exercising and gaining???

erinf1049

i'm pretty confused about what to do here. i have been at the same exact weight for about a month now, maybe longer. I havent been exercising other than a few walks in the park because i find that when i go to the gym daily (or 4/5 times a week) i gain weight! i do mostly cardio 30-60min, hardly any weight training other than maybe 10 or 15 mins before i leave the gym. i know muscle weighs more than fat but its SO disheartening to try hard, and gain, rather than not go to the gym, and stay the same. any suggestions? thanks.

cramernh

i know muscle weighs more than fat but its SO disheartening to try hard, and gain, rather than not go to the gym, and stay the same. any suggestions? thanks.

One pound muscle is the same as one pound fat.... Fat takes up more room than lean muscle....

cramernh

You may have excess retention from the muscles being worked.... You may want to consider reviewing at the very minimum, last six weeks of your food logs and determine where you can improve.....

cramernh

Wait a minute - 'for the last month'...

Well.. this is your first post... so what was your other profile name? Can you share with us the diary on your other profile?

sarad777

Well, I do lots of cardio and I gain. If I stop doing any exercise, I lose weight. I'm getting bigger. This just stinks!

briscottcoach

Have you taken any measurements? Measurements are the key!! You are going to see the inches go down before weight when you are working out. Also, it's very normal for you to gain a few pounds when starting a new routine because your body is adjusting. Give your exercise a few weeks before you write it off. You will thank yourself later.

lozfisher

Are u eating enough?????

polrbear

You build muscle...gain weight, then the muscle burns the fat...lose weight. I just started working out too and gained weight this week with same diet plan. Therefore, I am going to go by how my clothes fit or I know I will give up out of frustration.

briscottcoach

You may also not be eating enough when you work out. It's a common mistake and easily corrected.

nnylee

Could be that you're gaining muscle.

But that's not why I opened this thread. My tired brain read the title as, "exercising and GAMING". \

I'm very sad this thread isn't about games.

DaughterOfTheMostHighKing

are you taking measurements?

ford8709

Bump

erinf1049

never even really thought about measurements...thats a great suggestion though because i have been wondering if my clothes are fitting better or its just me seeing what i want to see! thanks

jayanne0907

I'm in the same predicament. Have been doing Jillian Michael 30 day shred faithfully since February 27 and the first week I lost 5 lb (was also fasting for a medical test) then I have either stayed the same or gained around a pound each week since. (I'm doing each level for 15 days with a few rest days during each level) I know that we have joined the band wagon to lose weight and become healthy but we need to remember and continue to remind ourselves that health is not necessarily measured by the scales, we also need to be healthy from the inside out. I know that I feel better, my clothes fit better and it is noticible so... It is all good, this will eventually level out. I'm going to continue my last 15 days... Just started day 1 of Level 3 and plny to have it finished by Good Friday. I will then assess then whether I will continue with shred or put more cardio in my days. Good Luck to you!

erinf1049

Could be that you're gaining muscle.

But that's not why I opened this thread. My tired brain read the title as, "exercising and GAMING". \

I'm very sad this thread isn't about games.

haha sorry! put the laptop on the treadmill while running?! might not be so good for accuracy though! : /

TrailRunner61

You can build muscle while losing fat. Muscle is more dense so it takes LESS of it to weigh one pound than one pound of fat. Compare one pound of steak to one lb of butter. The butter takes up more space. Compare a pound of muscle to a pound of feathers.. yes they weigh the same but,, oh yeah, the feathers take up more space! No one gains muscles and loses fat at the same rate as everyone else. Muscle is more dense than fat so make sure you measure instead of just relying on the scale. Also the more muscle you have have built, the MORE fat you burn while just sitting. I have gone weeks without losing weight but have lost several inches. So when people tell you a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat, that is correct, but it doesnt mean that you switched just one pound for the other. It's not a perfect science and not everyone's body is the same.
I'd keep working out and not worry about the scale as long as you are logging and eating the appropriate amount of calories and HEALTHY food most of the time. It will start to melt off one day and you'll be surprised and ALL of that hard work will be worth it. Trust me! I just went throught the same thing. And I'm sorry if I'm rambling and/or repeating myself as I am rather medicated tonight due to an injury. lol
Good luck to you. You can do this and whatever you do, DON"T give up. YOU are worth it!

aweightymatter

It could also be possible that you're eating *too much* if you're eating back all of your exercise calories as calculated by MFP's various burns. I've found that MFP overestimates somewhat on its own, and that one is likely to also overestimate one's own effort ("moderate" whatever vs. "vigorous," etc.) I use a heart rate monitor to keep an eye on my calories burned but even then I eat about 100 or 200 less.

Just something to consider! I understand how frustrated you must feel though, so good luck!

mes1119

It is all about your food consumption. You can eat your way through any workout.

mustgetmuscles1

A month is not enough time to give a workout program. Most likely you got some noob gains in muscle and much more likely your body added some water retention to help with recovery. Start a workout program, stick to a healthy diet, make sure you are in a caloric deficit and give it about three months before you just give up on it.

And throw the scale out the friggin window.

quelquun

Could be that you're gaining muscle.

But that's not why I opened this thread. My tired brain read the title as, "exercising and GAMING". \

I'm very sad this thread isn't about games.

HA. That's really funny ^^

In response to the actual question, I would definitely look less at the scale and more at your measurements. I think that is a much better judge of progress.

I had the same thing happen to me this last month. I was really frustrated, since I wasn't "hardcore" in any of my exercising: cycling for about 30 minutes 3-4 times a week, lifting 3 days a week. Granted, my eating wasn't all that great (I have a tendency to overeat- don't look at my diary for good ideas right now).

But yes, I agree with most everyone else, look at what your eating. Make sure you're getting enough calories and eating more of the good stuff... If you open up your diary, and are open to other's making some suggestions, that might give us a better idea.

However, I found out that my body fat percentage went down a little more than 1% AND I lost 4 inches total. I need to put my scale away.

erinf1049

okay so learning that the scale need not be my best friend?! also...i started this whole mfp thing because one day i just decided to download the app on my phone. i think i only used the diary the one day i downloaded it. ive just started again yesterday and today....hoping to keep up with it though!