubt it in this short a time period. It would be nice, though, wouldn't it?

Thanks for the replies so far!

catjrow3

I dont think its muscle weight yet... only a week in, it takes longer than that to build it... but its very likely that it is water weight being held by the muscles to repair, as someone said. I would say give it another week and continue your current "new" exercise program, so your muscles will get used to it, and see if that does not help the water release and a drop in the scale. Great job on getting started. I love running and do it 3-5 miles a day. Its invigorating once you start! Keep up the good work!

mamafrahm

I've learned to go with how my clothes fit instead of what the scale says... Lately the scale says I have gained weight but my clothes all fit looser! Congrats on the start of a life changing journey! Keep it up!

RBXChas

I think it's great you've started exercising- not an easy thing with a toddler (been there-done that). My question is the amount of calories. Is 1200 what MFP suggested?. I don't know your height or anything but 1200 seems a bit low for the average person.
I have read that if you don't eat enough calories your body will not lose but will go into starvation mode and hold onto everything possible. Also are you drinking enough water? Just a thought

Toddler? Ha! My son is 7 months old... just very heavy! (He is 95th percentile in weight but off the charts on height, so he just looks like an older baby. People are always surprised to hear how young he is...) In case you're wondering, too, I'm not nursing anymore, so I don't have that calorie drain or breastmilk fullness/emptiness messing up my weigh-ins. I haven't nursed in a few months now (I had issues with it from the start, and it got to be like beating a dead horse).

1200 is what MFP suggests for me. I set my goal at 1400 because it's psychologically easier to hit 1200 when I feel like I have some wiggle room, and I definitely do go over some days by as much as 100 calories. I don't sweat it because some days I come up a little short on 1200 - like 1150 and up. I know I'm supposed to be eating my workout calories, but I honestly can't eat that much. I've gotten used to eating less, and so eating more makes me feel like I'm stuffing my face. Plus finding high-quality foods (as opposed to saying, I'm gonna eat 200 calories worth of potato chips to make up the difference) to add to my diet (without boring myself to death) is hard. But that might be the culprit. I will have to play with my calorie intake a bit to see what's going on.

As for water, I could definitely drink more, especially since here in SC it's still pretty damn hot, even at 6AM when we run. It's something I'm working on.

I'm really not discouraged about it or even angry/upset at what I see on the scale. I know the weight will probably come off, and as some people suggested, the inches are probably an even better indicator. However, I'm curious to know why working out might equal a slight gain on the scale.

Thanks for your input!