Added more exercise but scale is going up

Mds1922
Mds1922 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I've been doing IF (18:6 &16;8) for a month and lost about 7 pounds. I've decided to increase my exercise activity, i.e.: hitting my 10k steps, spinning, yoga, etc. But now I'm noticing that the scale is going up. What am I doing wrong? I used to eat the extra calories I earn by exercise but I've cut back on that this week but my weight is going up. Help! I don't want to get discouraged.

Replies

  • debilang
    debilang Posts: 874 Member
    If you are well hydrated, it also could be muscle you are gaining from all the exercise...That is a good thing :):)
  • Mds1922
    Mds1922 Posts: 9 Member
    Ahhh. I don't think I am as hydrated as I should be. Ok, I'll try it! Thank you.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    Water retention, almost certainly. (Don't over-react and cut calories in that scenario: It's counter-productive.)

    Against a backdrop of slow weight loss, even my *weight trending app* thought I was gaining weight for almost a month (even without hormones in the picture; I'm menopausal), when I resumed weight training after a long break. Daily weights looked even more distorted than the trend. 😆

    I routinely see a couple of pounds gain on the scale in that scenario (some people see more), and I hang onto those pounds until I stop training regularly/progressively. It's just water, so NBD in my book: I expect/ignore it. Eventually, if there's fat loss happening - however slowly - it will eventually emerge from the clouds of water weight, on the body weight scale, then in the trending app. Any exercise increase has this potential, not just weight training. It's related to muscle repair.

    You might enjoy this useful article, for more info on this and related topics:

    https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

    7 pounds in a month is quite a lot, unless quite severely overweight. Don't underfuel your exercise. Hang in there with a reasonable calorie level, give it a few weeks to sort out on the scale. I predict it'll be fine.
  • Shy_Yogi
    Shy_Yogi Posts: 101 Member
    There’s a lot of great advice here. You could get a scale that tracks water, body fat, BMI and all that for about $20-30. Also take measurements and pics too. The numbers on the scale isn’t the only indicator that you’ve lost weight.
  • Beverly2Hansen
    Beverly2Hansen Posts: 378 Member
    So when I add a new type of exercise my weight goes up or plateaus for 2 weeks. Then suddenly I lose around 2lbs and my weightloss goes back to being steady. Here's the thing though 7lbs per month is a lot if you're not really overweight. I'm 155lbs 5'5" and very active and struggle to lose anything over 5lbs per month. You don't want to over train or under eat those methods aren't sustainable. Weightloss can easily spiral into obsession or become a yoyo practice in modern times. That being said always take measurements because you'll lose inches at times when plateaued or gaining the fitter you become.

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