We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Consistent weight gain with exercise :(

catherine852020
catherine852020 Posts: 11 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all,

We are into the 4th week of lockdown in the UK and I’ve decided to focus this extra time on exercising.

I used to be super fit and weighed 138-140lbs (I’m 5’8) but after an injury in 2018 I never quite got back in the game.
Over Christmas I went up to 154lbs which is super heavy for me, and didn’t get back in to exercise, because of a death in the family, a near flooded house and financial stresses!
Just before we went in to lockdown I re-joined a gym, but wasn’t taking it that seriously.

So about 4 weeks ago, I started walking everyday, usually for 1 hour, plus added home workouts (mostly Jillian Michaels) to try and get back in shape. I’m currently walking for about 1 hour 7 days a week and doing one of her videos 4-5 (45 mins) times a week but I’m not noticing a single change.

My starting weight was 149, then 152, then 154, and now 154 and 3/4. I’ve never been this heavy in my life.
I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, yes my diet isn’t perfect, but I’m eating significantly less than I was.
I’ve also lost my job due to corona virus, could stress be a factor? Or should I just throw my scales in the bin?

Even over Easter, I was not eating enough chocolate to create such a huge weight gain.

Thanks.

Replies

  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Weight loss isn't linear.
    Are you counting calories and using a food scale?
  • catherine852020
    catherine852020 Posts: 11 Member
    To a certain extent, but not religiously due to the stress of everything going on. But I’m certainly not eating more.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,150 Member
    There are two reasons why you gain weight:
    * Water weight due to new exercise, or being at that time of the month
    * eating more than you think

    If you've been doing the same workouts for at least 2-3 weeks and your weight still goes up then it's clearly the second. Unless you're getting your menstruation, and right away again, and then again without giving your body to get rid of the excess water weight <3
  • catherine852020
    catherine852020 Posts: 11 Member
    I’m going to really watch my food this week and see if it makes a difference. I just don’t understand the big jump, if it was 1 or 2lbs maybe. I just normally feel a bit better round the middle at this point, even if I’ve had a few treats. I feel exactly the same, apart from the fact I can do a couple of extra moves. Thanks. :)
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,150 Member
    Hi Cathrine, don't just watch your food but log it on a foodscale. It's so easy to underestimate. If everything you are was just 100 calories off (it's so easy, especially for fatty food) then you'd have 300-400 calories more per day.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    catherine852020 wrote: »
    To a certain extent, but not religiously due to the stress of everything going on. But I’m certainly not eating more.

    You'd be surprised. You need to measure & weigh every morsel that passes your lips to have any kind of certainty as to your intake. It's been demonstrated time and again that we have a tendency to underestimate our consumption if we're just eyeballing the portion sizes.
  • catherine852020
    catherine852020 Posts: 11 Member
    You are all so right, I will really track my food accurately this week and see if it makes a difference. I think it’s because I know for a fact I, eating less (especially as we are restricted with what we can buy) compared to a few months ago, yet the weight gain is higher. Thanks for your input. :)
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
  • catherine852020
    catherine852020 Posts: 11 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

    Thanks so much for this!

    ,Stress levels: Increased stress = water retention and with water retention comes a spike in scale weight.
    Sleep: Poor sleep can also increase stress levels = water retention = weight increase on the scale’

    I’ve been so stressed today because my cat had to go to the vet, she’s fine. Also haven been sleeping well. I think I’m going to make my boyfriend hide the scale. It’s probably in need of a battery change anyway. Thank you!
  • justinejacksonm
    justinejacksonm Posts: 75 Member
    I've found the same to be true that if I have been off track for a while it was starting over again the first week or so I blowing up like a balloon. Not sure why but it really seems consistent. It could also be that you're getting used to your walks. In the beginning may be challenging but you keep doing it your body adjusts and you need to work harder. I've been taking really long walks with my boyfriend a few days a week and that doesn't really seem to be doing much anymore so I finally had to make a choice to start taking advantage of all this time off and really push myself again. Stress is definitely a factor. I've posted questions about this in the past and couldn't really get concise answers but I'm just saying if your body is in a stressed-out state it's going to be harder to lose weight. what kind of foods are you eating are they really salty? unless you do enough of a workout where you're sweating off a lot of excess water ( in which low-impact walking really won't) if you keep your salt intake high you'll stay bloated. Reason number two why I finally realized I need to get my butt in gear. Long walks are good at all but I really need to be breaking a sweat, a good one, several times a week so enter hard cardio and HIIT workouts.

