To be disillusioned with my gym progress and weight gain?

[OverTheHammer]

I'm 5ft 10in and started off at 11st. After calorie counting I got down to 10st 7lbs. I joined a gym just over a month ago and have been going 4 times a week. Last weekend I weighed 10st 3lbs.

Now all of a sudden I'm 10st 5lbs. Apart from that my clothes feel weird, almost tighter than they did before. I'm looking in the mirror and really not liking what I'm seeing. I look saggy and old. A bit of definition around the stomach area but other than that, I see myself looking saggier than I did before.

I'm under my calories every day (1500). I feel really disillusioned by it all. At least before I was chubby but looked like I was meant to look that way! Now I just look weird.

As I said I joined gym just over a month ago. What am I doing wrong and why am I putting ON weight??

You could be gaining muscle hence the weight gain.

What are you doing in thr gym? Running four time a week on a treadmill for example will not give you any result. using some weights and resistance traing with cardio and havibg more specific workouts ia what you need.

What foods are you eating? Sticking to 1500 calories is great but if the food is sugary carbs etc it won't help change your figure.

My friend had the same problem. Upped her gym sessions. She lost inches as muscle weighs the same as fat. But it is denser.

What do you eat post work out?

Mainly the treadmill :-( I tend to do half hour on treadmill and then a couple of the weight machines (arms and abs, sit ups etc) then 5 minutes on elliptical as that's all I can manage on that, it wears me out within minutes!).

I'm trying to eat at least 80g protein daily and have carbs and sugar limited on MFP

With an ideal BMI of 20-21, why do you want to lose weight? A 2 lb weight gain is within normal variation anyway- personally I gain about that just before my period each month (I am a similar height and weight to you, BTW).

Many reasons.
Are you due on your period? Some people can put on a few pounds and 2 dress sizes around the time their period is due due to fluid retention.
Someone here will correct me but I did also read that if you haven't exercised for a while and then exercise a lot your muscles will temporarily retain fluid.
Are you weighing yourself under the same conditions each time? You should usually weigh yourself first thing in the morning just after you've emptied your bladder and or bowels and be naked.
Are you drinking enough fluids?

I tend not to eat anything after workout as I lose all appetite. Last week I tried eating a protein bar every night to help with muscle repair but I'm wondering if this is causing the weight gain?

A 2lb gain in the space of a week doesn't mean anything. I fluctuates between the same 2lb difference constantly depending on a variety of reasons. Don't go to the gym to lose weight, go to keep healthy. You will find it very hard to lose weight with your current stats anyway. You may even find that the toning exercises you are doing are pointless. Even endless sit ups won't help tone a tummy if you're doing the wrong kind.

Period not due, trying to drink 2lt water a day

What do you do on the treadmill, run or walk? Do you hold onto the rails with your hands?

The 'its muscle replacing fat which is heavier' is bullshit. Its been proven youd have to do weights 10+ hours a day to body builder standards while on protein shakes and supplements and high calorie diet to gain enough muscle in a week to outweigh the fat youve lost. Muscle gain just isnt that rapid. You may just be retaining water, we all have natural fluctuations of a few pounds.

I'm doing the couch to 5k program on it so alternate between brisk walking and running. It tells me I'm burning 200 calories in each session

I'm doing the couch to 5k program on it so alternate between brisk walking and running. It tells me I'm burning 200 calories in each session

Ok, interval training is good. Just make sure that make the effort to progress from walk/run to run/fast run.

200 calories isn't a great deal extra to burn in the context of a day's worth of energy expenditure, but this will increase as you run faster and further.

So you put on 2lb and are feeling disillusioned?

Can I ask - how often do you weigh yourself?

They always say "don't weigh yourself every day" because it's unhelpful in the long run, but I weigh myself every night and every morning. Let me assure you - I can put on 2lb in a day and lose 2lb in a day. I can put on 4lb over a heavy weekend which has more or less gone by the end of the week. A 2lb weight gain is NOTHING - totally insignificant, believe me.

You sound like you are doing absolutely fine with your exercise and diet regime and should keep going just as you are.

