Help! I'm GAINING weight!?!?!?

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  • josol1971
    josol1971 Posts: 46 Member
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    Measure, measure, measure! The scale is only one tool to verify weight loss. I'm a daily weigher (bad, bad!) and I have seen the scale move as much as 3 lbs in a single day. I agree it's hard to comment without seeing your diary, but stay away from processed foods, eat only whole foods, don't eat more cals than you need, drink water, and keep physically active. Your body WILL do the rest!. Good luck!
  • deejaycee114
    deejaycee114 Posts: 139 Member
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    Muscle does not weigh more than fat! 1 lb is 1 lb whether it is a fat lb or a muscle lb!

    ^^^This. It drives me nuts when people say muscle weighs more. It is true that muscle is more dense than fat and takes up less area, but 1 lb. is 1 lb. whether it is fat or muscle.

    Thank you!! I see this all the time, and I'm like, a pound is a pound is a pound is a pound! A POUND of feathers weighs the same as a POUND of fat, as a POUND of muscle, a POUND of bricks! :tongue:

    http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/busting-the-muscle-weighs-more-than-fat-myth.aspx
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
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    15lbs is a lot in 6 weeks, I highly doubt that you have gained much muscle on the kind of calorie deficit that would be needed to lose so much.
    It takes a lot of weight training and eating the right foods at a calorie surplus to gain muscle, it doesnt just happen accidentally.

    The gain could be water retention from sodium or working out, or your body having a bit of a protest about losing so much so quickly. 7 in 6 weeks is a healthier level and is still a good loss.
    Make sure your goals are set to no more than 1.5lbs loss based on the amount you have left to lose, and stick to your cal goals including eating back exercise.
  • Shayztar
    Shayztar Posts: 415 Member
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    Definitely take measurements. It is a great way to gauge progress besides the scale.

    ^^ This.

    I am consistantly losing weight, but whenever I do lots of cardio, or ramp up weight training, I am always up for a day or two. The only explaination is water retention in my muscles. But I also measure, so as long as I keep shrinking, I'm happier than if I am dropping weight.

    Right now, I am the same size as I was when I was 20 lbs lighter. I am more fit. But my scale tells me I am not. Stick with your plan and so long as you are truly eating at a calorie deficit, then it will work in the long run.

    Also, if you openend your diary, maybe people can give less general advice. You can lose weight eating only McDonalds, but there are other ways, and maybe you need food advice too. :)


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  • MrsRawwwr
    MrsRawwwr Posts: 166 Member
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    Like others, I suspect water weight is to blame. Higher amounts of sodium could be the culprit. Your muscles could be retaining some water while they repair themselves. Or...is it close to your TOM? I typically gain 3-5 pounds during that time, starting a week before.

    And remember, if your pants are looser, you are doing something right. Sometimes the scale just isn't on board with the rest of our body :).
  • htolen
    htolen Posts: 28
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    You're gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, so more muscle than fat means you'll weigh more.


    Muscle does not weigh more than fat! 1 lb is 1 lb whether it is a fat lb or a muscle lb!

    Also, a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of meat. But it sure takes a lot more feathers to fill the same space!!

    This is a brilliant observation. Thanks for the high-school level insight on weights and measures.

    What people are suggesting is that the OP is replacing fat (feathers) with muscle (meat). If she loses a pound of fat but it is replaced by muscle that is more dense (kinda like you...dense...), then she will see a weight increase because a heavier substance is filling the space that a lighter substance once filled. I dare you to empty your feather pillow out and replace it with steaks. Think it might weigh more than the feathers?

    Stupid comments aside, OP, weight gains due to muscle building should be relatively temporary. Once you have replaced a lot of fat with muscle, your metabolism should be higher and your body should burn calories more efficiently. SO, don't give up on the scale entirely. You should start to see that number drop again within a couple weeks. If it doesn't, you might need to assess if your calorie intake might be higher than you realize. Consider weighing your portions for a short time just to ensure that you are actually eating what you think you are eating. Also, you might find that you need to play a bit with your fat/carb/protein ratios. You might also consider tracking sugars and sodium in addition to the default things that MFP tracks (just go into your diary settings and add them). For me, if I stay within my calorie range but really load on carbs and sugars, I see the scale stall or even climb despite staying in calorie range. For myself, I have to focus on higher proteins and lower carbs (as well as lower sugars and sodium) to see success. Everyone's body is a little different so I'm not suggesting that you need to do what I do; it's just something for you to consider.

    Above all else, don't give up! You are making great choices for yourself...don't let the little number on the scale affect your determination to be as healthy as you can be!
  • ColleenRoss50
    ColleenRoss50 Posts: 199 Member
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    You have definitely not gained eight lbs. of fat in two weeks. The only way this could have happened would be if you ate 28,000 calories over and about your maintenance calories (TDEE). That would be 2,000 extra calories a day above maintenance levels.

    My guess is a good percentage of this is water weight. This could be partly related to TOM or a variety of other things. Check your sodium intake in your diary to see if your daily average is high. Also make sure you are drinking plenty of water.
  • kmkizziar
    kmkizziar Posts: 11
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    Can I ask what you calorie goal is?

    Water retention is a big factor that might be getting you. Just a thought.

