Starting Working Out & Gaining Weight

vegasmari
vegasmari Posts: 120 Member
edited December 25 in Fitness and Exercise
I know muscle weighs more than fat, but it's so discouraging when you cut your calories in half & lose weight. Then, you start to workout (new for me) & the weight comes back.

Is it weeks before you start to lose weight again? How long did it take before the scale started going the opposite direction, or maybe I'm lifting too heavy of weight? I do cardio/treadmill and weights, but nothing outrageous, and lots of reps.

I know this is general and everyone is different, but just looking for tips or personal experience. Thanks everyone!!

Replies

  • jgic2009
    jgic2009 Posts: 531 Member
    If you're keeping your calories in check, it's most likely just water retention -- your body is holding extra water to aid in muscle recovery.
  • hdroddy
    hdroddy Posts: 122
    Might make you feel better if you track measurements rather than just weight. You will probably see quite a difference there.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    You wil not be gaining any measurable amount of muscle in a caloric deficit. It is most likely water retention due to the added exercise. once your body gets use to the new workout your muscles will shed most of the excess water.
  • Buckeyt
    Buckeyt Posts: 473 Member
    Two weeks into my first round of P90X I was up 5 pounds.

    Just make sure you're calories are accurate. Weigh your lean meats and if you're calories are correct then just give it time.
  • celebrity328
    celebrity328 Posts: 377 Member
    Have you taken your measurements before? Because I started lifting/working out. Had my trainer remeasure me after about 2 months and I gained 4lbs of muscle during that time, with no change in my weight.
  • bootstrap7
    bootstrap7 Posts: 26
    I have just experienced the same thing this week. Have been SUPER good with calories, eating clean, and working out this week (along with supplements, etc), but scale hasn't budged. So frustrating!! THEN I got out my calipers and measured my body fat % and saw that I dropped 2% since last week!!

    Have faith: as long as you're hitting your calorie target, even if the scale isn't moving, something is... it's called RECOMPOSITION = turning your weight from fat to muscle.
  • marie_cressman
    marie_cressman Posts: 980 Member
    You wil not be gaining any measurable amount of muscle in a caloric deficit. It is most likely water retention due to the added exercise. once your body gets use to the new workout your muscles will shed most of the excess water.

    ^^ this

    When I started Insanity and then again when I started p90x, I initially gained. It evened out after the first couple of weeks. Stick with it! If you're still gaining, I would say take a better look at your diet.
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    maybe I'm lifting too heavy of weight?

    Nonsense. That would be like saying you should run slower on the treadmill because you were bigger than you wanted to be. The heavier the weight the more calories you burn and the more muscle stimulation you get. That equated to a higher metabolism and more calories burned throughout the day.

    If you're on a calorie restricted diet you won't gain weight from muscle improvements. The only possibility is water storage in the muscle for recovery and that goes away as you get used to the exercise. Take measurements along with weight and keep working out and eating well. You're not going to change overnight. Give it some time.

    Gaining weight is either water retention or excess calories. Exercising muscle won't cause you to gain weight alone. It takes calories to do that.
  • rjstobierski
    rjstobierski Posts: 1
    I share your pain -- kinda. I've been working out all along, but have, in the past month, made extreme changes to my diet. I avoided the scale for the whole month, excited to weight in after a month of cutting my calories in half -- giving up caffeine, coffee, sugar in my beverages and on my cereal, white bread, rice and pasta and casual drinking during the week. I looked at it as an extreme sacrifice toward a better me. You can't imagine my surprise after stepping on the scale after 4 weeks, thinking about how much I'd lost while waiting for the scale to calculate my new weight -- and finding out I hadn't lost a single pound!!

    F the scale -- I'm not doing this to get a pat on the back from the scale, I'm doing this to create a better me. Healthier, happier and sexier. All this "dieting" has given me a feeling of satisfaction. That I can set a goal and follow through.

    Keep working out, keep up the "diet" -- and try not to give too much thought to what the scale says. If you feel better about yourself, and you have gained confidence by setting goals and meeting them then you are already a better person.

    If you lose weight, fantastic. If you don't then you have still made better choices and will reap the benefits of the changes you've made. Good for you!!
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    I have heard it is possible to gain muscle even on a calorie deficit when you first start lifting....BUT even if this is true it will not be that much. People fail to realize that building muscle takes MONTHS. Even male body builders with perfect diets and intense training rarely gain more than about 10 lbs of lean muscle per YEAR. (Beginners may gain a little more than average). That is men with good amounts of testosterone something women just dont have much of.

    Any noticeable weight gain is going to be water after only a few weeks.
  • TurningBackTheHandsOfTime
    TurningBackTheHandsOfTime Posts: 47 Member
    Drink water it sounds counter intuitive but drinking more water helps you get rid of excess fluid....
  • kylTKe
    kylTKe Posts: 146 Member
    I doubt you put on any weight. I don't know what kind of time frame you're talking about, but you can't gauge weight change in 2 week increments...

    Seriously, weigh yourself no more than once or twice a month. People who weigh themselves every day or even every week are just looking for instant gratification and setting themselves up for disappointment/failure. This *kitten* takes a while, your solid mass is only going to change by around 1 pound a week. And that's for losing weight, putting on muscle takes a lot longer, maybe 1-2 pounds a month for an absolute beginner and then decreasing from there.

    This is where you get all these people who say "Omg I gained 5 lbs in one day!!" The majority of your mass is water, and it fluctuates from hour to hour.

    My point is, your weight probably hasn't changed. Don't freak out. Stop watching the clock, so to speak.
  • vegasmari
    vegasmari Posts: 120 Member
    Thanks everyone for the great advice. I haven't measured myself yet, so I'll have to do that and I know I don't drink enough water, so I'll up that. I'll have to see where I'm at in two weeks. I know checking in daily is only going to be discouraging because things don't happen in a day.

    You guys are all awesome!!!!
  • marie_cressman
    marie_cressman Posts: 980 Member
    I was told drinking half your body weight in ounces of water is a healthy way to go. I weigh 183ish and I drink about 12 cups (96oz) of water a day normally. You'll be going potty all day at first, but I can tell when I get in enough water and when I don't. I feel yucky when I don't.
  • flowergirl73
    flowergirl73 Posts: 153 Member
    I share your pain -- kinda. I've been working out all along, but have, in the past month, made extreme changes to my diet. I avoided the scale for the whole month, excited to weight in after a month of cutting my calories in half -- giving up caffeine, coffee, sugar in my beverages and on my cereal, white bread, rice and pasta and casual drinking during the week. I looked at it as an extreme sacrifice toward a better me. You can't imagine my surprise after stepping on the scale after 4 weeks, thinking about how much I'd lost while waiting for the scale to calculate my new weight -- and finding out I hadn't lost a single pound!!

    F the scale -- I'm not doing this to get a pat on the back from the scale, I'm doing this to create a better me. Healthier, happier and sexier. All this "dieting" has given me a feeling of satisfaction. That I can set a goal and follow through.

    Keep working out, keep up the "diet" -- and try not to give too much thought to what the scale says. If you feel better about yourself, and you have gained confidence by setting goals and meeting them then you are already a better person.

    If you lose weight, fantastic. If you don't then you have still made better choices and will reap the benefits of the changes you've made. Good for you!!

    This is great!!
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