Slight weight gain after starting exercise

agentdaisy (nice user name - SHIELD fan?) is spot on about cycle. I get an extra half stone when I am on and then it vanishes. Always have done.

I must admit, I tend to ignore the scales. The feeling of being fit and, quite frankly, powerful, is more than enough impetus to keep exercising. Also, all my clothes always fit. I don't have 'fat pants' any more. I was one of those 'skinny fat' people who fluctuated a lot.

As pp have said muscle is denser than fat which can mean you put on weight when you start exercising but you're replacing fat with muscle so your clothes will feel looser even though you've gained a bit of weight.

Your weight will also fluctuate during the day and from day to day which is why it's usually recommended that you weigh yourself at roughly the same time of day on one day a week.

Your cycle can also affect your weight. I weighed myself the day before my period and I'd put on half a stone from the week before, by the second day of my period I'd lost it again.

If you're eating as you have been while losing weight then try not to be worry, I know it's hard when you've worked so hard to lose weight. Give it a few weeks and see how you go. I'd start using measurements (chest, waist, hip) as well as weighing once a week. As you tone up you'll probably see that even if your weight stays the same, or maybe goes up a tiny bit as you build muscle, your measurements will go down.

I suspect you are not actually burning 500 cals - that would be 5 mile run at a good pace.

Unless you are still pretty overweight. 1 or 2lb here or there as you reach your goal is not worth worrying about. Better to weigh once a week and to take body measurements if you're now exercising.

Aria2015: how long do you take on your home-cardio exercise routine, each time? Is it 30 minutes or what?

Water retention is a big thing - someone on here put the whole scientific reason you can get small weight gain or no weight loss when first starting exercise with good links to back up, wish I could find it - it was very interesting.

Also definitely start taking measurements around all the different parts of the body. I find weeks when my weight stays the same or I get a slight upwards fluctuation I loose cm around various parts of my body, where it's obvious I'm starting to tone up a bit more. Overall my weight always goes down eventually.

Also now you are close to your target weight, you may find that you don't need to loose all of the weight, as if you tone up and become fitter you may loose a dress size without seeing much weight loss. Plus it's much healthier to be a few pounds heavier than you originally aimed for but be much fitter and more toned than you are now.

When you just start exercising, your muscles retain water to help them repair. You’ll find it fluctuates a bit but you’ll probably find you get what’s called a ‘whoosh’ where all of a sudden the water goes and your weight stables out a bit after you’re used to the exercise.
Yes muscle is denser than fat but it takes a long time to gain significant muscle

This is me OP! I’ve been weight training for a year now and haven’t lost a sodding pound. But my body shape is completely different (much better) and I have no where near as much fat/rolling bits. My twin pregnancy/csec tummy is almost flat and my face is thinner. Stick with it and don’t worry about the scales!

I found that I weigh more when I'm all sore from exercise, and when I'm sore my body must be repairing itself and retaining water. Once the soreness goes, the weight goes along with it.

I think the word we're looking for here is denser. Muscle is denser than fat so the same mass (not weight; weight is a force) takes up a smaller volume.

OP, you're toning up. I am the heaviest I've ever been but my trousers are a size smaller and I look toned and fit. I've been lifting as heavy as I can for a couple of years now.

@Lifeaback yes it does though? By volume, a pound of fat is much larger than a pound of muscle. Hence, someone could lose 10lbs of fat but gain 10lbs of muscle, leaving the scales the same but could be a whole dress size smaller.

Weigh yourself everyday for one week only so you can see your weight fluctuating day to day so you don't worry in future about non-linear weight loss. And start using a tape measure to see how many inches you have lost rather than concentrating on the weight.

*weigh

Muscle doesn't way more than fat. People love using that line to justify being heavy to themselves, along with 'I can't lose weight easily because I have a slow metabolism'

blog.myfitnesspal.com/muscle-really-weigh-fat/

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/dailyburn.com/life/health/metabolism-myths-weight-loss/amp/

It's most likely just water retention from your muscles repairing themselves OP. Keep going and don't be discouraged, the number will start to drop again and by exercsising you're doing something that your body will thank you for

Muscle weighs more than fat per square inch. It’s not that hard for women to gain muscle, just harder for them to bulk up because of it. Here you go...

Muscle weighs more than fat HOW? No it doesn’t 1kg of squidgy fat is bigger in size than 1kg of compact muscle. It’s extremely hard for ladies to gain muscle so it sounds like water retention.

Muscle weighs more than fat. So if you’re losing fat and building muscle then you will put on a bit of weight initially. You are actually toning your body, hence your clothes feeling slightly looser.
Keep it up!

I lost nearly 3 stone in weight and then added in exercise in the hope of losing another 7-10 lbs. That never happened - I'm still the same weight now but my body has changed shape and I'm now a size 10 instead of a 12.

OP - exercising a few times a week is good for you. In general. And in future - if you want to maintain the weight loss - and have a toned body with that.
That definitely takes more than a couple of times a week. And - more than cardio only - you do need to add weights.

But - you can’t expect a few excersise sessions with 500calorie burn to cause a proportionate weight loss. And - nothing will change after week2 - it’s unlikely.
500 calories - isn’t that much.
And - you aren’t tracking your whole day calorie burn anyway - maybe you are tired after excersise and move less otherwise?
Maybe your muscles are being toned - and they weigh more...
Body isn’t an exact machine like that!!!!