    DEFINITELY MIX IT UP.

    what always works for me is doing a nice healthy blend of various fitness blender videos and alternating with long walks shorter runs or doing intervals of walking and running. Intermittent fasting is helpful even if you're not fasting if you pick a day where you can deal with eating a lot less those are the days by 10 to do the really long slow workouts like 7 Mile walks because the exertion won't kill you on an empty stomach because it's so low impact for such a long time you're more likely to burn fat instead of muscle.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    catherine852020 wrote: »
    To a certain extent, but not religiously due to the stress of everything going on. But I’m certainly not eating more.

    You'd be surprised...especially with additional stress. This is likely your issue. Exercise doesn't default to weight loss...weight management in general is best controlled with calories coming in.
  • minnelizzy
    minnelizzy Posts: 45 Member
    Calories are essential. Count them, weigh food, measure portions, etc. then track everything. Add in a lot of water. I’m guessing you will see a change in the scale and see where you have been taking in too many calories.
  • catherine852020
    catherine852020 Posts: 11 Member
    Coming up to nearly a week since I posted this. I’ve been controlling calories more, and trying to be strict. I went on the scales this morning, and I’ve put on another pound. I decided to measure myself instead, according to Fitbit I clocked 10 hours of exercise last week, including walking, circuit training and yoga. I’ve put an inch on my hips and my waist.

    I’m now heavier, and wider than I have ever been in my life. I don’t know what to do, I’m sitting on my bed crying. I’m working so hard.
  • subject129
    subject129 Posts: 2 Member
    Okay what some people are not mentioning is that MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THEN FAT. You could be gaining muscle & in which case watch your measurements because that will tell you if you're gaining muscle or gaining weight. If you're gaining muscle, your measurements will go down BUT your weight will go up. If you're gaining fat then both your measurements & your weight will go up in which case you'll want to count calories while increasing your protein intake & lowering your carb intake. Also yes, stress influences your weight massively, so does lack of sleep, during exam period I'm extra strict with calories & I still gain weight. I know it's hard but try to not stress about it. I've been plateaued for a long time & it's driving me crazy, but stressing is not helping either of us.
  • vivjas
    vivjas Posts: 3 Member
    Hi, I am in the same boat
    Really working hard at exercising everyday
    Even been in the 7day slimfast plan
    Still nothing
    I’ve checked my ketone levels, they are ok
    Then checked ph levels which I’ve found are extremely high
    So I’ve now cut bread, dairy oil
    To see if I can find a difference this week
    I’ll keep you posted
    Don’t give up, it could be anything as simple
    As an allergy
    Viv
  • catherine852020
    catherine852020 Posts: 11 Member
    Thanks for your comments. It’s not possible as a female to put on as much muscle as the scale is saying, also I would have hoped after a month my body might look a tiny bit different. Maybe it’s my age, and my metabolism is slowing down.

