We’re constantly told by doctors and the media that we need to be exercising more. The idea behind it is to keep us healthy, build muscle and hopefully, lose weight.
When you’re exercising and finding that your weight is actually going up, it’s confusing. What possible reason could there be that this is happening?! Let’s explore.
You’re Not Eating Right
This is the most obvious one to point to, and it’s the bit that can be affected by multiple factors. For example, we all know that we should eat our greens and avoid horrible junk food. But, if you’re not getting ideal protein or a certain amount of calories per day, you might also be falling behind. Not eating enough is almost as bad as eating too much, especially with the exercise you’re doing. Keep this in mind.
It’s Muscle, Not Fat
Just because you’re gaining on the heavy side of the scale, it doesn’t mean you’re adding to your fat. It might be that you’re building up your muscle instead, helping to make you stronger as a result. Muscle is heavier than fat, so it’s natural that it seems like you’re gaining weight when you’re not. It’s often suggested that when someone is trying to improve their fitness, they shouldn’t be paying attention to scales. Instead, focus on body composition.
Your Scales Are Lying To You
It might be that all the equipment in your house is simply lying to you about the facts. It’s easy for these pieces of tech to go out of sync and make us feel like we’re bigger than we really are. Be sure to update your equipment over time if you think this might be the case. Don’t pay too much attention to what your exercise bike or treadmill wants to tell you. It might just be wrong, and there are better ways of determining the truth.
Inflammation
If you’ve just started a new exercise program after a large period of inactivity, you might come into contact with inflammation. You know that horrible strain feeling you get after a particularly tough workout? Your body is actually making repairs to little tears in your muscle fibres during this process. It does this through inflammation healing, and the fluid required for this adds to your weight temporarily. This might cause an effect on the scale, throwing those statistics out of whack.
Illness
It is possible that if you’re gaining weight from exercise, you might be suffering from an illness. It’s important to check with your doctor if you have any concerns about gaining weight while exercising. It might indicate a need for you to stop pushing your body so hard. We don’t want to worry you with this, but it’s worth considering the possibility if you’re gaining weight for no reason. Get yourself checked out if you’re worried in the slightest.
As long as you’re medically fit to do so, don’t let the idea of weight gain put you off. You’re probably not gaining in fat at all, and you’re actually building up your body in effective ways.
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