How can one gain 6 pounds in one week if exercising?

TheRoseQueen
TheRoseQueen Posts: 27 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Serious question here. Hope someone can shed a light on this. I started with MFP about middle of May...and have been thrilled with the program. I am in the 65+ age bracket and am working diligently on loosing about 50 pounds by December. Up until today's weigh in I had lost a total of 6 pounds, and was happy. I have increased my Elliptical workout from 35 minutes at level two to 55 minutes today at level three. My workouts for June have been: June 7, 9, 10, 14, 16 ,17, 18, 20, 21(today). I have been alternating muscle groups with weight machines on June 7, 9,10, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21(today) -- average weight workout 34-45 minutes. Extra calorie burn for these days has gone anywhere from 400 to 700+ --- and I try to drink my 8 glasses of water....usually it has been around 6..... and I NEVER use all the calories I am given (except for carbs which seems unusually high -- and I end up going over protein almost every time by a few grams).
I have set myself on a 1200 calorie program with a high carb program for my body type. Used to do a high protein, but not successful at that... never focused on high carb program, so needless to say I have had to do a lot of switching from a meat, egg, cheese, etc eater to eating a lot more fruits and veggies and even some whole wheat grain breads (which I seldom ate).
Been happy, like I said, up until today....when I did a weekly weigh in ---- And I GAINED 6 POUNDS IN ONE WEEK - instead of loosing anything, much to my amazement. I was not happy.... My clothes have been getting looser, the inches and extra fat is appearing to reduce.....SO, WHY did this happen????? I know I can't blame it on menopause or that time of month....that was over many years ago. I am exercising too much??? Using weights too much??? Or....is it my body readjusting to the "new" eating habits of 3 meals per day plus healthy snack.....when I have been a "yo-yo" dieter all my life....including times of doing the 'starvation' trip. Should I just not weigh in for a few weeks....and concentrate on measurements? Anyone else have this issue? I certainly would have thought that I would have at least lost 1 pound, if not 2, this last week. Looking forward to some enlightenment. Thanks ~~~ TheRoseQueen

Replies

  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    guess you gained muscle and lost fat. do you take measurements?
  • TheRoseQueen
    TheRoseQueen Posts: 27 Member
    Thanks for the suggestion....I do, but probably not as often as I check the scale. I have noticed a loss in inches. Maybe I will stay away from the scale for a week or two and see what happens. Just reading some other posts, and all of them seem to suggest that as I am building muscle, I may also be retaining water in those muscles. Sounds probable....I have been doing some pretty serious weight machines for my age. Trying to build up both upper and lower body for knee replacement surgeries (both) sometime in the near future. Want to have as much strength as I can - in addition to loosing the extra weight - so that I can mend a lot faster.
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
    You can't gain 6 lbs of pure muscle in one week. It's water weight fluctuations. Folks can drop/gain 8+ lbs of water in a day.
  • lamos1
    lamos1 Posts: 167 Member
    I wouldn't worry to much if I were you. I agree that it has to be muscle gain. There is no way you could have gain fat with all that you were doing. Plus I think your muscles swell after working out...once you rest for like 2 days you should see a decrease on the scale.
  • MelC2564
    MelC2564 Posts: 182 Member
    ^^^ yep, definitely just water fluctuation or something, no way you could have gained that much fat or muscle in a week. Discard the scale for a while, if you're eating right losing inches you know you're doing things right!
  • bradthemedic
    bradthemedic Posts: 623 Member
    When I play hockey, I play vigorously for 90 minutes with very little break time (beer league, we don't have nice intermissions in spa chairs). I am a goalie. I lose 6-8lb from the time I get in my gear to the time I get home and weigh. I did this out of curiosity to see how much fluid I should be drinking.

    So I lost 8lb.

    The next day due to my muscles retaining water etc etc, I am UP 2 more on top of what I was the day before. So I go up 10 POUNDS in a matter of 18 hours.

    It's not fat, it's water.

