anyone gain weight after adding strength training?

maryrountree1
maryrountree1 Posts: 6
edited September 22 in Introduce Yourself
Hello all! I am a triathlete/marathon runner who took a year off from intense training. I am 43 years old and am in great physical shape. After cutting back on exercise and maintaining my voracious appetite I have managed to gain about 7 lbs. Really no big deal except my clothes are tight and I don't want to buy new.

I do cardio about 5 days a week. I added strength training to my workout and also started tracking my calories (MFP). I was eating a TON!!!

After my first couple of weeks of strength training and only my first week of really counting calories, I have managed to GAIN 3 more lbs. Any answers? I'm used to worrying about maintaining weight so this is VERY frustrating to me....

Help!

Replies

  • nilisabel
    nilisabel Posts: 338
    yep, i gain weight after strength training. just keep doing what you're doing it will level out and then go lower. it just takes adjustment time for your body to figure it out.
  • melodramababs
    melodramababs Posts: 22
    Muscle weights more than fat. with weight training you will probably "gain" a little. but it will level out. (also, you may "weigh" more, but the clothes may still fit differently)
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Muscle does weigh more than fat - but that's really more of a long term issue. It's the beginning of weight training- your body is retaining water to repair the muscle you've worked so hard. Keep with it, results will show in the long term.
  • dewey0770
    dewey0770 Posts: 1 Member
    in addition to muscle weighing more than fat, muscle, unlike fat, burnes calories. It is just a change in body composition. More muscle, less fat. Take for example when i was working out and lifting weights faithfully i went from 115 pounds to 140 pounds, but my percentage of body fat went down and I was still able to wear the same clothes because instead of flabby fat i had tight toned muscle.
  • seemichellerun
    seemichellerun Posts: 219
    Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of bricks. Muscles, however, is denser than fat.

    If you're new to weight training, it's totally normal to put on a couple of pounds initially since you are adding to your lean body mass. Keep in mind that muscle BURNS fat. The more muscle mass you have, the more active your resting metabolism becomes. Also, when you add weight training your rate of weight loss will probably slow down. Do not let this discourage you. You're tightening up and toning while burning fat. It takes a little longer to re-composition your body (losing fat while gaining muscle), but your results will look better and last longer.
  • maryrountree1
    maryrountree1 Posts: 6
    Thanks for all the advice...I know all this but when it happened to me it freaked me out a bit....I'm a small boned and short person so to add 10 lbs is a lot more than it seems....
    My body is used to burning so many calories through exercise that I have never ever had to pay attention to what I ate...
  • clairebearmcgill
    clairebearmcgill Posts: 29 Member
    This has also happened to me and is a bit depressing! But I wonder if I'm actually being bad too and doing compensatory eating...hmmm!
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