Weight gain after strength training questions

tracymayo1
tracymayo1 Posts: 445 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey All,
I HAVE to start strength training on a regular basis.
I have dropped 13 of the 28 lbs I want to lose already, and am having a hard time getting past the 179.4lb mark with just diet now.
So, I know to expect weight gains when I start an exercise routine. I have read many posts on here talking about muscles retaining water to help repair etc. etc..

But I want to know how long after I am doing exercises should the numbers taper off to my real weight? I weigh every day (for my own reasons) and I know it fluctuates daily.
I am just wondering if there is a time frame average for when my body will "settle" as it were...so I don't freak out when the weight goes up.

I am not bulking - I am still eating at a deficit - I just don't want to be skinny/fat when I am done.

Replies

  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Give it 2-3 weeks to fully settle. It may even out sooner, but I would be prepared for a longer timeframe just so you don't freak out too early.
  • tracymayo1
    tracymayo1 Posts: 445 Member
    Ok, sounds good. How often would you recommend the strength training be done? I do it at home with the BF. We have a weight bench, free weights and exercise ball.
    I know several videos I can use and I am part of the Walking Dead Fitness Group also (trying to motivate myself) but generally I need a bit more I think.

    I was thinking of doing maybe 20-30 minutes minimum a day (or every other day) to start. Is that ok?
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    edited November 2014
    Beginners do well on a full-body workout done every 2-3 days. It's best to follow a complete program designed by a pro, not piece together your own routine. It takes about 30-40 minutes to do a typical full-body program, like NROL, Stronglifts, personal trainer, etc.
  • tracymayo1
    tracymayo1 Posts: 445 Member
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    Beginners do well on a full-body workout done every 2-3 days. It's best to follow a complete program designed by a pro, not piece together your own routine. It takes about 30-40 minutes to do a typical full-body program, like NROL, Stronglifts, personal trainer, etc.

    And what if we don't have a pro to make a routine for us?
    I cant afford to join a gym let alone have a trainer.
    My boyfriend goes evenings, and does his weights. I am just asking him for strength weight moves to do - we alternate the muscles being worked.arms/chest one time, core back another, legs and butt the next etc...

  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    It was about two weeks for me. As a daily weigher also, I kept a picture of the chart. It's pretty obvious when I started lifting. (June 30)
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  • tracymayo1
    tracymayo1 Posts: 445 Member
    so on your chart, I assume where your weight goes up slightly in the middle is where you started... then it drops off quite a bit.... is that right? If so, then I can see how starting this should help me start to drop again, instead of bouncing around up and down a pound and a half all the time...
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    i have found that when i am exercising regularly i hold on to a couple of pounds of water... i'm on taper week for a 10k on sunday so i have hardly done any exercise and have lost 2lbs.

    take measurements and progress pictures, dont rely on the scales!
  • garnerish
    garnerish Posts: 67 Member
    tracymayo1 wrote: »
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    It takes about 30-40 minutes to do a typical full-body program, like NROL, Stronglifts, personal trainer, etc.

    And what if we don't have a pro to make a routine for us?

    Programs like Stronglifts or Starting Strength can be found online. They don't require a personal trainer, they just tell you what to do.

  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    tracymayo1 wrote: »
    so on your chart, I assume where your weight goes up slightly in the middle is where you started... then it drops off quite a bit.... is that right? If so, then I can see how starting this should help me start to drop again, instead of bouncing around up and down a pound and a half all the time...

    I already had a steady loss going, it just stalled for a few weeks when I starting lifting then it picked right back up where it left off once I was used to it. Strength training isn't going to do much for weight loss while eating at a deficit other than help you maintain and strengthen your existing muscles.

  • tracymayo1
    tracymayo1 Posts: 445 Member
    257_Lag wrote: »
    tracymayo1 wrote: »
    so on your chart, I assume where your weight goes up slightly in the middle is where you started... then it drops off quite a bit.... is that right? If so, then I can see how starting this should help me start to drop again, instead of bouncing around up and down a pound and a half all the time...

    I already had a steady loss going, it just stalled for a few weeks when I starting lifting then it picked right back up where it left off once I was used to it. Strength training isn't going to do much for weight loss while eating at a deficit other than help you maintain and strengthen your existing muscles.

    Strengthen my existing muscle is what I am going for.
    I don't want to be "skinny-fat" when all is said and done. And as I lead a VERY sedentary life - that is exactly where I would be if I continue to do nothing.

    I looked up the Stronglifts 5x5 - but it seems like it works with a phone app? (I don't own a cell phone) It was actually confusing to me, when I was trying to figure out how it works/what it was telling me to do.

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