Started weight training and am gaining weight

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ALHicks
ALHicks Posts: 145
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok I am putting this out there to all the expert and notive exercise people out there. I have lost about 30.00 pounds just doing cardio and decided this last saturday to start using the weight lifting machines my gym has arranged in a circuit. I have since sceen a 5 pound gain on the scale. I only drink water and definatly hit my 8 glasses a day. I get the same amount of sleep I have been getting since I started MFP, and I am staying within my calories. I am trying not to let this discourage me but I would love to figure out why this is happening.


Thanks,

Ashley

Replies

  • princesspita
    princesspita Posts: 28 Member
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    Your body is adjusting to the change. Gains in muscle are great! Don't worry what the scale says. You can always start doing weekly or bi-weekly measurements and see the results for yourself on how your body composition is improving. And of course, the mirror never lies!

    Good luck!
  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
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    Water retention from sore muscles. Don't fret. And DON'T stop lifting.
  • tinkerott
    tinkerott Posts: 2
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    So what your saying, is that it will happen? That we will gain weight even though we are exercising. But that the fat is still leaving? Because I get totally discouraged. Than I stop lifting weights. So now I'm back to losing weight again but only doing cardio.
  • carey593
    carey593 Posts: 7 Member
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    Water retention from sore muscles. Don't fret. And DON'T stop lifting.

    This. I started lifting with a trainer, and he told me it would happen. I gained 3 pounds, they stuck around for a while, and now they and several of their friends are gone. Not to mention the inches. Don't stop lifting.
  • nellie_88
    nellie_88 Posts: 307 Member
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    I stopped losing when I started lifting.. Sometimes my weight goes up then it goes back down, so i've pretty much been maintaining! I dont worry about what the the scale says anymore, I pay more attention to my bf% and overall measurements. Good luck!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    when new to lifting your muscles will store excess water to protect them from the damage (micro tears from the workout) and to aid in recovery. Once you body gets use to the workout you will shed most of that excess water.
  • Sytera
    Sytera Posts: 75
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    Also, muscle weighs more than fat. Cardio will burn fat and then weight training will build muscle, therefor your weight will keep going up and down.
  • skb32881
    skb32881 Posts: 105 Member
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    So what your saying, is that it will happen? That we will gain weight even though we are exercising. But that the fat is still leaving? Because I get totally discouraged. Than I stop lifting weights. So now I'm back to losing weight again but only doing cardio.

    It will happen. When I started lifting I stopped losing weight too and I was getting discouraged. Then I gave myself a week off, let my muscles rest, and got back on the scale and had lost a few pounds. Then I got excited and did my measurements and had lost 7 inches total (2 from my butt alone!). From now on I'm going to track my body fat % as well but I can definitely feel muscles in my body that didn't use to be there so if the fat and the muscles are just trading places I'm ok with that :)
  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
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    Also, muscle weighs more than fat. Cardio will burn fat and then weight training will build muscle, therefor your weight will keep going up and down.

    It's incredibly hard to gain muscle in such a short period of time (in addition to the fact she's a woman and in a caloric deficit)
  • mjbrenner
    mjbrenner Posts: 222 Member
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    So what your saying, is that it will happen? That we will gain weight even though we are exercising. But that the fat is still leaving? Because I get totally discouraged. Than I stop lifting weights. So now I'm back to losing weight again but only doing cardio.

    Not only is the fat still leaving, but it will leave even faster because your muscles will need more energy just to exist! You will also eventually be able to exercise harder, burning more calories during your cardio.

    People who only gain muscle and lose no fat actually look healthier, and "better" in the eyes of the average person, than people who lose fat and gain no muscle. Most of the weight you initially put on when strength training is water weight, so the big jump in the scale is not as significant as it at first seems. Muscles need to hold on to extra water while they repair themselves and get stronger.

    Keep lifting heavy things!
  • maxonehiphop
    maxonehiphop Posts: 139 Member
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    Thanks for asking this question. I've been sitting here grumpy at my scale. It's good to read these posts. It's all stuff i sort of "knew" but since i'm working so hard to lose weight I can't help but be irritated when I get on the scale and the weight has gone up.
  • gooseafur
    gooseafur Posts: 340 Member
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    Same thing happened to me. I started weight training about 2 weeks ago and the scale stayed the same for this weeks weigh-in :o( hmmmm...good to know
  • blakejohn
    blakejohn Posts: 1,129 Member
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    Your body is adjusting to the change. Gains in muscle are great! Don't worry what the scale says. You can always start doing weekly or bi-weekly measurements and see the results for yourself on how your body composition is improving. And of course, the mirror never lies!

    Good luck!

    Amen
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    Water retention from sore muscles. Don't fret. And DON'T stop lifting.

    This. It's not muscle gain at this point. Just water.
  • ALHicks
    ALHicks Posts: 145
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    Well I can't begin to thank everyone for the support and info. I did stick with the weight lifting but did step up the cardio this week plus introduced some protein shakes for meals and was able to get rid of what I gained plus 1.8. I will stick with it because I saw a much bigger loss in inches for my theighs, arms and stomach so for the most part I think I had a successful week. I again can not thank you all for the knowledge and strength you gave me this week.
  • ALHicks
    ALHicks Posts: 145
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    Thanks for asking this question. I've been sitting here grumpy at my scale. It's good to read these posts. It's all stuff i sort of "knew" but since i'm working so hard to lose weight I can't help but be irritated when I get on the scale and the weight has gone up.

    I was the same way. My friends kept telling me that I was gaining muscle but I know that I have a lot of fat to lose and there was no way I was gaining muscle that fast. I felt much better once I put this out there and someone said that I was storing water. That made more sense to me.
  • maxonehiphop
    maxonehiphop Posts: 139 Member
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    so, for those who have already been through this....

    When I first started lifting it just seem to speed up the weight loss but after about 6 weeks (it's been a couple months total now) of lifting I've either been gaining or staying right around where i was after the initial gain. Any idea how long it takes before I start losing again? I can tell I'm gaining in the right places & the waist is shrinking but I still have so much fat to lose. I'm really tempted to lay off the weights until I have hit my goal. I'm not going to because muscles are great :) but i am so anxious to start losing again.
  • EuroDriver12
    EuroDriver12 Posts: 805 Member
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    didnt eat all the replies but i see this question alot :)

    your muscles are getting used to the stress and lactic acid is building up which is making you retain water.. so dont worry about it and keep training harder! you will start seeing weight loss n you will be very happy with the results you get...

    ps. scale is ur worst enemy! mirror is your best friend!!! if you can go on the scale only once a week... to make sure ur heading in the right direction and not loosing more than 1.0-1.5lbs per week...
  • tongy321
    tongy321 Posts: 1
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    Please stop muscle weighs the same as fat why do people say muscle is heavier.a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, just fat takes a bigger space up.

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