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This process of breaking down or damaging muscle tissue causes your muscle cells to retain water and swell as part of the healing process. Since water weighs something, you may notice temporary weight gain after exercise.
Tweaking your diet and ramping up physical activity will help you lose weight and build lean muscle mass. You might lose weight but see an increase in body fat percentage because your diet changes and exercise routine might be causing you to store more fat, lose water and burn sugar (glycogen stores), not body fat.
Posture and Appearance: After working out, your body may be more pumped with blood, which can temporarily change your appearance, making you feel fuller or larger. It's important to remember that weight fluctuations are normal, especially when starting a new fitness routine.
Muscle is denser (meaning a lot less fluffy) than fat, says Dr. Calabrese. Put another way, 10 pounds of muscle takes up a lot less space than 10 pounds of fat. So, as you start working out regularly and building strength, the new muscle you build may eventually weigh more than the fat you've burnt off.
Some people who have lost weight have trouble embracing their new, slimmer shapes. They may still perceive themselves as very heavy, even when the reflection in the mirror reveals a much smaller person.
If you're asking yourself, “Why am I gaining weight when I barely eat,” several factors may be at play. Your body may be holding onto fat stores if your eating habits are inconsistent or restricted. Or, your weight gain may be the effect of a sedentary lifestyle, medical condition, or long-term stress.
Weight gain and short-term fluctuations may happen for a variety of reasons, such as aging or making lifestyle and dietary changes. However, fast weight gain can be a sign of an underlying health condition, such as a problem with the thyroid, kidneys, or heart.
Muscle helps keep up the rate at which you burn calories (metabolism). So as you lose weight, your metabolism declines, causing you to burn fewer calories than you did at your heavier weight. Your slower metabolism will slow your weight loss, even if you eat the same number of calories that helped you lose weight.
Bloating, or swelling due to a buildup of fluid in the tissues can cause weight gain. This may be due to menstruation, heart or kidney failure, preeclampsia, or medicines you take. A rapid weight gain may be a sign of dangerous fluid retention. If you quit smoking, you might gain weight.
You can easily pinch the excess fat because it builds up under your skin. When hormonal imbalances cause abdominal weight gain, the fat accumulates around your internal organs (visceral fat). Your belly enlarges and takes on an apple shape. You may look extremely bloated instead of like you're carrying extra weight.
Working out can cause short-term weight gain as your muscle mass increases. Post-workout inflammation may cause temporary weight fluctuations. Workout plateaus, supplement use, and dietary changes can also stall your weight-loss efforts. Try not to obsess over the number on the scale.
The No. 1 reason you might gain weight while working out and eating healthier is because you're gaining muscle mass. And that's a good thing! A pound of muscle and a pound of fat will weigh the same, but look different.
If you are hitting the gym and doing lots of muscle-building exercises, you might be reducing your body weight, but gaining muscle mass. This is a really good thing to be building muscle for many reasons, but it will mean that the number on the scale might climb instead of go down.
To lose weight effectively and safely, aiming to lose 1 to 2 pounds (lbs) per week may be best. This means that losing 20 lbs may take 10 to 20 weeks. To lose weight, people will likely need to follow a healthy diet and get regular exercise. Some popular diets are effective initially but challenging to maintain.
Medical reasons
In some cases, underlying medical conditions may contribute to weight gain. These include: an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) – where your thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones. Cushing's syndrome – a rare disorder that causes the over-production of steroid hormones.
“When someone begins exercising for the first time or significantly increases their exercise intensity, the body will undergo multiple initial adaptive responses that may lead to initial weight gain, rather than weight loss,” says Christopher McGowan, MD, a gastroenterologist and weight loss expert in Cary, North ...
Weight loss resistance is a complex issue that is influenced by various factors, including hormonal imbalances, chronic stress, poor sleep quality, medications, poor gut health, thyroid disorders, sex hormone fluctuations, and blood sugar imbalance with insulin or leptin resistance.