Working out for past month, have gained weight. what's wrong

Breauxmontana

First, I'm 6'1 240. I started another weight loss program two months ago. Initially my weight was 252. I showed weight loss in the first month down to 240 with only cardio and eating better. However , I joined a gym a month ago and have been on a six day cutting routine. I've maintained my apparent goal of 1800-1900 calories a day and have also mixed in protein shakes to help with muscle gain and recovery. I weighed myself yesterday and I'm at 243. It was a big letdown because I have been eating great , staying within my calories, and working out five times a week with 30 minutes of cardio a day with it. I also have been drinking a gallon of water a day for the past month. I felt good before I weighed myself, but this frustrates me. Am I not eating enough based on my activity level or what ? I'm doing everything right from what it seems. Any help would be appreciated !

cpk44

It depends what time you weighed yourself. I tend to weigh myself in the morning before I've eaten anything and after I've gone to the bathroom. Also, weight fluctuates so maybe it was just that one day. How often do you weigh yourself?
Another possibility is that since you've been working out so much, you've gained muscle weight. That is good!! Muscle weighs far more than fat because it is dense, so you could be losing fat and gaining muscle and still be gaining weight. What you want to do is measure inches as well as weight. So get a tape measure and see what your circumference is around the waist and hips and any other part of the body you want to watch, e.g. calves, thighs, neck. Then keep an eye on that. You might see yourself losing inches but not weight, which would mean the weight is muscle weight.
Friend me if you want!! Keep up the good work!!!

taylor5877

If you're doing strength training the biggest measure of your success is always the mirror.

Rambo313

How do you feel, do you feel stronger, have more endurance? clothes fit better? have more energy? If so, your not doing anything WRONG, the scale is not the only indicator of success.

drgndancer

How do you feel, do you feel stronger, have more endurance? clothes fit better? have more energy? If so, your not doing anything WRONG, the scale is not the only indicator of success.

In fact if you've just started a weight lifting regime, the scale is probably a terrible measure of success. My good sir, you are doing exercises designed to increase muscle mass. Muscle is more dense than fat. If you increase the amount of muscle on your frame, even if you are simultaneously reducing the amount of fat, you will gain weight. A month is a good long time to start getting some serious muscle built up, especially since you've clearly been doing some serious work (6 days a week of strength exercise might actually be a bit of overkill). Beachbody claims that their "Body Beast" workout can add ten pounds of muscle in 30 days. Let's take that down a notch and assume you gained 7 pound of muscle in thirty days. You could still have lost 4 pounds of fat and show a net gain of 3 pounds.

Breauxmontana

How do you feel, do you feel stronger, have more endurance? clothes fit better? have more energy? If so, your not doing anything WRONG, the scale is not the only indicator of success.

I do feel better. My midsection and arms do seem to look tighter and more defined. After I weighed myself I wonder if all that is a figure of my imagination though. I'm honestly thinking about getting rid of my scale all together. Its been more a cause of stress than anything.

Breauxmontana

How do you feel, do you feel stronger, have more endurance? clothes fit better? have more energy? If so, your not doing anything WRONG, the scale is not the only indicator of success.

In fact if you've just started a weight lifting regime, the scale is probably a terrible measure of success. My good sir, you are doing exercises designed to increase muscle mass. Muscle is more dense than fat. If you increase the amount of muscle on your frame, even if you are simultaneously reducing the amount of fat, you will gain weight. A month is a good long time to start getting some serious muscle built up, especially since you've clearly been doing some serious work (6 days a week of strength exercise might actually be a bit of overkill). Beachbody claims that their "Body Beast" workout can add ten pounds of muscle in 30 days. Let's take that down a notch and assume you gained 7 pound of muscle in thirty days. You could still have lost 4 pounds of fat and show a net gain of 3 pounds.

Yea I've read about that. And my arms and shoulders do look more defined. I suppose I am putting too much thought into the scale. I just didn't realize muscle really was that much more dense and heavy than muscle.

whiteheaddg

Great advice already, but I'll pile on. With the training you are doing your weight should only be one data point amongst several used to monitor your progress. Take some measurements and track those as well...or if your gym does free BF checks use that. Are you pushing heavier weight than when you started - that's a great marker. Plus all the other stuff - more energy, looser clothes, body appearance.

If your program was solely calorie cut driven and you were gaining then there may be cause for concern.

Keep on trucking - keep a positive attitude - don't burn out! Best of luck.

Rambo313

How do you feel, do you feel stronger, have more endurance? clothes fit better? have more energy? If so, your not doing anything WRONG, the scale is not the only indicator of success.

I do feel better. My midsection and arms do seem to look tighter and more defined. After I weighed myself I wonder if all that is a figure of my imagination though. I'm honestly thinking about getting rid of my scale all together. Its been more a cause of stress than anything.

You are having success, hide the scale

Breauxmontana

Great advice already, but I'll pile on. With the training you are doing your weight should only be one data point amongst several used to monitor your progress. Take some measurements and track those as well...or if your gym does free BF checks use that. Are you pushing heavier weight than when you started - that's a great marker. Plus all the other stuff - more energy, looser clothes, body appearance.

If your program was solely calorie cut driven and you were gaining then there may be cause for concern.

Keep on trucking - keep a positive attitude - don't burn out! Best of luck.

Good point
I think I'm just going to throw away my scale in all honesty.

kaervaak

Five lbs of fat vs five lbs muscle:
http://botcrawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/5-pounds-of-fat-vs-5-pounds-of-muscle-mass-comparison.jpg

drgndancer

Five lbs of fat vs five lbs muscle:
http://botcrawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/5-pounds-of-fat-vs-5-pounds-of-muscle-mass-comparison.jpg

That is a powerful graphic. I knew what it demonstrates in theory, but it's impressive (if a bit gross) to see. I'm going to steal that if you don't mind.