Weight gain and exersice - confused
 

Ok I know that when you pull a muscle one retends water but does the same happen when the workout becomes more intensive? Yesterday my personal trainer really pushed me to my limits and today when I went on the scale I was 2lbs higher.

I am definitely sure I have not overeaten and I did not pull a muscle. I also avoid salt so I am pretty confused with this right now. Does intensifying workout makes one gain weight? And does it go once the body gets used to it. I am confused. :?:

We as women can gain water weight at the drop of a hat. You need to ask yourself a few questions,what time of the month is it, how much water have you been drinking, I understand you said you avoid salt but what about pre packaged foods, are you sure you are accounting for everything you put in your mounth, and lastley how much excersise have you been doing other than with the trainer. You should really go back a few days because todays results are not always about yesterday its about the past few days. Congrats on your results so far and keep up the good work.

Yes. when you work a muscles you actually tear it (hence the soreness) this is then built up again with protein and water to make it bigger and stronger.

the harder you work a muscle the more you tear it, to repair the muscles the body rushes blood to the area full of lovely nutrients thats why muscles can feel hotter than normal for the rest of the day and you get that pumped feeling.

water also rushes to the site to help stabalise the area think the swelling on an ankle its all fluid designed to immobilise the joint.

the bigger the muscle the more water will be drawn there. i.e legs and glutes will draw masses of water.

luckily it will go away after a few days. if your going to train really hard on the weights avoid weekly weigh ins. go for monthly or just go by inches.

cdawnfine: I am pretty sure I did not put 2lbs overnight. My trainer weighs me for his records every Monday but his scale is a bit off so I weigh myself on Tuesdays. Anyway I highly doubt I have eaten enough in 24 hours to gain2 lbs.

slimmingsi: Thanks for the info. I didn't know that! So this superman-like feeling after workout is because of muscles healing? Nice info!

It has been my experience that muscle weighs more that fat, so you could be gaining muscle weight not fat. Don't let it discourage you, it will fluctuate up and down and all of the sudden you will drop 5 lbs in a week. Don't worry about the weight loss, focus on the way you feel and how loose your clothes feel on your body.

Keep up the good work! I am so jealous, because I can't do any weight training until I my shoulder is unfrozen. Congrats!

This is water retention - it always happens to me when I intensify or just change up my exercise routine. (Usually 2-5 pounds for me) It settles out for me after a week or so. Your muscles are holding on to water to repair themselves.

On the muscle weighs more than fat thing - that isn't technically true. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat, but takes up less space, so you can lose fat and build muscle and weighs the same more while losing inches. Also, you won't build up two pounds of muscle, or two pounds of fat either, overnight.

Keep up the good work and you will see results.

I'm having the same problem. I'm on my 3rd week of strenght training and I'm up more than 5 lbs. I wasn't gaining before I started working out and I'm not eating more, so I'm hoping that my body is doing some sort of adjusting to this new routine and in a week or so I'll drop te weight. Of course, if after another week I'm still gaining, then I will go back to counting points or calories!!

Originally Posted by short & sassy:
I'm having the same problem. I'm on my 3rd week of strenght training and I'm up more than 5 lbs. I wasn't gaining before I started working out and I'm not eating more, so I'm hoping that my body is doing some sort of adjusting to this new routine and in a week or so I'll drop te weight. Of course, if after another week I'm still gaining, then I will go back to counting points or calories!!

Your problem might be that you are NOT eating more. If you are not comsuming enough calories to sustain your workout routine your body will go into starvation mode. I am not sure if you watch the biggest looser they covered this subject last night. People who excersice and do not eat enough will not see the results they want. Try uping your calorie intake with more healthy foods for a week and see what happens.