    I’ll try and keep going, it’s very hard not to just give up though. :(
  • catherine852020
    catherine852020 Posts: 11 Member
    I have been lifting weights, but I know it’s not muscle, my body feels exactly the same.
  • djaxon1
    djaxon1 Posts: 82 Member
    Walking is good but will take up a lot of time . Can you try a weighted rucksack, this will up the intensity -
    start at 10% body mass.
    Exercise can make you hungry.
  • catherine852020
    catherine852020 Posts: 11 Member
    I stopped all exercise (apart from walking) and watched my food intake and lost 3lbs! Missing exercise though, so I’m back on it. I might throw my scales out.
  • klove808
    klove808 Posts: 346 Member
    Same boat here, my mid section is just hanging on for dear life and scale #’s are too. Did a bit of research : cortisol (stress) sucks, food weighing is essential (what seems like a tiny amount of granola is actually 300 cals !?), sugar and salt cause even more water weight, gotta keep upping the ante with activity so your body is challenged, and to burn fat takes approx 20 mins of elevated heart rate, rather than just movement (good to do at least 3-5 x per week). Oh what we have in our daily diet may make a difference for many reasons.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,458 Member
    catherine852020 wrote: »
    I’ve put a new battery in my scales and I’ve lost a pound and a half, so at least that’s something. But still, a long way to go, here’s to measuring everything that passes my lips!

    Good show!

    Really, sometimes at first the scale fluctuations can be kind of crazy. Stick with it for - eeks - a few weeks. You're on the right track!
  • oliviajohn1
    oliviajohn1 Posts: 3 Member
    I had this problem but it was more that my weight wasn’t going down and was staying consistent for weeks before decreasing a few pounds. Maybe try and take photos and see if your body is changing? The most useful thing I did was buy scales that measure body fat, muscle and all of that (forgot what it’s called😂). It’s really an eye opener to see all of those figures and I’ve noticed that my fat is decreasing and muscle is increasing even if the scale is hardly budging!
  • owieprone
    owieprone Posts: 217 Member
    yirara - hate to tell you this bud, but walking does build muscle, and muscle does weight more than fat, how much depends on OPs genetics. While OPs weight gain is more likely caused by not paying enough attention to food and eating more than she thinks, some of it will be from the amount of walking she is doing.

    OP maybe try lowering the calories you replace for the amount of exercise you are doing, fitbit and other trackers aren't built with women in mind (I believe the software is based on an 'average' bloke) and may not be showing you a true representation for you. Once you've got your food tracking sorted, if you're still gaining more weight than you'd expect (muscle gain is a slow weight gain you shouldn't see lbs in a week unless you're training to be the next Thor), then try dropping your daily calorie intake by a small amount over a week, say 10-20 calories a day, and see if that makes a difference.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,150 Member
    owieprone wrote: »
    yirara - hate to tell you this bud, but walking does build muscle, and muscle does weight more than fat, how much depends on OPs genetics. While OPs weight gain is more likely caused by not paying enough attention to food and eating more than she thinks, some of it will be from the amount of walking she is doing.

    @owieprone These forums are quite evidence-based as there's so much quack around and people need clear, correct information to lose weight. Can you please show some research that walking can indeed build 5lbs of muscle in a woman and how long that would take? And as you're at it, also please demonstrate that 5lbs of muscle weighs more than 5lbs of fat.

  • catherine852020
    catherine852020 Posts: 11 Member
    I’m a regular walker, so I’m not sure it would build that much muscle.

    I’m back to workouts and counting calories, although I’m finding myself to be ravenous! I’m also approaching my mid 30s and I’m not overweight for my height so maybe these are factors. It’s just so frustrating I’ve never moved as much in my life, and I feel fatter than ever.

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    owieprone wrote: »
    yirara - hate to tell you this bud, but walking does build muscle, and muscle does weight more than fat, how much depends on OPs genetics. While OPs weight gain is more likely caused by not paying enough attention to food and eating more than she thinks, some of it will be from the amount of walking she is doing.

    OP maybe try lowering the calories you replace for the amount of exercise you are doing, fitbit and other trackers aren't built with women in mind (I believe the software is based on an 'average' bloke) and may not be showing you a true representation for you. Once you've got your food tracking sorted, if you're still gaining more weight than you'd expect (muscle gain is a slow weight gain you shouldn't see lbs in a week unless you're training to be the next Thor), then try dropping your daily calorie intake by a small amount over a week, say 10-20 calories a day, and see if that makes a difference.

    Nobody gains five pounds of muscle in a month from walking. This doesn't happen.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories