Gain weight after working out ??? Help!

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Tee_geee
Tee_geee Posts: 47 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 5'5 219 pounds and I went to the gym 2x last week for the first time in a while, the workouts were intense. I have stayed under my calorie intake and have eaten limited carbs. However, after the workouts I have gained 2 pounds... Does anyone else experience this? Can someone explain it.

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  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,449 Member
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    Or time of month
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    Do you weigh/measure your food and drink? If not it is impossible to be sure you did stay under your calorie intake. Invest in a food scale if you do not have one - they are not expensive, but that little handful extra of dry past can easily be 100 calories!
  • Barbonica
    Barbonica Posts: 337 Member
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    What they said. Don't get discouraged, you are doing great! Keep going and try to remember that there will be ups and downs, you just want the downs to exceed the ups! Make sure you weight your food to ensure the calorie count is accurate, and don't believe the gym machines or mfp on the amount of burn. They are overstated because they count the calories you burn just by breathing in addition to the work, and assume you are working at 100% the whole time, which no one can do. Think burst of energy. Many here find that about 50% is a good rule of thumb, but you have to give it a month or so to see how your weight loss is coming along. Adjust as necessary. Good luck!
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
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    I post this in a lot threads, but the concept here is fluid retention. Since it changes more quickly and at higher magnitudes than your fat burn, it can hide your changes. In one week's time you may have lost two pounds and are holding 4 extra pounds of fluids. Fluids can fool you in either direction on the scale. If you lose water weight it can exaggerate how much fat you think you've lost. If you gain water weight, it can hide it. It can do the same in the other direction as well.

    Time is your friend. Watch the trend over several weeks or months. And don't worry about fluid retention - you are not going to the gym and eating right so you can work on your water weight. Your body does that regulation by itself. You are doing this to lose fat. You can't read that over a week's time because you can't isolate the contributing factors yet. Trending trending trending....

  • b3achy
    b3achy Posts: 2,021 Member
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    It is most likely water retention from the increased/different activity. Your muscles will retain water as they are rebuilding/repairing after a tough or different workout. It's not unusual. When I was losing, I tried not to schedule a super hard workout the day before my record weigh-in day because I disliked seeing the jump on the scale. Though now with some of my workouts, I can retain the extra water for a few days. When I started weight lifting, I want to say it was such a different activity, it took about a week or two for my body to finally flush the extra water retention. Just be patient, trust the system, and it will level out.
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
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    so happy that none of the "congrats, you're gaining muscle" people have chimed in (yet?)

    as others said, most likely water retention. remember this is a marathon, not a sprint - keep it up long term to see changes.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    Muscleflex79 wrote: »
    so happy that none of the "congrats, you're gaining muscle" people have chimed in (yet?)

    as others said, most likely water retention. remember this is a marathon, not a sprint - keep it up long term to see changes.

    She probably gained muscle..............
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
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    Weight fluctuates day to day, soooo there's that. But every single time I begin a new workout I start retaining water weight. Every single time...soooo...there's that too. Beyond that if your weight keeps trending up you'll need to take a hard look at your calories. Give it a week and see where you're at.
  • Coyla
    Coyla Posts: 444 Member
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    It's water weight. No amount of mis-measuring is going to lead to a 2 lb weight gain, unless you got your tablespoons and cups mixed up. :) The day after I do my run, which is intense for me (since I'm out of shape), is always a day I hold water. I can tell, too, because my eyes are baggy in the mornings. But it's worth it for all the extra energy I feel the rest of the week and how it reduces my stress levels by a million percent. So keep up the workouts.
  • LessCookiess
    LessCookiess Posts: 538 Member
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    How have you determined that you're under your calorie instake? Food packages may display a number lower than what it really is. If you're not weighing what you eat as well that could keep you from eating more than you think.

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