Started exercising and GAINing weight!

krstang89
krstang89 Posts: 17 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I started exercising 4 weeks ago and am up 4.2 pounds today from when I started! I'm so upset about this. I do cardio for 30-60 min 6 days per week and started weight training 2 weeks ago, 3 days per week for 30 min. I don't eat back my exercise calories and my net calories are about 2000 under goal for the week.

I just don't understand! I was losing (very slowly) before I added the exercise. I've been reading articles about this and know some weight can be from muscles repairing but when will the scale start to go down??

Getting very discouraged :(

Has anyone experienced this and then seen the scale drop?

Replies

  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    edited December 2015
    Water retention for muscle repair. It's temporary.

    ETA: Give it a couple more weeks. Hormones could also be masking things.
  • krstang89
    krstang89 Posts: 17 Member
    Thanks for your feedback. That gives me hope!
  • summerkissed
    summerkissed Posts: 730 Member
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    Water retention for muscle repair. It's temporary.

    ETA: Give it a couple more weeks. Hormones could also be masking things.

    Yep I second this one! Give it a bit of time you will see awesome benefits :)
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    Track your measurements and how well you fit into your clothes and throw away the damn scale. Seriously.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,972 Member
    Because the energy required to exercise is higher, the body adapts with anticipation that energy will always be needed, so water and glycogen store in the cells. It can be anywhere from 4-10lbs. Totally normal. If you stick to a calorie deficit consistently, you'll start losing weight.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • antennachick
    antennachick Posts: 464 Member
    I second everything already said. Also be sure to double check your calories. And if you log exercise calories burned, dont eat back all your calories (I believe fitness pal recommends 50-75 percent). Sometimes working out causes us to be hungry and make poor food choices. I always eat something lean with protien after working out to avoid this
  • krstang89
    krstang89 Posts: 17 Member
    hill8570 wrote: »
    Track your measurements and how well you fit into your clothes and throw away the damn scale. Seriously.

    Preach!! I already put it the scale away.
  • krstang89
    krstang89 Posts: 17 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Because the energy required to exercise is higher, the body adapts with anticipation that energy will always be needed, so water and glycogen store in the cells. It can be anywhere from 4-10lbs. Totally normal. If you stick to a calorie deficit consistently, you'll start losing weight.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Thank you for your feedback! I'm sticking it out. I won't let a number on a scale throw me off track :)
  • krstang89
    krstang89 Posts: 17 Member
    antennachick wrote: »
    I second everything already said. Also be sure to double check your calories. And if you log exercise calories burned, dont eat back all your calories (I believe fitness pal recommends 50-75 percent). Sometimes working out causes us to be hungry and make poor food choices. I always eat something lean with protien after working out to avoid this

    I do pretty well avoiding bad foods but I am working on eating back 50% of the calories burned. Until yesterday I wasn't eating any back at all and started getting dizzy so I think that's part of my problem.
  • Ryan70286
    Ryan70286 Posts: 122 Member
    OP this means you are most likely gaining muscle which is good, muscle burns a little bit more calories
  • CarlydogsMom
    CarlydogsMom Posts: 645 Member
    krstang89 wrote: »
    hill8570 wrote: »
    Track your measurements and how well you fit into your clothes and throw away the damn scale. Seriously.

    Preach!! I already put it the scale away.

    Once I started a decent weight-lifting program, I found that most of the time, it just doesn't jive with the scale. Too many factors come into play when lifting--water retention especially. It was too hard, mentally, focusing on a scale number when my body was going through tremendous changes while being a newbie lifter. What was nice, and most freeing, was knowing/realizing I was doing something so valuable and good for my body (preserving and growing lean mass, building strength, increasing bone density) that all of a sudden, the number on the scale didn't seem to matter so much anymore.

    If you decide that the benefits of lifting weights exceed the number on the scale, and you're monitoring other things like body measurements, protein intake, etc. then you're going to enjoy the ride better!
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    Water retention for muscle repair. It's temporary.

    ETA: Give it a couple more weeks. Hormones could also be masking things.

    Yep!
  • slinke2014
    slinke2014 Posts: 149 Member
    summerkissed wrote: »
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    Water retention for muscle repair. It's temporary.

    ETA: Give it a couple more weeks. Hormones could also be masking things.

    Yep I second this one! Give it a bit of time you will see awesome benefits :)

    Yep this. Whenever I don't lift for an extended period of time and get back into it, I can expect a weightless stall for up to 2 months. BUT I also am not the most accurate food logger. As long as your logging is tight it will come off eventually .
  • krstang89
    krstang89 Posts: 17 Member
    You guys were right! I am down 6.7 pounds from that weigh in today (2 days later). Obviously it was the water retention. Thank you so much for your encouragement!

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