Weight up 1 month after starting the gym

[LostAtTheFair]

I joined a gym 5 weeks ago to get rid of my baby weight- baby was born in April. I have been going twice a week since then each time with a personal trainer. He seems gray, lots of TRX, squats with weights, lunges with weights, interval training. Very different to the old me who would just hop up on the treadmill and count calories.

I had to do a food diary for the first week and since then have been making some effort with my diet. Diet wise I haven't done anything extreme but have introduced more protein, fresh veg and lower gi stuff and have been better generally about cutting down on takeaways, unhealthy stuff. My diet was pretty good to begin with so the changes haven't been drastic. I've been trying to do it in a sustainable way, nothing extreme.

Anyway I've been feeling fitter and healthier and more toned but was disappointed today to find out that I've put on a kilo - I'm up from 59 kilos to 60! And I've lost 2% body fat and a very small amount around my waist (cant remember how much). I know that weight training is meant to build muscle which weighs more than fat but I can't help but feel very disappointed.... I want to look trim and lean and to fit into my pre baby clothes. Am I on the right track?

[LostAtTheFair]

*great not gray

[SnookieSnooks]

Congratulations! That definitely sounds very good. Decreasing your fat % is the way to go. It sounds like you have increased your lean mass and lost some fat. Your overall weight does not matter one jot but your body composition does. A 100kg woman with 25% fat mass will look very slim and toned. A 100kg woman with 35% fat mass will have a lot of very wobbly bits.

[BobbinThreadbare123]

You've turned your fat into muscle! Muscle is denser so you'll shrink inches, but you'll stay the same mass. 59kg to 60kg is not much anyway; I think many of us would fluctuate that much on a period week.

You won't become 'body builder woman' by doing what you're doing. You'll tone up and make yourself strong. Women don't have the testosterone available to seriously bulk up (without other interventions). Also, you've not long had a baby so cut yourself a little slack!

[Statelychangers]

I would imagine you have gained a tiny bit of muscle - it's seriously hard for women to gain muscle - especially only exercising twice a week. You might have lost a bit of fat but the most likely explanation for your gain is that your body is holding onto water.

[LostAtTheFair]

Statelu, how often do you think I need to exercise to tone up? Since last weekI've increased to 3 x 50 minute gym sessions plus 1 run (20 mins) per week. Is that enough or should I be doing more?

[Statelychangers]

Lost I have no idea, but it's such harder than we are led to believe, I have been bootcamping 3-4 times a week for 4 months now....it has made a difference but I am not toned - or maybe my expectations are too high!
Women really struggle to gain muscle - we just don't have enough testosterone. Body fat measurement in a gym is a dodgy science....it's simply not accurate.

[Statelychangers]

Lost you should ask your PT - but you need to build up to more activity, give your body time to adjust otherwise you risk injury.

[TheFirie]

You might want to look again at what you are eating and drinking. Do you feel like sharing some (honest) examples from your food diary. If not, cut the bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. No more sugar, in nothing. Embrace veg and fish (+ shell fish, prawn), obviously not fried. No more juices, smoothies, milkshake even protein milk shake. Cut the processed food.
Losing weight is almost all about diet. Seriously.
Be extremely aware of what you are eating in the hours following your workout. Most of us eat actually a lot more than we think.
Use your clothes and jeans to judge if you have lost weight.
Congratulations on your new baby by the way

[Thefitfatty]

Where are you in your cycle? Honestly a kilo is nothing. My body can fluctuate in weight by a kilo a day depending on what I've ate or drank. Around my period that can easily increase to 2 or 3 kilos. Either ditch the scales entirely or weight a couple of times a day to get an idea of your own personal fluctuations and go from their.

If you're losing inches around your middle, you're on the right track.

In terms of getting really fit, 2 times a week is ok, but not great. Aim for 3 days of weight lifting a week and cardio/yoga 2 times a week with 2 days off. However, it's dependent on your goals really. If you want to get into your pre-baby pants, you maybe better off focusing on your diet, rather than exercise.