Exercising...but Gaining??

[MississippiGirl 0]

Hi fellow banders:

I have been exercising for the last 9 days and have gained 4 pounds. At first I started out and could only do 20 minutes of cardio...by the third day I pushed it up to 40 minutes with the last 3 days at 45 minutes. I'm eating healthy; following the rules! :eek:

I was banded in Oct. 08. I have lost 41 pounds and this is my first time really exercising since surgery.

Can anyone share their trials of just starting out exercising and did this happen to you? How long did you exercise and what types of things did you do? Do you think it is ok to do cardio everyday?

In desperate need of motivation!!

[johnp 0]

I was banded on Feb 2nd. I lost about 20 lbs since then. As of the second day I have been walking 1 1/3 miles a day plus doing what I can on the Wii fit. Weighed myself today and I have gained almost 3 lbs! I have not cheated once, I have been on about 1100 calories aday average the last week. I am pretty upset right now and I do not understand the weight gain. It is bad enough that I feel no restriction and am doing this all on willpower because I want to be healthy but a 3 lb gain is ridiculous

[debbie_7155 0]

dont forget with all the exercising were now doing some fats are turning into muscle & muscle weighs more, dont be discouraged by this as we need muscle to burn off our fats...as long as your watching what foods you are eating & not having too many caories then give it a little longer & you should start to lose weight again

[gr8fulmaria 0]

Sorry to say muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. If you have 1 lb of fat and 1 lb of muscle...its still 1 lb.

[debbie_7155 0]

Ive always been told by dietitions/fitness trainers muscle weighs more than fat... i guess they must have it wrong

[Jachut 487]

When you start exercising, you can retain a bit of Water in your muscles which can account for weight gain. Muscle doesnt weigh more than fat, its just that a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. People say it flippantly and its misleading, what it simply means is that if you have more muscle you'll weigh more. But its fantasy to think anyone can gain few pounds of muscle from doing a couple of weeks of cardio - most women wont gain that much after a year of weight training.

The real truth is that when people first start exercising, its hard work, takes lots of effort and dedication but its not really that intense in terms of what exercise can be for someone who is fit and athletic and a seasoned exerciser. It is possible to burn 1000 calories in an hour running, but you sure as eggs cant do that when you start. A couple of hundred calories a day is not that huge an amount of calories to be burning, its not going to make THAT much difference. Also there's the tiredness you feel as a result of your efforts until you're more conditioned, you kind of slow down for the rest of the day and burn less calories overall which kind of nets out the exercise.

Not to worry, if you keep at it, you get fitter and you will get to the stage where you can say go out for a run, come home and continue with your day without even feeling tired. You'll get there.

You really have to watch what you eat too, its not uncommon to eat more as a result of exercising - it may make you hungrier or you may subconsciously think you can afford to because you've exercised. Weight loss still comes down mainly to diet.

All those are factors why exercise may not give you the weight loss result you may expect - at first. Keep at it and it will pay off and at first cardio everyday is GREAT, its the best fat burner and that's what you want for the present time, to get rid of fat. Dont be discouraged by gain, it wont go far and it will reverse quickly.

[MississippiGirl 0]

Thanks for the information so far! I did a little research on the Internet and the following is an excerpt from

Chalene Johnson's Blog Spot

The temporary weight gain explained:

When someone starts a new exercise program, they often experience muscle soreness. The more intense and "unfamiliar" the program, the more intense the muscle soreness. This soreness is most prevalent 24 to 48 hours after each workout. In the first few weeks of a new program, soreness is the body trying to

"protect and defend" the effected or targeted tissue. Exercise physiologists refer to this as delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS.

This type of soreness is thought to be caused by tissue breakdown or microscopic tears in muscle tissue. When this happens the body protects the tissue. The muscle becomes inflamed and slightly swollen with Fluid retention. This temporary retention of Fluid can result in a 3- to 4-pound weight gain within a few weeks of a new program. Keep in mind that muscle soreness is not necessarily a reflection of how hard you worked. In fact, some people feel no signs of muscle soreness, yet will experience the muscle protection mechanisms of Water retention and slight swelling.