    No one seems to understand how irrelevant SCALE WEIGHT is. Use tape measures to measure fatty areas (chest, thighs, stomach) and go based on those numbers. Lost 0.5 inches? THAT'S amazing.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    guess you gained muscle and lost fat. do you take measurements?

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  • Jotell
    Jotell Posts: 139 Member
    It sounds to me like muscle gain. By adding more resistance to your workout you are also working towards more muscle toning which means muscle gain. If you're seeing results in inches, then that's great!! Don't be discouraged by the scale numbers. Limit your weigh-ins on the scale and measure your extremities once or twice a month and only weigh-in twice a month. Keep doing what you're doing since it's working! Keep up the great work! :happy: One more thing, your body weight will fluxuate between 2-4lbs daily water weight mostly.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Water. If you are working strength training hard, water is used in the muscle repair process. You may gain SOME muscle but even under optimum conditions, you cannot gain more than a pound per week.
  • RainbootsToBikinis
    RainbootsToBikinis Posts: 465 Member
    As your muscle repair themselves from your workouts they hold onto extra water. Make sure your weigh in day is the day after a rest day and you wont see quite as much water weight from your workouts :) As long as your clothes are feeling looser you're on the right track :) I can easily go 7+ pound fluctuation after a hard workout day.
  • Renee253
    Renee253 Posts: 16
    If you are doing heavy duty strength training it is absolutely vital that you drink enough water, Really, even 8 glasses of water a day are technically not enough to keep you hydrated properly if you are really working out. Heck, I can drink 3 -12 oz. containers of water in one workout session. The point is that those muscles require water to grow, if you are not drinking enough of it your body will retain water and you could easily have a substantial weight gain. You could have muscle gain but that would only account for about a pound at best. Try drinking more water so that your body will quit retaining it and also limit your salt intake. (When I say more water, I mean ALOT more water) Curious to know what your results will be if you follow this advice cuz' it worked for me when I was on a plateau for a month. Try it, best of luck!
  • TheRoseQueen
    TheRoseQueen Posts: 27 Member
    Thanks to all of you who replied. I was feeling pretty depressed about this yesterday after 'weigh in'. -- But then (as many of you had alluded to), I had done a "major" muscle and cardio workout the day before -- the most I had ever done in one visit to the gym. -- 55 minutes on the Elliptical and 75 minutes on 11 assorted weight machines doing 3 reps of 15 at each --- which totaled an 844 calorie burn (497 calories on Elliptical according to the "E-machine" read-out..... and 337 calories on weight machines according to MFP calculations) for those 2 plus hours I was there. Don't know how I did it....I just did....crazy.

    The many replies and thoughts have helped to encourage and inspire me for sure --- hope that this info can help others as well. I am really loving the MFP accountability program....and am really loving and enjoying this great Community of "go-getters" and "go-givers".:smile:
  • TexanThom
    TexanThom Posts: 778
    guess you gained muscle and lost fat. do you take measurements?

    Right...A 67 year old woman gained 6 lbs of muscle in one week...
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    It sounds to me like muscle gain. By adding more resistance to your workout you are also working towards more muscle toning which means muscle gain. If you're seeing results in inches, then that's great!! Don't be discouraged by the scale numbers. Limit your weigh-ins on the scale and measure your extremities once or twice a month and only weigh-in twice a month. Keep doing what you're doing since it's working! Keep up the great work! :happy: One more thing, your body weight will fluxuate between 2-4lbs daily water weight mostly.

    Great contradiction. Well played.
  • lucylAnneMason
    lucylAnneMason Posts: 87
    could be water weight =)
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
    You can also hold like 10lbs of faeces in your body at any one time too ...
  • rbrannock
    rbrannock Posts: 169
    I know how you feel. I want to see that number on the scale going DOWN every week, but haven't seen a drop in a month. I run every day so its hard for me to understand it too....I feel like I must be doing something wrong. But my clothes do fit better and I feel good....so I'm with you, lets put the scale away, as hard as that may be, and maybe next time we weight, we'll see a number we like. :) GOOD LUCK!
  • tristanathan
    tristanathan Posts: 40
    I would guess you are holding excess water. It's normal, but holding too much can be dangerous. Be sure to drink your 8 glass to flush it out. Adding in an electrolyte will help your body release the water (sends a trigger to the brain that you are no dehydrated and that its ok to let go of excess water). Some no or low calorie electrolyte sourse I like are Smart Water and pickles.

