Exercise Weight Gain After Large Weight Loss

ddttddtt

So thanks to MFP and lots of helpful people on here, I lost a lot of weight, 70 lbs to be exact. I did this in a bad way, i ate 500 calories a day with no exercise for 4 months, i know this is bad, but after years of failing to lose weight, i was desperate. And it worked, i lost all this weight, so it was worth the torture. With 30 more lbs to go to my goal, i have decided i need to think ahead and start a plan for keeping the weight off. So i have started running. I never ran before in my life, but i have been running now for a month and i love it. I run 5 days a week for a total of 6 hours. I put my weight loss on hold while i get used to exercise, with the condition that I would not let my weight go up. I weight in every week to make sure of this. That being said, exercising, especially as much as i am now, means i need to eat more. I have been eating very well, not consuming more than 2000 calories a day. With a daily caloric need of 2200 for maintenance and burning over 3500 a week through exercise, i feel i should still be losing weight. In the last month, my weight has gone up 4 lbs. I feel great and i look so much better for the exercise. My legs are stronger than ever and my whole body feels great. What i want to know is this due to fat gain, muscle gain, or something else? What are other peoples experiences when they started exercising? I am just looking for people's thoughts on this. Thanks

ddttddtt

Come on people, i need opions, advice, thoughts

JodaNord

Having such a large deficit for such a long period of time, it will take some time for your body to get used to having the food it needs to fuel the work you are doing with it now. Give it time, and take measurements. The scale is just a scale, and doesn't always tell us accurately whats happening when we are burning off fat, but building muscle. Taking measurements and going off that is a much better way to see if you are "losing fat" or not. Either way, you are increasing your fitness and choosing a healthier way of life which can only benefit you.

That being said, 1 lb is a lb, whether its fat or muscle. And when you work out and do something new, your muscles retain water to help in the repair process.

aquarianpixi

It's probably part water retention, part muscle, and part your body getting used to more calories after being without for so long. Give your body some time to adjust and the weight will start coming off again.

kealambert

possibly muscle weight, or water retention. this is also a good example of why people should not go on such strict caloric deficits, once they are done with that portion, there is no real way to continue that path

ddttddtt

Having such a large deficit for such a long period of time, it will take some time for your body to get used to having the food it needs to fuel the work you are doing with it now. Give it time, and take measurements. The scale is just a scale, and doesn't always tell us accurately whats happening when we are burning off fat, but building muscle. Taking measurements and going off that is a much better way to see if you are "losing fat" or not. Either way, you are increasing your fitness and choosing a healthier way of life which can only benefit you.

That being said, 1 lb is a lb, whether its fat or muscle. And when you work out and do something new, your muscles retain water to help in the repair process.

Thanks for your thoughts. Much appreciated.

joec63

Thinking water, if you're still in a calorie defict from the excercise then you shouldn't be adding any additional fat or muscle. Wow, 500 calories. I would give it awhile and experiment where your maintenance threshold actually is. Make sure you drink enough water to keep flushed. Try to get in a strength program as well. Good Luck.

ddttddtt

Any more thought?