Am I the only one *****ally gained weight from going to the gym?

erin J.
on 12/22/10 3:32 am - PITTSBURGH, PA
Am I the only one who gains weight from going to the gym?  Okay....a little background knowledge.  I joined the gym in August 2009 and was about 190#s.  I started on the elliptical with a little lifting here and there.  I've continued on the elliptical (35 minutes, average 350 calories so the machine says) with an increase in the weightlifting.  I was getting there 4-5 days a week; I gained 10 pounds easily! The owner of the gym told me it's all muscle....muscle weighs more than fat but I'm very skeptical of that.  I am now up to almost 210 pounds, and my gym time has dropped off drastically.  It is very, very, very hard to motivate myself to get to the gym if all I'm doing is gaining weight...those stupid numbers are very important to me each morning, even though my clothes still fit.  I am frustrated and trying to get  back on track but now wondering if I should just bag the gym and start a different exercise regime.

Please...anyone out there in the same boat?  I've tried to switch it up, as far as what I do cardio and weights....wtthout any change.

Thanks for your feedback,
Erin


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adam_
on 12/22/10 3:47 am - Boynton Beach, FL
Erin,

I would suggest keeping an eye on your bodyfat % monthly...Based on the limited info you provided I would say to just stick to cardio if you're not looking to build mass....drop the weight lifting all together...and if your diet is in check you should lose weight...once you reach your bodyfat goal (maybe 12-15%?), you can always bring back in the weight training if you want...

Good luck,

Adam

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nate2009
on 12/22/10 5:29 am - Lebanon, OH
If your clothes fit the same and the scale is going up , theres a good chance it's muscle. I would say stick to the workouts for the HEALTH benefit any way ....that's what you had the surgery for anyway. The scale only gives a # ..... you will feel the health benefit !
    No longer about weight , it's all about living.            
Grandpa-G
on 12/22/10 7:34 am - Grandville, MI
 I'm with Nate on this one...If you are building muscle, it is healthier and you may add some weight.  It's ok.  Try doing a mix of cardio and weight training.  M-w-F cardio, with T-th weights or some similar combination. 

IF you decrease or GOD forbid, stop exercising, you need to adjust your caloric intake as well...If you don't the weight you put on will be FAT.

Don't get on the scale every day.  Pick one day a week as your weigh day.

Hang in there!

Mike


Eating junk food and CRAP is not a reward...it's a punishment...
  it's a DEATH sentence...Reward yourself with Good Health!
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(deactivated member)
on 12/22/10 8:01 am - Switzerland
 I agree with Adam the only true way to know what you are adding on either muscle or body fat is to get your percentage of body fat measured and then again if you have a significant increase or decrease in weight. You can measure waist and neck circumference and if your weight goes up and they measure the same or decreases then it is a pretty good bet that you put on muscle. After all of the weight you lost both fat and muscle it could be that as soon as you touched the weights you put on a lot of muscle, because you body was wasted from the dieting and "hungry". It is my experience that any time that you gain weight  while lifting it is USUALLY a combination of both muscle and some fat . It may just be that you are a naturally gifted gainer of muscle, a position many lifters I know would envy. Are your poundage totals going up?? If so then it is certain that you are putting on muscle. Ultimately you need to ask yourself how you want to end up or what kind of body you want. I know Slippery Rock State just north of you has a great Physio lab and you can get tested up the waszu for anything. Maybe a good place to start. You've come a very long way, now you have to apply a little science to get further. If you need any help don't hesitate to ask. I've been doing this a long time.

TS 
MacMadame
on 12/22/10 10:36 am - Northern, CA
I"m a bit skeptical that it's *all* muscle too. That's because women just don't put on muscle that fast. It's very hard for us to bulk up too.

But to answer your question: people who don't track their calories often gain weight in response to increasing their exercise. It's really common for people training for a marathon or an Ironman to gain weight.

So... are you tracking your calories? Weighing and measuring everything? If you are and your clothes are fitting better then, skepticism aside, you are probably gaining muscle. If you aren't tracking and/or your clothes are not fitting better, I'd start tracking to find out *exactly* what you are eating and to make sure you haven't increased your calories in response to your workouts.

In my case, I deliberately put on muscle and I had to eat more to do it. So I'm up from my lowest. And, as TS said, it's not just muscle but a bit of fat too. But it's only about 5 pounds over a 6 month period. I'd have to work incredibly hard and lift 6 days a week to gain a lot more.

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Emily F.
on 12/23/10 10:22 am
Are you looking at what you are eating? I would think it would be very difficult to gain 10 lb of muscles in that time frame plus I would think you would lose sizes by tightening up that much.
relerel
on 12/26/10 9:08 pm
It is true that muscle weighs more than fat so this may be the case. Before I had my surgery I  was going to the gym also and lost a lot of weight but it was due to all cardio workout as soon as I started with weights I started to gain some weight back because I was building muscle. You actually burn more fat combining the two cardio and weights than just cardio so stick with it and you will see you are gaining muscle mass but also losing more body fat and becoming more sculpted in a shorter time. GL
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