[Avl180]

I've searched high and low on google and couldn't seem to find a decent answer.
I've been dieting for about a month though I recently got strict with calorie counting. And I've been exercising for about two weeks.

I started at 158 with 33 percent body fat which is high for someone in their 20's so I got down to working out.
However I recently weight myself (only about a week after starting going to the gym again). I expected I would have stayed the same at 158 but I had actually gained 3 pounds. So I'm at 161 right now.

Everyone has been saying this could be from muscle gain? But is it even possible to do that in a sort amount of time.

For reference: I usually eat between 1300 and 1400 calories a day. I also do 20 to 30 minutes of cardio 6 days a week. And variations of crunches everyday. I mix in weights around 4 times a week.

Needless to say I'm already feeling very frustrated.

[K9Owner]

Probably not muscle gain, but more like water weight.
How heavy are you lifting?

[shapedself]

No way it's muscle gain. It's water or else you're eating a lot more cals than you think.

[ValRock]

Ditto what the others said. To gain even a lb. of muscle you have to eat a LOT. I mean a LOT a LOT. I experimented with this over the winter. I ate at a huge surplus and lifted heavy and did HIIT hard 5 days a week. My weight didn't change. My muscles are harder and stronger, for sure, but there was no weight change.

Starting a workout program causes a lot of people to retain water. This is probably what's going on with you.

How did you have your BF measured? That seems high for someone your height/weight.

[Iconised Ghost]

No way that it is muscle weight, as much as we would all like our gains or stand offs to be because of muscle gain or a precise balance between muscle gain and fat loss, its simply not at all probable. Definitely not with just 20 minutes of working out a day (I say *just* not to discourage you, but to gain a significant amount of muscle that fast, you'd have to be working out practically all day!)

I would try increasing the exercise you are doing. How are you counting your calories? Are you estimating? Weighing everything you eat? It might be that you are eating more than you think as well