Exercise and weight gain

[Sleeveforme2017 144]

My weight loss has been pretty steady at about 2lbs a week until I started exercising this week. I have gained 2 lbs. I haven't changed my eating habits. How do I keep my weight loss from stalling while including exercise? I'm 16 wks post surgery

[Newme17 3,444]

Up your calories a bit to balance out the energy you're expending from exercise.

[B.Annie 290]

Exercise for anyone can cause weight gain. Two main reasons seem to be not increasing your Fluid intake and increasing your muscle mass.
Fluid needs to be increased during exercise or else you'll experience Water weight. It's so counter intuitive, but water flushes out water retention. It's your bodies way of freaking out and holding on to what it has because it doesn't think it's getting enough.
And then of course is muscle gain. We all know by now that muscle weighs more than fat, so if your gaining muscle, the numbers might reflect poorly. That's where body measurements come in handy.

Lastly, there's always the potential that your body is in a stall mode while one or both of the above options are taking effect as well. Stalling plus muscle gain or stalling plus water retention.

Keep at the exercise, increase your fluids, and check again in a week or two. Your body should get the right idea soon.


HW: 328 (02/21/17)
CW: 278 (preop 50# disowned)

[Sosewsue61 3,185]

Mostly Water the muscles are retaining, it will even out.

[Brian B 94]

Everyone above has given you excellent answers ... just keep at it and don't get discouraged.

[alysia.rush 24]

My nutritionalist said we also get more blood which weights. Its prob not true weight gain. Stay calm track ur food and stay on track.

[Newme17 3,444]

4 hours ago, B.Annie said:

We all know by now that muscle weighs more than fat, so if your gaining muscle,

Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. Muscle is more dense and takes up less space. But with that said, if you're gaining muscle (doing weights, whether machine or body) and adding weight, yes, it could be muscle gain. But if you're not specifically weight training, most likely it's Water. Either way, whatever energy you're expending at the gym, needs to be replaced with more calories and/or water too.

[B.Annie 290]

Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. Muscle is more dense and takes up less space. But with that said, if you're gaining muscle (doing weights, whether machine or body) and adding weight, yes, it could be muscle gain. But if you're not specifically weight training, most likely it's Water. Either way, whatever energy you're expending at the gym, needs to be replaced with more calories and/or water too.

I should have clarified - my bad. A square foot of muscle will weight more than a square foot of fat. This is why I explained that measurements help on this one. While the scale might show a gain due to muscle gain, measurements might show a loss - which would be the replacement of fat.


HW: 328 (02/21/17)
CW: 275 (preop 53# disowned)

[MarinaGirl 608]

Do not increase your calories because you're exercising. That would only be necessary if you're doing Olympic level of training.

The problem, most scientists agree, is that exercise makes us want to eat. Many studies have shown that if people start a new exercise program, their bodies begin to pump out much higher levels of various hormones that increase appetite. This reaction seems to be most pronounced if someone starts a new, moderate, aerobic exercise routine. Simultaneously, many of us move less on days that we exercise, studies show. Scientists refer to this as "compensatory inactivity," which leads to burning fewer total calories.

Edited May 19, 2017 by MarinaGirl

[Newme17 3,444]

4 hours ago, MarinaGirl said:

Do not increase your calories because you're exercising.

To a degree..... if you want to ruin your metabolism all over again. Figure out your TDEE then eat based on your activity level.

http://eatmore2weighless.com/weight-loss-calculator/

But don't take all of our words for everything (as there are conflicting answers), please seek your nut's advice.

[Introversion 1,876]

11 hours ago, Sleeveforme2017 said:

My weight loss has been pretty steady at about 2lbs a week until I started exercising this week. I have gained 2 lbs. I haven't changed my eating habits. How do I keep my weight loss from stalling while including exercise?

Glycogenation is the primary reason for weight gain when starting a new exercise routine. Exercise enhances your muscle’s energy storage capacity. Active bodies require more fuel, so one adaption involves storing the carbohydrates you eat as glycogen in the muscle tissue.

Therefore, you may be losing fat when you start a new exercise routine, but the progress you make has been masked by Water weight gain. You could have perhaps lost a couple of pounds of fat the first week but gained a few pounds of glycogen in that time.

In essence, you get on the scale and conclude you're stalling because you see water weight gain. You might have even jumped to the conclusion your exercise regimen is all for nothing. Therefore, hide the scale for several weeks. Measure your progress how loosely your clothes fit, not by some arbitrary scale number.

Also, bump up your food intake. The less you eat, the more your body wants to retain water. Nourish your body with the food it needs, and it will reward you by eventually shedding its fat stores.

Edited May 19, 2017 by Introversion