Weight Gain and Exercise - Some Info

Last week, some of us had a discussion regarding weight gain while increasing our exercise (what the heck???).  Anyways...I have talked to several personal trainers who have told me that this is perfectly normal. As it was explained to me.... 1.  When we increase the intensity of our workouts, the body needs to fuel that workout.  So, it pulls glycogen from it's stores and fuels the workout.  When you eat carbs, it recalls that workout and prepares for the next one by converting them to glycogen and stores them for you.  It needs water for the storage. 2.  While working out, you damage your muscle fibers during the process (it's ok).  These microtears need to be repaired by the body.  Well...it uses water to help with the repairs.  These repairs are what makes the muscle stronger. 3.  During the workout, you are also respirating more water into the air than you normally did.  So...the body will hold on to water to make sure that you are propoerly hydrated (hence the reason why we have to drink so much water).   It is normal to gain 4 - 6 pound when starting a workout (or increasing your intensity).  But...it is temporary and will either level off, or decreae after the body becomes normal again. I told them that I was pretty active before starting dance class, and had not had this problem.  They explained that the dance class caused me to work different muscles in a different way  So, the body viewed it as a different intensity and a different workout all together - muscle confusion to the max! But...this really explained why my shoes were tight, sock intentions in the ankles and the fact that I cannot wear my rings...BUT....my clothes fit just fine. One trainer told me last night to chuck the scale (ya...right - haha) and said that my arms looked GREAT since I started dance class (I lift my own body weight while in class....SEVERAL times - haha).  she also sadi to relax...sometimes any kind of stress will cause us to gain weight (even though we are not over eating).  She said just to make sure that I am eating a balanced diet, drinking my water and if all else fails...have my potassium checked out. I was also given this info from a person on another site, which was just another way of putting what I had already been told.... Bob Greene addressed this in his book, The Best Life Diet. When you increase your exercise your muscles retain water in th initial stages of beginning exercise. It doesn't change the fact that your muscle is increasing and you are still losing body fat even though the scale says otherwise, but this is only temporary. A primary source of your muscles fuel is carbohydrates, but in order to store carbs in your muscles the body must first convert it to glycogen. In order to convert carbs to glycogen you must pair it with water. Water helps keep your metabolism operating properly, ensuring that you burn calories at an efficient rate, which is what is going to help you lose body fat. Holding on to water is very beneficial both because of how it enhances your ability to burn calories and because your muscles need it to perform well. whenever you increase your activity, your muscles will store more glycogen, and thus more water, to help them keep up with the demands you're placing on them. You will also add water to your bloodstream, increasing your blood volume and resulting in an increased ability to deliver oxygen, which in turn will increase your capacity to burn more calories. These changes will cause you to gain, not lose, water weight in the beginning stages of exercise. Bear in mind that you wan****er stored in your muscles and available to keep your metabolism fired up and your muscles operating in high gear so that you don't get fatigued and short yourself on calorie-burning activity. This is from Bob Greenes book, I found it helpful! So don't feel discouraged, it is a temporary thing.

thanks for sharing that info!

Thanks for that info. I just had posted a message about possibly reducing my workout because I thought it was hindering my weight loss your post really did help