weight gain suddenly after workout
mariaeli93
Posts: 42 Member
I have lost about 15 kilos (30 pounds) just keeping track of my calories. I hike and walk a lot (like 30k steps per day) but Now i am at a point where i feel confident enough to go to the gym. I recently began a new workout routine with lots of cardio because i needed to shed just 3 kilos (about 6 pounds). Within the first 2 weeks i went from weighing 53.7 kilos to 57.5 kilos. I used to be a compulsive eater so i have to count calories in order to not over eat but i generally eat very healthy. Lots of fruits and vegetables, no fried stuff or sugars. (I have been eating like this for almost 3 years now, so my diet hasnt changed) I thought that it could be muscle mass but when i measured my hips and waist i noticed i had indeed gained almost 2 inches everywhere and my clothes fit more snug.
Do you think it could just be my body getting used to the change and retaining water? Its been 2 and a half weeks since i began. I keep reading everywhere that i shouldnt gain more than 2 kilos of water weight and it should be gone in a week but i have gained almost 4 kilos and its been 2 weeks. Does anyone have any tips for this?
Do you think it could just be my body getting used to the change and retaining water? Its been 2 and a half weeks since i began. I keep reading everywhere that i shouldnt gain more than 2 kilos of water weight and it should be gone in a week but i have gained almost 4 kilos and its been 2 weeks. Does anyone have any tips for this?
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Replies
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Sounds like there is something else going on here. 4 kilos is not just water weight - may be 2 kilos is but not 4. Have your calories increased? Do you look better or worse with the extra weight? Could be muscle but very unlikely in that timeframe.0
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Have you increased your calories since you started exercising? It is not unheard of for people to indulge in a "healthy" treat (such as a smoothie) after exercising that contains more calories than they actually burned during their exercise session.0
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Agree completely0
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Could be muscle but very unlikely in that timeframe.
It's definitely not muscle. That would be too fast in such a time frame, especially as a woman, and she's supposedly eating at a deficit.
The answers to these would help immensely:- How many calories are you eating per day?
- Do you eat back your exercise calories?
My guess is that it's water retention from your new routine and also you may be at a point in your cycle where you're holding water. I hold up to three pounds(~1.36 kilos) of water weight during ovulation. Also a high sodium or higher carb day would make you hold water. 4 kilos is a lot though. I'd say to give it a week and reassess. If you have gained any more weight, it's because your level of food intake is too high. It doesn't matter how healthy it is, if you're eating more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight regardless. If you've lost some of the 4 kilos, you're fine and should continue as you were.
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FYI....if you are eating fruits, you ARE eating sugar.0
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You stated that you are now going to the gym and your exercise of choice is cardio and not strength training? Right.
In two weeks time, putting on muscle mass whilst eating a deficit and only doing cardio is not the issue at hand here.
Weight gain can be caused by four things, you are now over eating, eating more carbs, meals are rally high in sodium and your muscle can be retaining water as well.
Since you state that your clothes are snug and you have measured your hips etc and it shows weight gain, this is what I suspect as fat gain and some water retention both.
Using the following chart, if NONE of the things in the chart pertain to you, then the next step would get to a doctors office for some blood work.
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You stated that you are now going to the gym and your exercise of choice is cardio and not strength training? Right.
In two weeks time, putting on muscle mass whilst eating a deficit and only doing cardio is not the issue at hand here.
Weight gain can be caused by four things, you are now over eating, eating more carbs, meals are rally high in sodium and your muscle can be retaining water as well.
Since you state that your clothes are snug and you have measured your hips etc and it shows weight gain, this is what I suspect as fat gain and some water retention both.
Using the following chart, if NONE of the things in the chart pertain to you, then the next step would get to a doctors office for some blood work.
I agree but carbs don't cause weight gain . carbs aren't the enemy here, a calorie surplus is.0 -
My calorie intake has been the same. I have a 500-600 calorie deficit. I am very strict with my calorie counting. I measure everything i eat down to grams because i have time to cook and make everything myselfHave you increased your calories since you started exercising? It is not unheard of for people to indulge in a "healthy" treat (such as a smoothie) after exercising that contains more calories than they actually burned during their exercise session.
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Could be muscle but very unlikely in that timeframe.
It's definitely not muscle. That would be too fast in such a time frame, especially as a woman, and she's supposedly eating at a deficit.
The answers to these would help immensely:- How many calories are you eating per day?
- Do you eat back your exercise calories?
My guess is that it's water retention from your new routine and also you may be at a point in your cycle where you're holding water. I hold up to three pounds(~1.36 kilos) of water weight during ovulation. Also a high sodium or higher carb day would make you hold water. 4 kilos is a lot though. I'd say to give it a week and reassess. If you have gained any more weight, it's because your level of food intake is too high. It doesn't matter how healthy it is, if you're eating more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight regardless. If you've lost some of the 4 kilos, you're fine and should continue as you were.
