Initial Weight Gain With Exercise

Committing to losing weight with exercise can be rewarding and also occasionally frustrating. The frustration starts when you exercise every day and your weight remains unchanged or increases. The reason for the weight gain or status quo probably isn't because you're not burning fat, rather it's because you are experiencing an increase in muscle mass and water retention. But these are just a natural part of exercising, and soon, your fat loss will exceed your muscle mass gains and early-exercise water retention. So exercising is still good news, and besides, building muscle makes you look good.

  1. Increased Muscle

    • When you start exercising, your muscles work harder, increasing their size and mass. This increased size adds weight to your body. Although increased muscle mass can account for some weight gain, it's not usually the only thing to blame. Adding more muscle to your body increases your metabolism; this causes your body to burn more calories.Although burning more calories sounds good, an increased metabolism raises another issue that contributes to weight gain.

    Water Retention

    • When you start to work out and build muscle, your body often retains water. This can be another reason for an increase in weight. Some of the retained water results from swelling surrounding muscle tissue injured during your exercise routine. Most exercise-induced muscle injuries are microscopic tears that increase muscle mass when the body repairs them and are a normal part of the muscle-building process. Mild dehydration also causes your body to retain water. Add the two together and you have a potential weight gain after you begin exercising.

    Avoid the Scale

    • Since your weight fluctuates so drastically when you start exercising, it is best to avoid the scale if your exercise goal is to lose weight. Use other ways to determine if your exercise program is working, like taking measurements with a tape measure, using fat calipers, looking in the mirror or paying attention to how your clothes fit. This way, you can see your progress without worrying about every little weight loss or gain that happens. You don't want to get discouraged from a little weight increase when it's not really about gaining fat and turns around the next day. Instead you will be looking at the big picture.

    Don't Lose Hope

    • Don’t allow your initial weight gain to turn you away from your new healthy lifestyle. Continue eating a healthy diet, which means staying away from sugary and fried foods, and keep exercising. In time, the weight gain will subside and you will reap the benefits of your new healthy lifestyle.