Gaining weight!

[cfine]

ARGH!! I'm trying very hard not to get discouraged. I have been going to the gym and I love how it makes me feel afterwards. The problem is that my weight has been going up for the past couple of days. It HAS to be the exercising.
If I were doing the workouts for weight loss, I would just quit now. But I'm not. I am doing it for the health benefits. My rheum. doctor told me I have to exercise, and I can tell a difference in the level of pain in my joints. I look and feel smaller though.
I know that it would probably be better if I didn't weigh on a daily basis, but this is one of the few tricks that REALLY keeps me on track with my WOE. Why can't all of this be just a tad bit easier?

[avid]

Why can't all of this be just a tad bit easier?

LOL....if it were easy there wouldn't be a multi billion dollar weight loss industry.
You don't want to deprive thousands of people a way to make a living do you? LOL
Seriously, I work out several times a week both cardio and weight training. I have never noticed a correlation between exercise and weight loss....none.
It has been observed by others that they, like yourself actually gain weight when following an exercise program....I personally believe that it is due to increased calorie intake. The exercise makes you hungry, or you believe that because you are exercising you can eat more.
I agree that exercise helps you to feel great, and without a doubt tightening up those muscles makes your clothes fit a little better too.
Keep up the exercise, you'll be glad you did, just don't confuse it with a weight loss program

[ohiocat]

I have definitely noticed a temporary weight gain after a particularly hard work out. In fact I have it going on right now!

I work out three times a week, twice a week with a trainer. On Wednesday we did some new exercises with weights and I remember telling him that I would be feeling it the next day, and I was right. By Friday my triceps will still hurting and we did some lower body things. Today I feel broken from head to toe, and my weight is up 3 pounds. I know from past experience that this is water weight and it will be gone in a couple of days, so I don't sweat it.

The explanation that I heard was that weight training can cause microscopic tears in the muscles and that the body can retain water trying to "heal" the muscles.

For all that I walk around feeling "old" sometimes because of working out, I do love it and will be continuing. I am at the point that I can run a little now and do 5 or 6 times the amount of cardio that I could do a year ago. I'm getting stronger too.

Weight loss is all about diet.
Fitness is all about exericse.
They are both important.

[reddarin]

Originally Posted by cfine

ARGH!! I'm trying very hard not to get discouraged. I have been going to the gym and I love how it makes me feel afterwards. The problem is that my weight has been going up for the past couple of days. It HAS to be the exercising.
If I were doing the workouts for weight loss, I would just quit now. But I'm not. I am doing it for the health benefits. My rheum. doctor told me I have to exercise, and I can tell a difference in the level of pain in my joints. I look and feel smaller though.
I know that it would probably be better if I didn't weigh on a daily basis, but this is one of the few tricks that REALLY keeps me on track with my WOE. Why can't all of this be just a tad bit easier?

Have you only felt less pain in your joints, looked and felt smaller for the last couple of days?

Doesn't working out result in retained fluids in your muscle mass? That'd mean you are not gaining weight at all.

Maybe you can tweak your workouts a little to be less intense?

Can you get a BF% test done? Maybe you are losing fat and gaining LBM?

[Grinsnits]

Hey Cfine, it can be hard but try not to be so fixated on the literal weight. I know we're conditioned to think that the only thing that matters is that number on the scale (and that it must decrease) but it's only half the story, or perhaps, it's a bit misleading story. If you're working out, maintaining the right diet and gaining weight my first thought is you're gaining muscle. This is good. If you look and feel smaller then you should be ecstatic! It means the exercise is working! I found the below pic on Pinterest a while ago and I think it reveals an amazing truth everyone seems to forget about when they're trying to become healthy. It's not all about that scale and a higher weight doesn't necessarily mean you're not getting healthier.



Maybe in addition to weighing in, you could take measurements of different areas of your physique. That way, as you continue to exercise, get toned and more in shape, you can compare your measurements with your weight. It might surprise you.

I weigh in every 2 weeks. As much as I like seeing a smaller number each time, the bigger indicator for me (and more trusted) is how I look in a mirror, what cuts or definition I can see that I couldn't a week ago and how my clothes fit. A few years ago I was off a scale completely simply because it can be misleading. That can wreck motivation. I only took measurements... weight was secondary because as my inches decreased I knew I was getting thinner. I use a scale more now as a tracker. I do have a "goal weight" in mind but it's never going to overrule the reality of what I actually look like. For instance, I'm a 6'1 male. If in a year I'm wearing size 28" jeans and have a 6 pack and for all intents and purposes I'm looking as good as I'm gonna look, but I'm still 15 lbs from my goal weight then my goal weight needs to be adjusted. Not the other way around. You can't be handcuffed to a number.

I hope this makes sense and good luck.

[Patkid]

I don't know why it can't be easy.
It seems unfair to stick to your eating plan and not see regular losses.
But, for me, that is stinking thinking.
That scale disappointment drags me down. Last year I let it drag me to constant starting of 'easier' plans. Plans that allowed carbs or a binge.
Just think, had I stuck to my eating plan I would be down another maybe only 5 or 6 pounds, but I wouldn't have gained 13.
I know this thread is really about exercise and all I do is walk, but the nagging thoughts you are having are something to recognize as poison.
I am so proud of you to be working out. Would you have hired a PT at your beginning weight? What wonderful progress you are making.
If you look and feel better that is just perfect!
I think you are amazing.
Blessings

[cfine]

Thanks everybody! My head knows this stuff, but my heart is a different story I am sure it's just my muscles holding onto water because I have been getting pretty serious with my workouts. I am not eating any different so I know that it's not too many calories. And thanks, Grinsnits,for the picture. That REALLY puts things into perspective for me.

[avid]

I weigh myself daily and I find that the scale tells the truth.
I know I'm gaining some muscle because I can see the difference
but that is a very slow process for me.
Fact is, I usually can tell if my weight will have gone up or down or maintained by how well I stuck to my diet the day before.
Also I still have enough fat so that when I drop some weight and keep it off I'm confident
that it was a bona fida fat loss.
And for that I am very grateful.

[JessieBear]

Originally Posted by cfine

ARGH!! I'm trying very hard not to get discouraged. I have been going to the gym and I love how it makes me feel afterwards. The problem is that my weight has been going up for the past couple of days. It HAS to be the exercising.
If I were doing the workouts for weight loss, I would just quit now. But I'm not. I am doing it for the health benefits. My rheum. doctor told me I have to exercise, and I can tell a difference in the level of pain in my joints. I look and feel smaller though.
I know that it would probably be better if I didn't weigh on a daily basis, but this is one of the few tricks that REALLY keeps me on track with my WOE. Why can't all of this be just a tad bit easier?

Muscle outweighs fat 7:1. Have you been measuring? The true sign of weight loss is in how your clothes fit, not the scale.

Also, you may want to try to pull out all traces of wheat from your diet for 2 weeks and see if that blasted grain is impeding your efforts. Read labels - that insidious grain is in EVERYTHING.