I Am very strict with what i eat everyday (for the past year or so which is what helped me lose the 15 kilos initially) i have a lot of time in my hands so i cook and prep everything myself with the help of my little gram scale.
My polar loop + heart rate band say i burn around 2300 calories per day so i eat 1650 calories per day very consistevely. On the weekends i maybe eat 100 or 200 calories more but i do work out every single day cardio+ weights, cardio being the more dominant.
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Right, but i havent gone over my calorie limit with a 500 calorie deficit for the past 2 years almost. So i doubt thats what's going on with methorsmom01 wrote: »You stated that you are now going to the gym and your exercise of choice is cardio and not strength training? Right.
In two weeks time, putting on muscle mass whilst eating a deficit and only doing cardio is not the issue at hand here.
Weight gain can be caused by four things, you are now over eating, eating more carbs, meals are rally high in sodium and your muscle can be retaining water as well.
Since you state that your clothes are snug and you have measured your hips etc and it shows weight gain, this is what I suspect as fat gain and some water retention both.
Using the following chart, if NONE of the things in the chart pertain to you, then the next step would get to a doctors office for some blood work.
I agree but carbs don't cause weight gain . carbs aren't the enemy here, a calorie surplus is.
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You stated that you are now going to the gym and your exercise of choice is cardio and not strength training? Right.
In two weeks time, putting on muscle mass whilst eating a deficit and only doing cardio is not the issue at hand here.
Weight gain can be caused by four things, you are now over eating, eating more carbs, meals are rally high in sodium and your muscle can be retaining water as well.
Since you state that your clothes are snug and you have measured your hips etc and it shows weight gain, this is what I suspect as fat gain and some water retention both.
Using the following chart, if NONE of the things in the chart pertain to you, then the next step would get to a doctors office for some blood work.
I do an hour of cardio and 30 minutes of weights (the weights happen every other day, the cardio happens everyday) i have a calorie deficit of 500 calories and I use a polar loop + heart rate sensor to track my workouts. Anyway i'm going to follow this chart for now because it's barely been 2 weeks 0 -
thorsmom01 wrote: »You stated that you are now going to the gym and your exercise of choice is cardio and not strength training? Right.
In two weeks time, putting on muscle mass whilst eating a deficit and only doing cardio is not the issue at hand here.
Weight gain can be caused by four things, you are now over eating, eating more carbs, meals are rally high in sodium and your muscle can be retaining water as well.
Since you state that your clothes are snug and you have measured your hips etc and it shows weight gain, this is what I suspect as fat gain and some water retention both.
Using the following chart, if NONE of the things in the chart pertain to you, then the next step would get to a doctors office for some blood work.
I agree but carbs don't cause weight gain . carbs aren't the enemy here, a calorie surplus is.
But carbs can cause you to gain water weight as they replenish your glycogen stores.
ETA: but I agree that it is probably not likely that increasing carbs has caused an almost 4 kilo weight gain. It could be a factor (if OP did increase her carb intake), but there is something else in play here.0 -
maybe the food is just sitting in your body longer before being expelled as waste, the new muscles you are working out are probably storing more of everything other than water too0
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Did I read that you've been in a deficit for two years straight? Please tell me you've had a diet/maintenance break.0
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hmm..maybe when im on vacation i eat my calories entirely but for the most part ive been at a deficit because i've been steadily losing weight for almost 2 years, so yeah.arditarose wrote: »Did I read that you've been in a deficit for two years straight? Please tell me you've had a diet/maintenance break.
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mariaeli93 wrote: »
hmm..maybe when im on vacation i eat my calories entirely but for the most part ive been at a deficit because i've been steadily losing weight for almost 2 years, so yeah.arditarose wrote: »Did I read that you've been in a deficit for two years straight? Please tell me you've had a diet/maintenance break.
Time for a break I believe. I'm heading out for work but when I get home later I'll link you to some interesting reads on diet breaks...and though I might get poo-pooed on the forums for this (gasp!)-Reverse Dieting.0 -
arditarose wrote: »mariaeli93 wrote: »
hmm..maybe when im on vacation i eat my calories entirely but for the most part ive been at a deficit because i've been steadily losing weight for almost 2 years, so yeah.arditarose wrote: »Did I read that you've been in a deficit for two years straight? Please tell me you've had a diet/maintenance break.
Time for a break I believe. I'm heading out for work but when I get home later I'll link you to some interesting reads on diet breaks...and though I might get poo-pooed on the forums for this (gasp!)-Reverse Dieting.
