Working out...gaining weight?!?! What's up?

06-26-2005, 07:04 AM

Hello...I know that this topic is probably battered to death, but I am still wondering if I need to tweak things up a little with my diet/exercise routine, or just be patient. Need some advice here...

I started working out consistently about three weeks ago. Yes, I know, it hasn't been very long. However, I have been very good about getting to the gym about 5 days a week...doing a really good cardio routine on the treadmill (heart rate always going at at LEAST 80% of max. capacity), and then combining it with weights. I used to do all of my weight activities on the same day, but have recently been breaking them up into: one day for chest/back, one day for legs, one day for arms. I am starting to alternate the areas of my body that i use weights on each time I go to the gym.

Also, I have been really good about maintaining a 1700-1800 calorie diet everyday. On the rare occasion I have gone under, and on the rare occasion I have gone slightly over. But most of the time I eat between 1700-1800 calories a day.

Now, I weighed myself for the first time in three weeks yesterday and...ack!! I have gained 4 pounds!!!! Granted, I weighed myself after a huge meal....but i normally weigh myself after eating so nothing much different there. I don't own a scale at home, and I don't weigh myself often, but....yucko!! When I started working out 3 weeks ago, I was actually 5 pounds more than I usually weigh...so that means I'm now NINE pounds more than usual.

However, up until last night when I weighed myself, I started noticing that my pants were fitting looser and I feel "tighter"...but after I weighed myself, I thought that it was really all in my head. Now, I can't TELL if my pants are looser or not because I have this 4 pound weight gain running around in my head.

So...my question is...what do you think is going on here? Is it muscle that I'm gaining? Or, should I tweak my diet/exercise routine more??? Also, if I am patient...will i start to notice some weight come back off, even if I am gaining muscle??

HELP!!!!!!!

06-26-2005, 11:23 AM

Id assume it's muscle gain. Be patient. The muscle gain will stop soon and the fat loss will be more obvious. Give it another 3 weeks before stepping on the scale and for now go by how you look, feel and how your clothes are fitting. Even with a gain of 4 pounds, if it's muscle, your fat loss will speed up as a reasult of a slightly higher metabolism and you'll be significantly leaner at the same weight. Get the scale number out of your head. For now, it is NOT indicative of much of anything. If you're really concerned, get a body composition test done (most gyms offer this for free) and then use that to compare against the scale in the coming weeks. Then you'll know for sure whether what you're gaining - and LOSING - is muscle or fat.

06-26-2005, 01:37 PM

Thanks for the info...
One more question: What percentage of fats, protein and carbs should I be taking in per day?

Thanks,
cc

06-26-2005, 02:09 PM

You also need to remember that since you just started working out and you're probably drinking lots of water. AT this point your body is dehydrated and absorbing the water. Don't weigh yourself for two months because your body is going to go through different stages. You might gain 3-4 lbs of water weight before you start losing body fat. YOu can only judge this by how your clothes are fitting. If you lose weight fast it could just be water weight. SO make sure you're eating enough, drinking plenty of water, and doing your workouts and you should see results. I have learned so much but you have to give it time and understand what your body is going through.

06-26-2005, 04:04 PM

Well, i am drinking quite a bit of water, now...and I never really used to drink much at ALL before working out...so maybe that has something to do with it. I'm drinking about 1.5 litresof water a day...plus some other drinks like a cup of soya milk with tea or something. A day's worth of food for me looks something like this (and this is what i've eaten so far today):

Breakfast:
Peanut butter (organic) - one tablespoon
Gluten Free Flax Seed Bread - one slice

Lunch:
Soy Milk with herbal chai tea
Beef, tenderloin (about 4 oz) with a few cubed potatoes (i ate about 4 or 5 of the potatoes and didn't eat the rest (there were probably about 20 on the plate).
Fruit Source Plus bar w/ veggies... (prob. about 130 calories and contains 3 servings of fruits and veggies in a bar!)

Snack:
banana (small)

For dinner tonight (haven't eaten, yet):
Pork, fresh, loin, tenderloin
Salad with lettuce, peas, tomatos, sprouts, mushrooms and a light, caesar dressing (dairy free)

I don't consume any dairy products and also take calcium supplements.

Does this look like a decent diet?

In any case...you're right, i have to take other factors into consideration and I won't weight myself for another couple of months.

I'm still curious about the percentage of fat, carbs and protein i should be consuming.

Many thanks!

06-26-2005, 09:32 PM

Well, different ratios work for different people, but as a starting point, use 50-30-20 (carbs, protein, fat). Sometimes a little more protein and a little more, or less, fat works better, but you'll have to see how your body reacts to a 'normal' ratio and tweak as needed. What you have as far as content is pretty good. Very clean. Sticking with it should yield some good results for you.

Working out...gaining weight?!?! What's up?

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