Is increased strength training causing this??

Could it be hormonal? I get "pudgy" during that nice PMS time!;)

I don't really have an answer to your real question. I seriously doubt strength training has caused you to look, basically, bloated... unless it's just water retention. And yes, in your abs. Totally possible, especially if you're working your core with deadlifts and squats.

But I noticed after Christmas (although I stayed within my calorie goals and still worked out and didn't really eat "too bad") that my stomach was noticeably distended, due to eating foods i don't normally eat, increased sodium, etc. I mean, big time. Went from being able to flex and almost look like I have abs from the side to what it looked like 3 months ago. It's back to normal now, but it took a couple weeks. I know you said your diet hasn't changed, though.

When you start exercising or increasing exercise, your muscles increase the glycogen storage in anticipation of the next time. Glycogen requires water to be stored. Basically, your muscles are retaining water. This is often the cause of increase in weight when starting a new routine or increasing intensity. It's normal and one of the many reason why the scale is not an accurate measurement of progress.
So the answer is yes, strength training is likely causing this. It is not additional fat or size, but is an increase in weight. It shouldn't reflect in your stomach though.

Is it possible the additional scale weight is causing you to be over critical of your stomach? Have you gained any inches in your stomach?

The same thing happened to me! I started upping my strength training, doing more HIIT and I gained 3-5 pounds depending on the day. I have a BodyMedia armband that tells me exactly how many calories I burn and I log everything, so I knew that I had not really gained weight. I was patient and the weight came back off. I weighed in today at 129. I was concerned like you and did research. My best guess is that I was retaining water. I was making those small tears in my muscles by lifting and doing hard core HIIT and they needed water to repair. I also started upping my protein to feed them in recovery after my workouts.

I'm not an exercise scientist. I'm only a google amateur, but I can tell you that I have been through what you are going through and it will pass. My stomach got bloated after I ate anything and I could actually put my hand on it and feel things moving around like when I was pregnant.

So it's not in your head. Our bodies are incredibly complicated and don't always cooperate when we want them to. Be patient and keep up your healthy habits.

What exercises have you changed/added to your routine?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

This is embarrassing to admit. I have no idea if I've gained inches in my stomach because I've never measured. Anything. Ever. I've always relied on my scale to gauge my progress. Which was good when I was 70 pounds over weight. The smaller numbers motivated me to push forward. But now that I've switched my focus more to strength than weight loss......the scale is no longer conducive. If anything, it's discouraging:/

Which is exactly why a lot of women decide against weight training. The scale is a tool to help measure your progress, but it shouldn't be the only thing. Look at some of women who post their success stories (Lorinalynn is one I can think of) who weight more than they did before but look better and are smaller than they were.
Don't let the scale scare you hang in there. Eventually the scale will catch up.

I'm going to throw out an idea my personal trainer shared with me....

When you do crunches, make sure you are pulling your midsection in. She was telling me that some people let it pooch out and what happens is you train the muscles to pooch out and you end up with a midsection decidely NOT toned.

She said she'd seen it happen many times and always, always cues me to pull in when using my abs


Just a thought