Panic at the scale

RRRobynnn

Is it normal to gain weight in the early stages?? I'm trying not to freak out. LOL I'm 9 workouts into Stage 1 and absolutely loving the workouts. It's been nice to get off the treadmill and feel like I'm really doing something with my body. My issue is that I'm a bit of a scale addict and weigh myself daily. I'm seeing the number creep up and it's hard to convince myself that I'm not doing something "wrong". I'm 39, 5'6", and weighed 172 at the start of NROL4W. I'm now up to 177. (Eeek!) I've got my calories set at 1463 on non-workout days and 1734 of lifting days (TDEE - 20% based on Scooby w/ desk job). I've been lifting 3 days a week and doing minimal cardio on other days. Is there something I should tweak or do I just wait and see where I'm at after a few more weeks?

reneelee

I was up 5-6 pounds for the first couple months. I would suggest taking lots of pictures at different angles and after finishing stage 1 take the pictures again wearing the same bra and outfit. My measurements went up on my bicep by .5 inch down on my waist by .5 inch and down on my quad by .5 inch. Everything else stayed the same. The pictures really helped!
I have a little bit of fat on my inner thighs and it looks bigger now that my legs are getting stronger. So annoying!

chuckles9189

I'm about halfway through stage one and am up 6 pounds as well. I'm just trying to make it through this stage before I start cutting any calories. Once I'm done with stage one I will re evaluate. Some days I feel super hungry and it's really easy to get in all my calories. and some days I struggle. I"m usually less hungry on lifting days and feel like a wolf on the day after

tartsul

how are your clothes fitting? how do you feel? don't worry so much about the number on the scale. just keep it up! and like reneelee said, take pictures and measurements.

i've gained a few pounds as well, but my clothes fit just fine and i'm noticing small changes in my body. i'm 3 weeks (8 workouts) into stage 1. i was getting a little discouraged at first too when the scale started to creep up, but i try to remind myself that this is not a sprint and i shouldn't expect to see incredible results in a super short time. getting fit is a marathon. a lot of hard, steady work over a long period of time. you can totally do this!

eatrunstretch

I too am in the same boat. Up quite a few pounds and my trousers feel tight in the booty area! Its hard not to freak out but I keep telling myself its because I'm making big changes and its going to take my body time to adjust.

I also tend to feel less hungry on the days I work out and out of control hungry on the days I don't lift! Frustrating and really challenging to stay within TDEE - 20% on those days but it is slowly getting easier!

Finished S1 A5 today, feel free to add me as a friend for support.

~ Katia

deadlifting_diva

I think it's worth mentioning that your cycle may play a part too. At the end of my first week of lifting, the scale went up five pounds and wouldn't budge. Once my "favorite" time of the month came, I noticed the weight starting to slowly shed again. I also read somewhere that the muscles will likely build up faster than the fat around them is reduced. I can't recall if that was in the book or on some other website but it made sense to me.

MoosieMooMama

It can simply be muscle tears which happen often when people start lifting weights. This is one reason so many women stop lifting.....they think because of the +5lbs they are gaining bulk. Trying to convince them otherwise is futile.


You create muscle tears which fill with water, temporarily. When the muscle fibers repair, water is dumped. You need calories to help repair the muscle, fine tuning here can take a month.

This weight gain is absolutely normal when you are just starting or haven't lifted in awhile.
It is temporary. Generally lasts 2 weeks to a month.

It is just water and fluid.

I use a recovery drink after each weight lifting session. While I'm not a fan of BeachBody, their recovery drink works, it is yummy.
I use just one scoop blended with water and crushed ice. I don't see a need for two scoops.

Chocolate milk also works.

Basically it is the ratio of carbs to protein in the recovery drink that is important and chocolate milk is pretty comparable to the P90x recovery formula. The P90x just has other added amino acids etc.