It is very disheartening to find that you have gained weight after starting an exercise routine. This is true no matter what your reasons are for starting a work out.
Why have I gained weight after starting an exercise routine?
As a Weight Watchers Leader I would be asked this over and over again. Almost every week one of my Members would bound up to me to get weighed in. They would tell me they had been exercising this week and they were hoping for a good result only to be devastated when they find they’ve actually gained weight.
I want to demystify this for you and explain the reasons that might be behind why you’ve gained weight when you’ve been exercising like you’ve got a gold medal to win.
1. Medical reasons
Before starting a new exercise regime and/or a new diet you should always speak to your doctor first. If you find you’ve gained weight, despite the exercise the it would be a good idea to speak to your doctor again to rule out whether any medication you’re taking could be affecting your weight loss efforts. You should also rule out any medical reason for your lack of weight loss. Problems with the thyroid can cause weight gain and make it more difficult to lose weight.
2. Inflammation
Exercising puts stress on your muscles which results in micro-tears to your muscle fibres. This and the natural healing process is what causes the muscle soreness 24 to 36 hours later.
The body’s natural response to these micro-tears is to surround the affected area with inflammation to protect it. In other words you retain water.
It is very important not to overdo it, especially in the early days of a new exercise programme, and make sure you get enough rest to let your muscles heal and rebuild.
3. Extra fuel for your muscles
Exercise means that our muscles need fuel and if it has been a while since you last had a regular exercise regime then your muscles will need extra fuel in order to keep up.
Our bodies store a carbohydrate called Glycogen which can be used to create energy from glucose. Glycogen is primarily composed of water so as our bodies build up a store of glycogen in order to fuel all this extra exercise you may put on a little weight (yep, sorry, more water retention!).
These two things alone can be responsible for anything up to a 3 lbs weight gain! The good news of course is that you will still be losing fat and, with perseverance, the weight will start to come off.
4. Too many calories
Scenario: You’ve walked across town to meet a friend for coffee only to treat yourself to a muffin as you’ve done all that walking so you’ve already burned off the calories right?
Once we start a regular exercise routine (or even if it is only a one-off) we tend to feel that we have used enough calories to indulge in a treat. However it is incredibly easy to over estimate just how many calories we have used and therefore end up eating too many calories.
Let’s look at the scenario above. According to Costa their triple chocolate muffins come in at around 400 calories per muffin (by the way, their blueberry muffins aren’t much better coming in at around 380 calories). Let’s say you walk at a moderate pace of 3 mph for 20 minutes to get to the coffee shop and 20 minutes back. Depending upon your current weight, you might burn around 200 calories. That means you would have eaten a whopping 200 calories more than you’ve used and you know where those calories are heading right? *points to my ample behind*
I’ve recently been introduced to MyFitnessPal’s Calories burned from Exercise tool which takes your weight, the type of exercise you’ve done and for how long then calculates how many calories you would have burned off. A useful tool on your next shopping trip!
5. Gaining muscle
If your new exercise regime involves too much weight training and not enough cardio, then you may gain muscle quicker than you lose fat. As muscle is heavier than fat this might result in a gain on the scales. This is when you need to get the measuring tape out.
Although muscle weighs more than fat it looks leaner so one easy way to tell if you might be gaining muscle quicker than losing fat is to measure yourself to see if you have lost inches instead.
If you haven’t taken your starting measurements then do it now, keep going with your exercise routine and check again in 1 to 2 weeks time.
I’m totally fed up should I give up?
Absolutely not! If you’ve ruled out any medical reasons then gaining weight after starting an exercise routine is normal. Not that that helps when you’re feeling demoralised! Just remember – you’ve got this! You’re doing all the right things and your exercise efforts WILL soon start to pay off.
Leave a Reply