I recently started exercising far more than I ever have before (including lifting weights). When I wasn’t losing weight as rapidly as I expected, it puzzled me. Every time I googled “Is it normal to gain weight when you start working out?” or “Why am I not losing weight with exercise?” I got the same responses: “You’re eating too much and you don’t realize it” (how patronizing, even for someone else who isn’t a nutritionist) and “You’re gaining muscle and losing fat so you don’t see the scale move” (like I don’t own a mirror or clothes that would make this obvious, let alone the fact that most people have a smart scale that measures fat to muscle ratio these days). Thanks, internet.
I mean, I mentor people on changing behaviours to get fast, and lasting, weight loss (because this is what statistically works). I don’t do calorie restrictions or over-exercise (because that doesn’t work long-term). I really felt I was on all the right paths to toning up and losing weight. These explanations were simply not adding up.
I decided to dig a little deeper low and behold I found a whole host of reasons it takes some time for your metabolism, nutrient storage, hydration status, electrolyte balance, hormones and even digestion to change your body composition (ie. lose weight).
Plus, I found that even gaining weight while working out and eating healthy is totally normal.
1. Inflammation is a Natural Part of Exercise
Working out causes muscle tears and therefore inflammation.
Inflammation is a natural response to recovery in your body. Too much inflammation is linked to all kinds of chronic illness, but generally speaking this isn’t a side effect (of even too much) exercise. In fact, moderate exercise can actually reduce overall inflammation in the body. It’s true! In time, as your body adjusts to your new routine, inflammation will decrease and you’ll start losing this temporary weight gain.
2. Muscle Repair can Cause (Temporary) Water Retention
That’s right, the inflammation aforementioned is fluid retention. As you make micro tears in your muscle fibres and you’re building up that lean, metabolism enhancing, mass — your body responds by sending fluids to the area to repair, restore, and renew your gains. Not to worry: water weight means that your body is repairing, and the added weight will drop soon.
3. Glycogen Stores in your Muscles have Increased
When you start exercising either regularly, or adding something new to your routine, your body begins to store more glycogen in your muscles. It’s glycogen that fuels your muscles, and therefore more is needed for the extra movement.
Glycogen also must bind with water in order to work. So you get another does of water retention for every extra molecule of glycogen stored! Not to worry your dear head, as your new routine becomes more … well, routine, over time, your muscles will become more efficient and need less glycogen to make the same movements. When that happens, your muscles will also retain less water and that added weight will come off!
4. Your Body needs Time
This one was probably the most obvious, but such a soothing on to hear: your body is a complex process of metabolic bioenergetics keeping you alive! It needs time to adjust to a new activity regimen!
When we start working out on the regular, our bodies need time to recalibrate themselves and make adjustments for you to enjoy see the benefits. I read that, depending on the individual, it can take weeks and even months for your body to respond to a new workout schedule.
If you give your body time to balance out water retention, calorie intake and metabolism rate with your new activity level, you’ll start to see results toward your healthy weight goal.
Tips to Move this Temporary Weight Gain after Exercise and Start Losing Faster (and for Good)
These healthy lifestyle changes will help to speed up, and properly align, your weight loss goals so the transition to your best body is both smoother and sustainable. After having to commit to the long game, you want to keep this banging body, don’t you?!
i. Stay Hydrated
Not only is hydration absolutely necessary for fat loss, but it will also help stave off water retention. Funny, but true: the more water you drink, the less water you retain.
Here’s a Tip: Keep a 2 litre water bottle around. I use massive mason jars at home!
Listen to me, I know what I’m talking about here. For most of the years of my adult life, I have drank at least 2 litres/gallons of water per day. (Seriously, I know this is a helluva feat, because I’m not sure I’ve ever even met someone else who could say the same! Holla if you’re out there!) Now, I’m not what you’d call “disciplined” or anything like that, but I do understand how to make big goals like this easy on myself.
The only times I haven’t consistently accomplished this is when I don’t have a 2 litre/gallon container I consistently use. It is a game changer. Fill the bottle, drink the bottle. End of story.
The more water you drink, the thirstier you will get (another weird water-irony). Force it down and you’ll start to crave it.
ii. Manage your Stress
Stress makes you gain weight for a whole host of reasons. Plus, it’ll kill ‘ya. Need I say more?
Here’s a Tip: Try what I call my “bookending technique”. I make a foolproof morning and evening routine to manage stress before it starts!
Related: How to Lose Stress Weight
Stress is another really beneficial thing, like inflammation, which we have so much of in our modern (and yet still somehow un-evolved) world, that it is almost ubiquitously seen as something terrible. Too much of it is terrible. Unless you are a kick-butt stress manager, you are probably way too stressed out. I know this is true because over-stress is kind of a ‘thing’ these days… like, an epidemic.
We aren’t really taught any stress, or self, management techniques so most of us are woefully under-prepared for even day-to-day life (let alone the major challenges our world faces at present). We all need some kick-butt stress management tools in our lives to thrive.
iii. Breathing Fully (kid you not)
The majority of weight you lose is actually breathed out. Yes, you read that right.
Here’s a Tip: Schedule a daily yoga class with a teacher who gives you breath cues. If you can’t find one who does (they are hard to find in the western yoga tradition, which is a shame) then teach yourself and bring your own knowledge to class.
Related: Breath Exercises to Lose Weight
Another added benefit of breathwork is that it helps to mitigate and manage stress. I teach breathwork style movement in my course on Ideal Body Composition as I firmly believe this is a core component of sustained weight loss and health.
When in doubt: Breathe.
iv. Sleeping Well
Consistently getting enough sleep is integral to a healthy body, mind, and energy levels, but it’s also intricately linked to healthy weight.
Here’s a tip: Sleep with an eye mask to block out all light (especially if you get up really early like I do — it makes going to bed at 7 or 8pm, and rising at 4 or 5, totally doable)!
Related: 6 Habits of Women who Never Gain Weight
Not getting a good night’s sleep can really mess with your hormones and leave you feeling extra hungry. Ghrelin makes you feel hunger and Leptin tells you you’re full. Low secretions of leptin (due to sleep deprivation) can even slow down your metabolism and make you constantly feel hungry! Depriving yourself of sleep can also affect the secretion of the stress hormone cortisol, which is not only one of the hormones that regulate your appetite but also the precursor to fat storage. This makes gaining weight while working out and eating healthy pretty darn hard to avoid!
