To think that swimming is making me bigger???

[Springheeled]

I've started swimming 2-4 times a week, 30-40 lengths of 25m pool and I swear it's making me bigger- I've just tipped the scales at half a stone heavier than 6 weeks ago. How can this be????

Eating more to compensate, probably?

Muscle is heavier than fat. You are toning up and burning off fat.

There is research about that swimming is no good for weight loss. There are reasons why that I can't remember.

Plus, the chlorine induced munchies might be the cause?!

Oh dear.. I bust my knee running so swimming is my only option- thought I was being so good! I can feel the weight on my middle so it's not toning- though my arms are less flappy underneath

I bulk up with swimming and slim down with running. Swimming makes me hungrier than running too.

Swimming always makes me feel starving!

I agree, muscle is much denser than fat so you may actually be "smaller" but weigh more if that makes sense.

There's 2 reasons I know of - 1) swimming officially makes you hungry, so you eat more afterwards 2)in other sports your core body temp is raised which Burns calories, this doesn't happen in swimming.
Also, are you pushing yourself as much as you would if you went running?

I read somewhere once about the way your body has to work to keep you warm while swimming drives you to want more calories. Sounded plausible and may explain your weight gain.

Can you add in some cv exercise on a bike? Or some weights?

Have you tried measuring yourself, rather than weighing to see if you're losing inches/cms?

Yeah I've heard swimming isn't very good for weight loss. It's good exercise for other things though just not for weight loss.

I'll have to start running again really gently I think but can't risk my knee again. I thought I was doing so well! But I definitely don't feel I'm using up as much effort swimming- I do the strokes properly and mix them up but I don't get that breathless feeling and can only do 75 metres without a little stop at the end. Boooo!

swimming is movement, which is exercise, which burns calories. Burn more than you eat and you will lose weight.

but toned bodies can weigh more than skinny shopper bodies. The mirror will tell you if you are going the right way.

A woman would not put on 7lbs of muscle in six weeks by swimming- even lifting heavy weights and eating tons of protein wouldn't be enough to do that.

Maybe track calories in and calories out on My Fitness Pal for a bit to see what's going on there. Resistance work is best for boosting metabolism and burning fat. Might be worth a session with a decent personal trainer to devise a routine you can do with your bad knee.

Swimming is pretty good exercise - you should be getting a good cardio workout along with working virtually every muscle group. Getting your heart rate up is the key thing for burning fat, flat out sprints followed by a few steady lengths for recovery is the most effective way.

If you think you're gaining weight they try logging everything you eat for a week into an app like MyFitnessPal - it's most likely that you're eating back the calories you burn, plus more. It's a lot easier to cut 3500 calories out of your diet to lose a pound in weight than it is try and exercise it off (it would take 9 or 10 hours of moderate paced swimming to burn 3500 calories).

I swim and I too seem to be putting on weight. However, I am noticing that I am toning up and my goodness I feel so much fitter. I definitely get warm when I swim and my heart rate increases. I also find that when I swim lots (i.e. multiple sessions a week; I do a minimum of 1km) do lose weight after a while. The other thing to do is try not to eat more! My downfall after a good swim is hot buttered toast which I have now cut out .

I blooming love swimming.

I think I absorb water when I'm swimming lol

Definitely tmi but I can wee for England when I've been swimming and I don't swallow water -very odd

The reason you pee more is because bodily immersion in water increases your glomerular filtration rate (in plain English that means your kidneys make more wee). I don't know why but it's what I was taught

It can't be muscle, as Earslaps says...pretty much impossible - sorry!

More likely you are hungry and eating more than you think/are burning when swimming - sorry again

On the plus side - you will be getting stronger and fitter and probably feeling better!

I wouldn't try running if you have a dodgy knee. What would be good is some weight training though - as well as keeping the swimming if you like. That will give you great results (though don't use the scales to judge - because you are likely to gain muscle in this case - take measurements/pics to track progress) - get some proper instruction and go heavy .

Then I would push yourself to 100m so that you do get breathless. Try timing yourself too, then trying to beat it.

Swimming has helped me lose weight. It does burn calories, depending on how fast and heavy you are.
The main thing though is not to use it as an excuse to eat more. I eat the same amount on swimming days as I do on non swimming days.

I have had exactly the same also resting after a running injury but I do it for my head mainly but yes I also find myself ravenous after swimming whereas with running I would feel sick literally for hours.

Try spinning op think you should be ok w ith the knee and you do burn lots of calories

Most people don't swim hard enough to lose weight by swimming.

If I swim on my own that includes me. A club session though is a totally different story. Raises body temp enough that appetite is suppressed rather than starving.

Most people don't swim hard enough to lose weight by swimming.

If I swim on my own that includes me. A club session though is a totally different story. Raises body temp enough that appetite is suppressed rather than starving.