I'm not a big believer in treadmills. I'd replace some of the running with weight training that works the big muscles - squats, deadlifts, lunges (deadlifts you need to be extremely careful with form though). Increased muscle mass will help with burning calories during other exercises. Arms are also a good place to start as you can often see results reasonably quickly - bicep curls, tricep dips, shoulder press and fly. It can be disheartening not to see results straight away but stick with it.

Despite my username, I really do recommend callenetics if you want to change your shape. It uses very slow, precise exercises to tone muscle and build strength without making you bulky. It is much harder than it looks.
I warn you now, it is boring, but it really does work if you can stick with it.

If a do a big weights workout, I often put on a bit of weight afterwards due to water retention. Something to do with the muscles repairing themselves. Plus, as other people have said, it could be related to your menstrual cycle. I really wouldn't worry.

Just a quick bit of unit conversion here - 2 lb is about 900 g. A normal sized wee i.e. empty your bladder is 300 to 350 ml, which since wee is mostly water is 300 g. So basically, don't worry about 2 lb. I imagine many of us can fluctuate by about half a stone when menstruating.

Have you reduced your calories in proportion to your new weight? If not could explain the weight gain/inch gain. Someone at 11 stones can lose weight on a higher number of calories than someone at 10 stones. So if you're still cutting you need to cut more or burn more calories. Check out my fitness pal.

Keep going, I think you should resist the urge of weighing yourself for the time being if you know you are doing the right things in terms of exercise and diet. Your body may change quickly and the scales aren't the best way to measure your progress if you have begun what can often be quite a rapid transition. There are lots of reasons why you could be heavier today than you were last week and many of them are indicators of good progress, don't let that number on the scales set you back.

I agree with @HopefullyAnonymous about treadmills. The drudgery of it can get disheartening after a while so mixing it up with some free weight exercises is a good idea. You might enjoy classes of one type or another, spinning or boxing. Stick with it though and chuck your scales in the back of a cupboard for now. They are not your friend in the early stages of a new diet and exercise regime.

Chillax...
Sounds like you're doing fine.
Weight goes up and down all the time. Mine was 7 pounds higher in the evening than the morning the other day but as long as the general trend is downwards, you're good.

Work on the 80-20 rule.

80% will be down to the food you put in you & 20% will be the exercise.

The food choices etc are all well documented but. Maybe try something a bit more high impact at the gym such as spinning, circuit training or boot camp? The two things do work in tandem. If you sweat out 800+ calories as a double spin class, you can bet your bottom dollar, the food you put in you after will be good, as you won't want your hard work to go to waste.

Good luck & enjoy it

OP, you're on the lower side of the acceptable BMI for your height, why are you so focused on your weight?

If you want to get more toned ditch the 30 mins cardio (10 mins HIIT training will be more effective) and focus on weights, free weights are more effective than machines.

Thanks guys. Just been on the body scanner at gym and it's saying I have increased my muscle mass, decreased my fat mass and overall reduced my metabolic age to 28! (I'm 36!) so something must be right. I'm wondering if the scales are having a psychological impact into how I see myself in the mirror? I know my weight has increased slightly so my body image has become distorted (it's weird applying your psychiatric knowledge to your own self!)

Get rid of the protein bar before bed. If you are having a balanced diet then there's no nees. You should be taking in protein immediately after exercise but only really for a heavier weight session not cardio. Having that much protein before sleeping will not be used and will contribute to weight gain.

I do't know how old you are (because of your comment about looking old). I went to an all female gym/workouts that focused on weightlifting, we were mostly all over 40.

There was a period for all of us were we though we looked worse. It is just your body changing.

There is an element of once you lose fat,your skin doesn't look as good. So you have to put the work in on it, scrubbing/dry brushing/skin firming moisturiser and then see where to go to next, if you want to.

We went by our measurements,but if you still have periods you have to allow for water retention/bloating. I could plateau one week, then without any extra effort suddenly be four pounds lighter, so it averaged out to two pound a week.

Don't give up. Give it more time and then mix up your exercise routine. I threw a Kettlebell routine in and bought a cheap Fitbit to up my steps etc.