    My calorie goal is 1200, I have noticed looking back on my diary tho, that I have been lacking in protien, but that still wouldn't explain 8 lbs in two weeks.

    I drink 8-12 glasses of water a day. I am taking my measurements now, so I can see if there is a change there.

    I also don't weigh myself everyday, I did at first and was irrationally expecting to see immediate weight loss, now I try not to step on the scale but once a week if that, that is why i was so flabergasted at the gain!

    Thank you all for the encouragement though! It helps to know I am no in this alone
  • kmkizziar
    kmkizziar Posts: 11
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    What is TOM?
  • ColleenRoss50
    ColleenRoss50 Posts: 199 Member
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    What is TOM?

    Time of the month. :happy:
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    You're gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, so more muscle than fat means you'll weigh more.

    No. No. Just No.

    8lbs of muscle really? Maybe over 4-6 months.

    Most likely culprit.. Water.
  • kmkizziar
    kmkizziar Posts: 11
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    What is TOM?

    Time of the month. :happy:

    oh ha ha ha, no i have not had to deal with that for 7 years lol no wonder I was like ??????
  • kfitzs
    kfitzs Posts: 48 Member
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    i dont know why people always have this argument but im going to put my 2c in.
    those who say muscle weighs more then fat are correct
    and those that say a pound is a pound are correct but are doing the maths wrong
    if u take a cubic inch of muscle and a cubic inch of fat and weigh them the muscle will weigh more
    and if u take a pound of muscle and a pound of fat and measure them in a container the muscle will take up less room then the fat does
    so stop arguing over it cuz you're all right :)
  • kmkizziar
    kmkizziar Posts: 11
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    ok so thank you all for the suggestion to check my measurements... i have lost a total of 3.5 inches over all...still in tears but now in a good way...(no pun intended!!)

    Thinkin' Ima just throw out that dang old scale and keep doin' what I'm doin!:love:

    however I am going to add more protien and keep a closer watch on my sodium intake....
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    You're gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, so more muscle than fat means you'll weigh more.


    Muscle does not weigh more than fat! 1 lb is 1 lb whether it is a fat lb or a muscle lb!

    This. Plus you don't gain 8lbs of muscle in 8 weeks. It's possibly water retention or maybe the way you ate in the 6 weeks was making you dehydrated, now you're normalizing. 8lbs in 8 weeks isn't so bad still. That's still a lb a week. With 52 weeks in a year, you'll have time to lose as much as you want.

    ^^this
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    This extra weight is usually water.

    When you are doing more exercise, your body begins storing more fuel in your muscle cells, where it can be used easily and quickly to fuel your workouts. The process of converting glucose (carbohydrates) into fuel that your muscles actually store and use (glycogen) requires three molecules of water for every molecule of glucose. As your muscles are building up glycogen stores, your body has to retain extra water for this purpose. That's what causes most of the initial weight gain or lack of weight loss. This is a good thing—not something to worry about.

    However, despite what the scale says, you are actually losing fat during this time. The extra water retention will stop once your body has adjusted to its new activity level.

    They say on average once you start to work out it takes 4-6 weeks to really see the benefits of the work outs you are doing.
  • noketch
    noketch Posts: 11 Member
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    That happened to me yesterday. I last weighed on Saturday and was happy with my weight loss. I kept with my calories and excercised just like I always do. On Tuesday morning I stepped on the scale to find out that I had gained back every single pound I had lost! I was panicked, but confused. I was wearing a dress that I haven't been able to wear in months because it was too tight and the dress fit very well. I knew I wasn't getting any bigger, but the scale went up. I weighed on two different scales to check, and it was the same.

    I decided not to think about it and to just keep up what I was doing. I think I was retaining water for some reason because today I weighed again and had lost back 5 of the 8 I had gained. I have made many trips to the ladies room today and expect that it will be back to normal soon.

    I don't know what happened, but I'm wondering if I ate too many pickles and took in too much sodium.
  • wilson1024
    wilson1024 Posts: 126 Member
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    Okay..............good grief! Well listen to all them then a LB IS A LB! I just know what other people have told me, I'm new at this too I was just guessing............ but whatever, it probably is water weight:) Good Luck! Just measure yourself and you'll see a difference there if you eating and exercising right:) Sorry that I struck a nerve with all the smart ones! Ugh.................
  • KL124
    KL124 Posts: 44 Member
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    Nobody says "a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat". They instead just say "muscle weighs more than fat". Think of it like 1 bowl filled with muscle vs. 1 bowl filled with fat. The muscle bowl would weight more than the bowl full of fat. The saying is correct, just as long as you don't use the quanitity in terms of pounds.
  • thetrishwarp
    thetrishwarp Posts: 838 Member
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    My jeans are loose and I feel better than I have in years, I am motivated. But # on the scale yesterday brought me to tears:sad:. What is the point if it keeps coming back? :mad:

    Any suggestions or feedback??


    If your jeans are loose and you feel better, then that is the point. Your muscles are likely adjusting to your new program and you're retaining extra water. Or you're close to shark week, which personally sticks me with an extra 6-9lbs each month. There are lots of explanations and none of them result in failure for you - just keep doing what you're doing and it will all come off in time :)

    Good luck and good work!

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