It's been a month since I started doing weights and instead of going down (or at least staying the same) I've gained 4 lbs. I don't understand why. I drink water and I eat several small meals during the day because I lift weights. I weighed 163 lbs and right now I'm at 167.8 lbs. My boyfriend is upset at me and says I'm not doing something right. He keeps getting on my case because "I should have been at my goal by now" and instead "I'm gaining more weight."

I'm sorry but your boyfriend sounds pretty insensitive! You are weight training, so the extra few pounds are probably from muscle you've gained. How do your clothes feel?

Muscle weighs more than fat. Don't stress yourself, and your bf needs to chill out lol.

Why does it matter when you hit goal? is there some sort of deadline? You are living healthy and that should be the goal the weight loss is just a natural side effect of eating well and exercising.

Now saying that there are a few reasons why you may have "gained" weight, it could be water weight, when you weight lift you cause micro tears in the muscle and these tears need water to repair and grow bigger so they hold onto water.

Is it TOM? I always go up 1-5 lbs the first day of TOM and usually at the end and then usually the following week I am down.

Track your food, you may be eating more then you release because you have upped your activity.

Congrats to you for weight training. Keep it up it can only benefit you! Tell your BF to shut up and chill.

When you do weight training, your muscles tend to retain more water. The important thing is to measure yourself as that is more reliable than the scale.

It is not uncommon to gain a bit while getting into a new lifting routine. Your muscles retain water in order to repair and rebuild.

It's only water and your body is doing what it needs to do.

If I were you, I would keep a food and workout journal, and, after a month, look BACK for trends. This will help you identify good and bad days, and trends in what you are doing.

In the meantime, I'd tell the BF to shove it, and shut up! Women and men have different bodies and different hormones and different responses to what we do to our bodies.

Muscle does weigh more than fat... The way we know this is because it takes less muscle to equal a pound (volume wise) than it does fat...

Anyway, you're probably gaining muscle. Which is totally wonderful! As everyone said above, you're probably retaining water when building. That happens.

It could also be that time of the month, or your calories might not be exactly what you think. Do you estimate all the time? Try keeping a food diary and make sure you get good nutrition as well. Sometimes you eat the right amount of calories in a day, but don't get the good stuff like fibers, protiens, or vitamins.

Stress also can cause you to hold on to some pounds. I know it does it for me.

Either way, don't worry about WHEN you get there, just that you are trying. Last year I lost a lot of weight, but before the scale dropped I dropped inches and pant sizes. I let that be my motivation, not the scale.

Your boyfriend definitely needs to chill. I'm amazed he's that controlling over YOUR weight. I would talk to him about it... it's not ok for him to be upset like that. A healthy relationship doesn't have someone control another physical appearance. I would understand if he was supportive and wanted you to be healthy, but he shouldn't be angry over a small gain. Especially when you have been working so hard.

Lol. Of course a pound is a pound regardless of the substance. A pound is a pound is a pound!! But if you put fat and muscle in different containers of the same size, muscle would weight more. Muscle takes up less space.

Yes, as other people before have stated- Muscle is denser than fat, and therefore, for the same volume as fat, muscle weighs more.

I have a lot of people in my life who sound a lot like your boyfriend. The thing to remember is that this is YOUR body and YOUR weight. Nobody has the right to tell you what it should be doing. If they aren't supportive of you, motivating you when you lose fat and comforting you when you see weight gains, and helping you get out of your funk, they don't deserve to be a part of it. Which is why, I change the subject everytime my mum brings it up.

Mum: "How much weight have you lost?"
Me: "On other issues- gay marriage is now legal in New York, YAY!"

You should be proud of what you have already accomplished. And if you put a few lbs on when doing weight training? that is to be expected, don't let it or your bf bring you down. 47 lbs is no joke. Congratulations on that. And you will make it to your goal. Just keep going and don't let others bring you down!

Cheers!

P.S. Yes, as mentioned above, you should still be losing inches- which is half the battle anyways, plus a lb of lean, cut muscle instead of pudgy fat? BEAUTIFUL.

So... many... things...

A) You're building muscle, but could still be losing fat. A SCALE DOES NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. You package up a pound of feathers and put it on the scale... the scale reads 1lb. You put a pound of bricks on the scale... the scale reads 1lb. See where I'm going with this?

B) I'm not saying you gained four pounds of muscle. Weight training often means that our muscles hold onto water as they're repairing and building up.

C) Take measurements, take pictures, and watch how your clothing fits. The scale is NOT the only means that shows progress. It's not just weight loss that we're after. It's usually a leaner, healthier body.


---

Separately, your boyfriend has no idea what he's talking about.

1) Why would your boyfriend be upset that you've gained four pounds while you're eating healthier and exercising regularly?

2) He obviously has never lost weight or he'd realize that weight loss is not linear, nor does all weight mean fat. They are not the same thing (See A above).

3) It should NEVER matter how long it takes to get to goal. Who cares if it takes a year or 3 years? The whole point of this journey is to be healthier. Eating healthier, moving more, taking better care of ourselves... that's the whole point of all of this! So if we're doing that, and the scale isn't cooperating right now, who cares? A month from now, a year from now, the healthy things we do today are adding up and the weight will eventually come off. AT ITS OWN PACE. Not when your boyfriend decides it should.

Shame on him for spreading his negative, and astonishingly ignorant views around.

Side note: We all know muscle does not weigh more than fat. What people mean when they say this is that a pound of muscle takes up less volume than a pound of fat. So two people could weigh the same and have vastly different body shapes based on the body fat percentages.

um lol your boyfriend should step off

he should in no way be concerned about your weight

it's none of his business

anyway, do you count calories? that could help

you should also start keeping track of your measurements -- the number on the scale likes to play tricks on you. you could have gained muscle and lost fat, in which case you would have lost inches.

Muscle does not weight more than fat. Muscle is smaller and denser than fat, but it doesn't "weigh more" than fat. Please see #4 on this Sticky: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/exer...ise-myths.html

It is extremely unlikely a female gained 4 lbs of muscle in just one month. Please see #4 on this sticky: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/exer...ise-myths.html

Are you counting your calories? Is it possible you are eating more than you used to because now you are working out, and therefore hungrier? That happens to a lot of people.

If you are certain your calories (or at least your deficit) is the same, then a gain is likely due to water weight. Muscles retain water when they are exerted in activities such as weight lifting. Therefore weight "gained' due to water retention is not true weight gained, but rather water the body is holding onto. See this sticky for more useful information: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/exer...ng-weight.html

That said, I'm sorry your boyfriend is being insensitive. Wish you all the best.

Weight training always made me gain weight, regardless of any factors I tried. My body is just really sensitive to stress, and weight training is definite stress on the system for anyone.

The only thing that works for me is moderate-light cardio + low carb diet.