    Also, eating a lot of starchy and processed carbs like bread, pastas and even potatoes, you cause you to carry excess water.
  • jesusHchris
    jesusHchris Posts: 1,405 Member
    If you gained 6 pounds of muscle in one week, I would like to pay for a few ounces of your blood to inject into my neck. Perhaps the DNA will meld and I will become a super hero.

    I wouldn't worry, I can fluctuate 4 pounds in a day with no real gain/loss.
  • dawnrenee567
    dawnrenee567 Posts: 292 Member
    water water water...
  • Jeankyy
    Jeankyy Posts: 32
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS5pQ0p059Y
  • losingitincollege
    losingitincollege Posts: 70 Member
    As your muscle repair themselves from your workouts they hold onto extra water. Make sure your weigh in day is the day after a rest day and you wont see quite as much water weight from your workouts :) As long as your clothes are feeling looser you're on the right track :) I can easily go 7+ pound fluctuation after a hard workout day.

    This.

    More than likely, it's water retention. This happens to me all the time! I normally do 6 vigorous workouts a week and an hour walk on the 7th day. I'm always in motion and challenging my body. I hold more water than the Titanic. smh.

    Best of luck! :drinker:
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    If you're holding on to excess water from a tough workout AND ate a meal or two with high sodium, you could see 6 lbs easy. Just drink lots of water, keep doing what you're doing and it will come back off.

    PS. For the over 65 category you're rocking the workouts. Nicely done.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    stay off the scale and the elliptical and strength machines until Monday. I predict that your 6lb gain will be gone along with a little more.

    Last Thursday I was 210.6lbs....I helped my parents move over the weekend and spent 6 hours moving stuff in 85 degree weather UP a flight of steps ( 38 flights climbed). 4 hours of moving boxes, but I only *claimed* 2 hours ( at 1700 calories total) of moving boxes. Monday I stepped on the scale and I was 211.8lbs...today I stepped on the scale and I was 209.6lbs
  • TheRoseQueen
    TheRoseQueen Posts: 27 Member
    guess you gained muscle and lost fat. do you take measurements?

    Right...A 67 year old woman gained 6 lbs of muscle in one week...

    Well I can always hope, right??? Haha!
  • JustMagpie
    JustMagpie Posts: 31 Member
    As my trainer would say, if you do what you have always done you will get what you always got.

    I would say get rid of carbs. Eat more protien and make sure what you are eating is enough. I am normally one who does not eat enough, my average day could be 500-700 cals, so I force myself to eat and ensure I eat enough, 1300 calories. I focus on eating enough protien, least a few times a day.

    My personal issue is I dislike cardio but have now found I am addicted. So this has changed how my journey has happend since the last 8 months.

    I do weight training 2 times a week with a trainer and am doing quite heavy weights. My body has changed but I was seroiusly not losing weights.

    So my advise is drink water, cut your stress, eat more, move more and ensure your heart rate hits over 135 for at least 30 mins.

    Good luck!
  • TheRoseQueen
    TheRoseQueen Posts: 27 Member
    You can also hold like 10lbs of faeces in your body at any one time too ...

    Good God I would really hope that is not the case! :)
  • MrsBully4
    MrsBully4 Posts: 304 Member
    If you just stepped up your workouts your muscles are probably clinging on to water and glycogen like crazy, I'm sure that 6 lbs will vanish in a day or so. :) Especially if you're weighing yourself after workouts... I always weigh myself in the morning, it seems to be the most consistent from day to day.

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