why have I put on weight when I'm increasing my excercise

[nickynik]

Hi there!

I have been gradually increasing my walking over the past month, maybe 2, where I now try to do aprox 4 walks per week of between 6-10 miles. I never go over my calorie goal of 1400 cals and don't eat particualry high fat foods either. So why has my weight on the scale gone up by 4 pounds over the past few days??! I know its advisable not be obsessed with the number on the scale but I can't help it  please help?? I've read that when you start to build muscle that can effect weight, could that be it?? 

[Jabrat]

How many calories do u burn a day

[Miss_Primrose]

NickyNik, I feel your pain!!! I have been wearing my fit bit since 2012 and I have lost a total of 10 lbs & gained 8lbs back....  I understand what I'm doing wrong. I just love to eat. Mostly breads and sugary things. yep I think thats my addiction. I usually eat around 1200 to 2000 calories a day & burn about 1800 calories a day. I'm short so It is more difficult for me. What it all comes down to is limiting the calories consumed & burning more calories by activity. I'm older now so I should try to put on some muscle to bring up my metabolism to burn more calories quicker. Maybe you can try to get the aria scale and focus on keeping the fat % down. That is more important for health. There is a nice app that works with fitbit called "trendweight". I found by reading these blogs. Good luck & don't give up on yourself!!!

[Debblez]

Hi There,

Don't be hard on yourself....Muscle is heavier than fat, when you start excercising you do gain muscle! Keep walking and try to only consume 1200 to 1300 calories a day and minimize salt intake to 1500 mg a day. Keep in mind that excercise is only 20% of your weight loss DIET is the key and what I mean by diet is healthy eating habits.  Good luck and keep moving 🙂

D

[Colinm39]

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@nickynik wrote:

Hi there!

I have been gradually increasing my walking over the past month, maybe 2, where I now try to do approx 4 walks per week of between 6-10 miles. I never go over my calorie goal of 1400 cals and don't eat particularly high fat foods either. So why has my weight on the scale gone up by 4 pounds over the past few days??! I know its advisable not be obsessed with the number on the scale but I can't help it  please help?? I've read that when you start to build muscle that can effect weight, could that be it?? 

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@nickynikIt happens to all of us, and I started measuring my body and inputting the results into the bottom of the weight page.  My weight has gone through its ups and downs but the important one was moving from 42" slacks to 36" straight leg jeans.

Here is my weight chart showing the ups and downs, but fortunately in the right direction. Keep in mind your weight, like mine took years to accumulate.

[DawnH]

You have to burn more calories than you eat. It is just that simple. You probably have to increase your cardio. Walking isn't doing it. You need to do something that gets your heart rate up. If you can't run you can bike or do the elliptical. If you ran a mile or biked hard for a couple miles, you could burn more calories than you do walking 6 miles. You could do it in half the time.

[Heybales]

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@Debblez wrote:

Hi There,

Don't be hard on yourself....Muscle is heavier than fat, when you start excercising you do gain muscle! Keep walking and try to only consume 1200 to 1300 calories a day and minimize salt intake to 1500 mg a day. Keep in mind that excercise is only 20% of your weight loss DIET is the key and what I mean by diet is healthy eating habits.  Good luck and keep moving 🙂

D

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Huh, no.

Same volume of muscle is heavier than fat if that's what you meant, but by weight obviously 1 = 1. You ever seen those pictures of 5 lbs of fat and muscle, the difference in volume?

Ya, you ain't going to gain that much muscle that fast to offset fat loss. Huge myth.

A woman eating in surplus for a year doing a progressive overload lifting routine would be fortunate to gain 6 lbs of muscle in a year.

In a diet doing only walking - nothing.

Walking, unless you've been bed-ridden for a long time and actually lost your muscle you've used walking up to that point in your life - is not about to add muscle. Most people have been walking since a child and have enough muscle to do it, even if not the stamina to do it very long.

Considering not enough stats were given for anyone to estimate an eating level, going for bare minimum recommendation for safety getting all the nutrients in for a sedentary woman isn't always correct. As mentioned, she's not sedentary for one thing.

[Miss_Primrose]

Hi, you might want to get a heart rate monitor. You can burn 250 calories by fast walking. Keep your heart rate 80% max & you're in the aerobic mode. At this rate you may not gain muscle but you will sure gain endurance to outdo your old self. It's great for your heart & arteries... I enjoy jogging but unfortunatly I get shin splints & tendonitis. I realized my sneakers are pretty old (1yr) so I ordered new balance motion control. Right now I do stretches & walks, but the pain stops me from jogging. I can't let it become a chronic issue.

[Singerspell]

Muscle weighs more than fat. You're probably burning fat and adding healthy muscle. Muscle gain is good because it increases your metabolism which in turn helps your body to burn more fat.  If you're monitoring your caloric intake and exercising everyday but gaining a little weight I would suggest periodically taking body measurements. Fitbit has a section under the weight tracker where you can add in your body measurements. Also, pay attention to your clothes. Do they feel loser? That's a good sign you're burning bad fat and building good muscle.  Congratulations on your progress!

[Heybales]

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@Singerspell wrote:

Muscle weighs more than fat. You're probably burning fat and adding healthy muscle. Muscle gain is good because it increases your metabolism which in turn helps your body to burn more fat.  If you're monitoring your caloric intake and exercising everyday but gaining a little weight I would suggest periodically taking body measurements. Fitbit has a section under the weight tracker where you can add in your body measurements. Also, pay attention to your clothes. Do they feel loser? That's a good sign you're burning bad fat and building good muscle.  Congratulations on your progress!

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Gaining muscle by walking?

Not hardly. Not unless over a 100 to lose and hasn't been walking for a long time, and the amount of muscle gained could never keep up with amount of fat lost. Might read above post for some facts on muscle gain for a woman walking only.

[slysam]

Changes of a few pounds over a couple days are usually related to fluid retention or release. A lot of different things effect this including hydration/dehydration status, hormone cycles (for women but likely for men too), sodium consumption in recent days, carb consumption in recent days, illness, vigorous exercise, alcohol consumption in recent days, long distance travel, etc. I think this is most likely what you are seeing. It is pretty common to see increased fluid retention after starting or intensifying an exercise program. The muscles used are retaining more fluids as part of their process. I mainly experience this from vigorous exercise and weight lifting, but perhaps that varies by the person.