OK, so I'm 5ft 7" tall and usually weigh 9st 12lbs. However, I've crept up to 10st 3lbs. So, this week I made a concerted effort to diet and exercise.

I went to the gym twice, swam twice, played badminton once and went on a long cliff path hike including lots of steps.

Guess what? I weighed this morning and I'm now 10st 6lbs!!!

How can this be? I know that muscle weighs more than fat, but REALLY!!

Also, I haven't altered my diet.

Please help, I feel like giving up!

It happens. When you pick up a new exercise program, your body adjusts to the new stress by retaining fluid for a while. It could take a couple weeks of consistent exercise before your body equilibrates.

Don't fret, keep doing stuff that's good for your body, but don't expect to see changes overnight. Whether you change your eating or your exercise, the real benefits are only seen with a little time.

I love to see that you got out there and really did a lot of activity! It is so good for you.

When it comes to weight loss, though, exercise isn't usually enough. We have to watch our food choices, and eat fewer calories than we're taking in. Often this means tracking our food very closely.

It doesn't matter how much exercise we're doing, if we eat more than we expend... the weight will pile on.

So, while the movement is absolutely marvelous (Truly! Keep up being regularly active), you're going to have start altering/watching what you eat and in what amounts. There's no way around it to start.

When you work out a lot, your body ends to retain water as the muscle fibers repair themselves. It can cause a "gain" on the scale, but it is highly unlikely that you've gained 3 pounds of muscle in 2 weeks. Also, muscle does not weight more than fat. 1 lb. of muscle is still the same weight as 1 lb. of fat. HOWEVER, muscle is much more dense, so if you replace 1 pound of fat with 1 pound of muscle, your scale will say that you haven't lost weight, but your clothing will fit better.

It's time to step back and look at the big picture - nobody got fit/healthy/in shape and maintained their weight loss by throwing in the towel after a week or two. It takes months/years of consistent effort and exercise/food changes to make a difference - and a LIFETIME of consistent effort to keep/maintain those changes.

Are you ready to look at the big picture? If someone could achieve visible results/goals after only 6 workouts, why would anyone waste their time changing their food intake or working out for years on end. There are no quick fixes here. 6 workouts is a snowflake in a snowstorm. I'm not going to say it's "insignificant" because all workouts are important - but it will not bring you any solid results. Keep it up for several months, along with a proper eating plan, and you will see results.

And ditto for water retention. Muscle takes months, years to build. You are simply retaining water. Since you haven't changed your eating habits, you may also be eating more than you think after exerting yourself in the gym.