Anonymous wrote:Hi. I have a question and hope someone can share with me their experiences. I've been working out every night for a week now. I'm NOT eating any more than I did before. I didn't well expect to lose weight quickly, but why does the scale says that I've gained 3.5lbs???? Has it happened to anyone else? What should I do? And yes, I understand it's just a number, but it's very discouraging and upsetting. Please share with me if you have an answer. Thanks

I've gained 3 lbs. in the past month, all because of working out. I've also lost 1.5" around my arms, 3+ inches from my waist, and I wish I'd taken a picture of my back, because the shoulderblades and muscle emerging look amazing. I've simultaneously built up muscle while losing fat, which means I've built up my metabolism. It also means I've built up blood volume (muscle needs more blood than fat), and I'm building up my bone density too. The scale simply doesn't tell the whole story.

Muscle is less voluminous than fat. If you want to measure your progress in numbers, then QUIT using pounds - choose numbers that actually matter instead. Measure success with the tape measure and clothing sizes. Try on your favorite jeans. Do a weekly spreadsheet of your waist, hips, thighs, arms (whatever body parts you stress over). Take a full body pic of yourself every week in a bikini, and compare them over time. Who cares what the scale says? Does anyone ever look at a great body and say "Wow - I bet she weighs 112!"? Dropping from a 32" waist to a 27" waist? Or a 34D to a 32D? Those are numbers with visual impact.

Don't give up on your workout or yourself. Don't even give up on the numbers - just pick numbers that actually matter.

Your muscles retain water after working out. I gained 4 pounds after running a half marathon. It went away 5 days later.

I always blip up for a day after a glass of wine.

There are so many reasons:
--you just ate a heavy meal
--you ate salty foods the day before and are retaining fluids
-- you're in a different place in your cycle than you were a week ago
--you drank something within a few hours
--you haven't pooped yet
--you're weighing yourself at a different time of the day
--you're wearing different clothes than when you last weighed yourself

My weight can fluctuate as much as 5 lbs in a day. The key is to keep the conditions exactly the same: time, day of week, what you're wearing. Then over time you will see a change. I do this every week at Weight Watchers. I know it sounds stupid, but for me the biggest reason I am paying for it every week is to have that consistent weigh-in. I have noticed that sometimes it takes a more than a week for my body to "catch up" to the work I've been doing. I will work-out like crazy and watch everything I eat, but then only lose half a pound. Then the following week, I still do well, but am not as intense as the week before. And I lose 3lbs. Go figure.
Hang in there. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon.

Hi. I have a question and hope someone can share with me their experiences. I've been working out every night for a week now. I'm NOT eating any more than I did before. I didn't well expect to lose weight quickly, but why does the scale says that I've gained 3.5lbs???? Has it happened to anyone else? What should I do? And yes, I understand it's just a number, but it's very discouraging and upsetting. Please share with me if you have an answer. Thanks