Hmm that sounds interesting. I'd be willing to try it! Plus more food is never bad0 -
maybe the food is just sitting in your body longer before being expelled as waste, the new muscles you are working out are probably storing more of everything other than water too
That sounds interesting. I'll do some research but i've been going to the bathroom more often then normal so i dont know. Worth a look though 0 -
I do have to admit i'm not very careful with carbs, but i eat mostly raw fruits during the day and natural yoghurt every now and then. I dont eat much bread pasta or potatoes because i have bad circulation and those kinds of things make my circulation act up. I have noticed that i am drinking a lot more than i am peeing. So water retention is happening for sure, i just dont know what elsethorsmom01 wrote: »You stated that you are now going to the gym and your exercise of choice is cardio and not strength training? Right.
In two weeks time, putting on muscle mass whilst eating a deficit and only doing cardio is not the issue at hand here.
Weight gain can be caused by four things, you are now over eating, eating more carbs, meals are rally high in sodium and your muscle can be retaining water as well.
Since you state that your clothes are snug and you have measured your hips etc and it shows weight gain, this is what I suspect as fat gain and some water retention both.
Using the following chart, if NONE of the things in the chart pertain to you, then the next step would get to a doctors office for some blood work.
I agree but carbs don't cause weight gain . carbs aren't the enemy here, a calorie surplus is.
But carbs can cause you to gain water weight as they replenish your glycogen stores.
ETA: but I agree that it is probably not likely that increasing carbs has caused an almost 4 kilo weight gain. It could be a factor (if OP did increase her carb intake), but there is something else in play here.
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mostly fruits and veggies so it's safe to assume your potassium is fine. Unless you have 4 kilos of pus in you, I'd have to go with water if you poop often. If it was me, I'd go doctoring now though since you say you have problems like bad circulation.0
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I do go to a doctor about the bad circulation and he adviced i stayed away from regined grains and since im only 22, there isnt any point on packing me with meds. I do eat fairly healthy because my mom is vegan so she raised me that way so there isnt much to change in my diet. He also adviced i do lots of cardio to help my blood pump and thats about itmostly fruits and veggies so it's safe to assume your potassium is fine. Unless you have 4 kilos of pus in you, I'd have to go with water if you poop often. If it was me, I'd go doctoring now though since you say you have problems like bad circulation. 0 -
Sorry, I meant I would go since the unexplained weight gain happened.0
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I agree but carbs don't cause weight gain . carbs aren't the enemy here, a calorie surplus is.
Increased carbs (even without increase in gross calories) CAN cause a weight gain because they cause a higher level of water retention. Not all weight is fat.
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mariaeli93 wrote: »
hmm..maybe when im on vacation i eat my calories entirely but for the most part ive been at a deficit because i've been steadily losing weight for almost 2 years, so yeah.arditarose wrote: »Did I read that you've been in a deficit for two years straight? Please tell me you've had a diet/maintenance break.
Is it 500 calories a day? Based on the numbers you've posted it sounds like it. Over 2 years that's enough to lose around 104 pounds. You mention a loss of around 30 ish in the last year+ when it should have been 50+. This means either your #s are off, you cheat more than you think, or you arent as good at counting as you think you are.
The fact you have inches increase and we are talking 8-10 pounds is a little concerning. Some of it could be water from working out or Tom but that's a lot. I think you need to maybe just wait it out another week or 2 but if there is no change then your logs are most likly off.0 -
mariaeli93 wrote: »
hmm..maybe when im on vacation i eat my calories entirely but for the most part ive been at a deficit because i've been steadily losing weight for almost 2 years, so yeah.arditarose wrote: »Did I read that you've been in a deficit for two years straight? Please tell me you've had a diet/maintenance break.
Is it 500 calories a day? Based on the numbers you've posted it sounds like it. Over 2 years that's enough to lose around 104 pounds. You mention a loss of around 30 ish in the last year+ when it should have been 50+. This means either your #s are off, you cheat more than you think, or you arent as good at counting as you think you are.
The fact you have inches increase and we are talking 8-10 pounds is a little concerning. Some of it could be water from working out or Tom but that's a lot. I think you need to maybe just wait it out another week or 2 but if there is no change then your logs are most likly off.
Ive hit a loootttt of plateus along the way because i have a birth control implant on my arm and actually had troubles with my gyno about it so thats why its taken this long. I plateud a lot but never regained so this is why im worried
But youre right! Maybe i need to stop being over confident about my calorie counting!
The extra weight is 6-8 pounds depending on the day, and its not cute. I feel swollen and my skin feels.. Looser? But i am also all kinds of sore from my workouts
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