Big question. Lots of confusion. Help?

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cirea1018
cirea1018 Posts: 7 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello. I'm new to the community. So I've been going to the gym 4 times a week. I do 20 minute intervals of cardio. Then I do leg lifts for about 10 minutes. Then 10 minutes of arm exercises. About 60 minutes total.

Anyways my problem is. I gained 8 pounds in those weeks of gym. I got so confused and discouraged when I looked at the scale. I haven't gone for about 10 days. And gained another 2 pounds. What the hell? I don't understand how I could gain weight while going to the gym! I am getting married in 2 months. I need to get rid of 15 pounds at least! Can someone please help me out and explain what's going on? I want to start going again this weekend. But not if the scale is going to go up.
Help me please

Replies

  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    Open your diary so we can see your logging.

    How long has it been since you started this exercise regimen? Could be water retention if it's new.

  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
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    cirea1018 wrote: »
    I don't understand how I could gain weight while going to the gym!

    That all depends on how much you're eating.

    I can burn 300 calories in 40 minutes of running, but I can eat a Snickers bar much faster than that.

  • cirea1018
    cirea1018 Posts: 7 Member
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    Sorry I don't know how to open my diary. And I barely started logging everything today.
  • cirea1018
    cirea1018 Posts: 7 Member
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    yesimpson wrote: »
    cirea1018 wrote: »
    I don't understand how I could gain weight while going to the gym!

    That all depends on how much you're eating.

    I can burn 300 calories in 40 minutes of running, but I can eat a Snickers bar much faster than that.

  • cirea1018
    cirea1018 Posts: 7 Member
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    That makes a lot of sense yesimpson! My eating habits were not perfect. But that could be the problem.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    Yeah, You are going to need to log all you eat to get an idea whats going on here. Logging some or most is going to fall short I am afraid. It is also difficult to build significant muscle in deficit too
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
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    When I first began I didn't lose weight and looked bulkier. My muscles were retaining water and I wasn't watching my calories. Once I began a slight deficit in caloric intake I began losing weight.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    cirea1018 wrote: »
    Sorry I don't know how to open my diary. And I barely started logging everything today.

    But you have other days logged, correct?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings At the bottom, set to public.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    If you're consistently gaining weight, it all comes down to diet. Doing some exercises like you describe doesn't actually have a very big effect on losing weight. If any. Can't out-exercise a poor diet, as they say.
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
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    Sounds like a combination of water retention from more exercise, and eating too much.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Weight loss happens by diet changes. If you are not eating less, you will nto lose. If you see exercise as an excuse to eat more, you will put on weight.
  • cirea1018
    cirea1018 Posts: 7 Member
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    Thanks everyone. It's probably my diet. I've been trying to eat more protein. And less carbs. My fiancé has terrible eating habbits and is always having junk in the house. I know I can't blame him. I just need more self control. Thanks for opening my eyes!
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    Exercise will make you want to chew your arm off or eat more food.. lol

    Best advice, log your food everyday for a min of week. See where you are with intake and make adjustments to meet the deficit that MFP setup for you... After two weeks of meeting the deficit and continuing the exercise see if your body has made some adjustments (downward)... If not re-*kitten* the food in MFP and make sure you are not over estimating calories burned during your exercise causing you to "eat back in" to the deficit.

    Water retention from exercising is usually minimal and drinking a good amount of water each day will help eleviate water weight gain and also watch the salt/sodium.. stay hyrdrated.

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