Gaining weight since doing weight training?

MissesBee
MissesBee Posts: 40 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This is probably a common question but does doing weight/strength training make you gain weight? I was really into cardio for the last couple of years but have now turned more to weight training to tone up but I still would like to lose about half a stone. I've been going to the gym with my brother 4 days a week sometimes twice a day to work on all my muscle groups and on these days I don't do any cardio at all. I then do Body Attack twice a week too and have a day off to rest.

This has been my routine for the past 3 weeks and the first week I weighed myself and lost 0.4lb, the second I lost 1.6lb but this week I gained 2lb despite eating no more or less than my calorie allowance. It's really annoyed me and I'm worried the same will happen next week again.

My brother is telling me it's because muscle weighs more but I don't really believe him and thought if I'm still sticking to my calories that I should still be losing weight! Will I need to do more cardio again?

Help please!

Replies

  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Don't believe your brother - a pound is a pound.

    What you're probably doing is retaining some fluid. It could be from the new lifting routine. It could be from eating too much sodium. It could be because it's near your time of the month. 2 weeks is not enough time to see a pattern or trend. Keep at it for awhile, weigh and measure your food, stick to your calorie goal, and you'll get there.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    Could be water retention. It probably (ok ... absolutely) isn't two additional pounds of muscle if you're eating at a deficit.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Don't believe your brother - a pound is a pound.

    What you're probably doing is retaining some fluid. It could be from the new lifting routine. It could be from eating too much sodium. It could be because it's near your time of the month. 2 weeks is not enough time to see a pattern or trend. Keep at it for awhile, weigh and measure your food, stick to your calorie goal, and you'll get there.

    Nailed it.
  • maizerage66
    maizerage66 Posts: 367 Member
    Technically your brother is right in a sense. Yes a pound is a pound, but muscle weighs more based on a mass. A basketball size chunk of muscle is going to weigh significantly more than a basketball size chunk of fat because muscle is more dense. So basically you can look leaner, but be heavier because muscle doesn't take up as much mass as fat. You cannot build muscle on a deficit because muscle requires extra calories to grow but there are only special cases that allow this to happen. If weight lifting is entirely new to you, then you will build muscle since your body is shocked from it. Another case is if you've been gifted with the ability to build muscle no matter what. It's rare but can happen. So either your body is shocked from the new turn in exercise, or you have retained water because that's what makes up a lot of muscle. Muscle holds a lot of water which is why proper hydration is important. You also could be consuming too much sodium and not enough water and potassium to balance out your water levels. There are so many factors and two weeks isn't enough time to be worrying about it. Give it another month and if you are still gaining or not losing at all, then you may want to recalculate your calorie allowance. But you should lose after this because muscle burns fat so the more muscle you have, the more fat you'll burn. You can still incorporate light cardio every few days just to keep your cardiovascular health in check and to burn a few extra calories. Give it time and you'll be fine!
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Don't believe your brother - a pound is a pound.

    What you're probably doing is retaining some fluid. It could be from the new lifting routine. It could be from eating too much sodium. It could be because it's near your time of the month. 2 weeks is not enough time to see a pattern or trend. Keep at it for awhile, weigh and measure your food, stick to your calorie goal, and you'll get there.

    Yep, this.

    Once I started weight training, I gained about 2 pounds right away. Then I started SLOWLY losing weight. Then I had to take a week off to heal an injury, and I lost 2 pounds. Right when I started weight training again, I gained the 2 pounds back. It's just water retention, and it's required for muscle repair. You're not gaining muscle if you're truly in a deficit.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    New exercise causes water retention/glycogen stores in the muscles...esp weight training...

    It can take up to 4 weeks for it to go away. consider yourself lucky my sister gained 4lbs her first week....she freaked and stopped lifting.
  • MissesBee
    MissesBee Posts: 40 Member
    Thanks very much! I feel better now and will hopefully start losing again even if it is gradually.
  • jgbones
    jgbones Posts: 6
    Stick with it! Your weight may go up initially, but you'll drop inches.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Changing in any workout program can cause weight change. Usually water retention.

    There is no way you gained as a noob lifter 2lbs of muscle in a month, especially if you are female.

    Water retention would be the culprit in most cases.

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