Exercise making me gain weight?!

[Whu]

Firstly, I don’t exercise specifically for weight loss but for general health and enjoyment. But looking slim wouldn’t be a bad thing! Now, for 8 months I’ve worked out 4-5 times a week -weights, cardio, boxing, squash. I am 5ft 2 and last summer was 64kg, I dropped to 60kg by October which I was pleased about but now I am back to 63kg?!
I’ve not changed what eat the whole time - I already have a plant based diet. I eat healthy meals with lots of veg and lentils 80% of the time and the odd takeaway and chocolate bar. I start the day with a protein a smoothie or protein powder in porridge.
I can’t figure out how that now I am burning around 2000 calories a week more than I was, how have I put on 3kg?

It's because muscle weighs more than fat. As long as you are happy with how you look, I wouldn't worry about it.

So a BMI of 25? Have you noticed a difference in how your clothes are fitting/ improved muscle tone?

It may simply that as your body has become more used to exercise it has become more efficient at it and so you're no longer burning an extra 2k calories a week. The trouble with being short is you don't have much leeway. An extra 3kg/6.6lb over 5.5 months is only equivalent to eating about an extra 1000 calories a week, over what you need. A chocolate bar and a takeaway could easily wipe out any calorie deficit and add that extra 1000 calories, unfortunately.

/also short

I think the muscle weighing more than fat thing doesn’t really apply unless you are very ripped.
I am afraid you are just consuming more calories than you burn OP, maybe cut out some of the added protein?

Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle and a pound of fat are the same... a pound. But muscle is dense.

Are you counting calories accurately? Healthy food still has calories and if you're over-eating then you could be gaining weight. If you're doing as much exercise as that though then the extra weight could be muscle gain rather than fat.

Thanks all. That is interesting. I don’t calorie count as I can never keep up with it as I’m cooking from scratch adding each ingredient is soul destroying! When I have used MFP for food and exercise I’ve been in a deficit.
Maybe I’ve been wrong adding the protein breakfasts - I thought I ‘should’ as I was increasing the exercise but maybe I’ve been going OTT.
Takeaway I only get a veggie curry and some rice every couple of weeks so it’s not too terrible?
I have slightly more arm muscle I think as I can now do press-ups but not a lot! Weight goes straight to my stomach no matter how many sit ups I do I can’t get it off!

Are you happy with how you look?
And you may indeed be building more muscle

I am happy I am fitter and stronger but looks wise not as happy as I was in October when my stomach looked flatter.

If you're not a fan of the protein powder and only adding it because you think you ought to, then there's no harm in dropping it for a month and seeing if it makes any difference to your appetite and weight.

The other thing is, I naturally have less appetite in summer and am a few kilos lighter by the end of it as a result. It may that when you weighed in October you were seeing the results of summer weight loss, and now in March you're seeing the results of winter weight gain which may drop off.

Yeah but you can't put on 3kg of muscle in 6 months though 😁

But muscle does retain more water etc etc. So keep doing what you're doing, clearly you're on the right path 👍💪

I upped my exercise and stopped weighing myself, much better for me, I did gain muscle but muscle gains in women is a slow process (worth it though!)

You're eating slightly above your calorie maintenance threshold. That's all there is to it. Don't add extra protein that you don't need because you think you 'should' - I'm sure you're getting plenty of fuel in the food you eat regularly. Do you snack? Do you eat sweet things? You don't need to count calories necessarily but look to where you can cut out something that will easily reduce your calorie intake by a small amount daily.

This is interesting.

Roughly 30% of an average not over weight woman is muscle. Our average gal can get to a maximum of about 46% muscle, says that link. So if someone starts at 60kg, if she's 30% muscle at start, that's 18 kg muscle. Her max muscle gain without changing her body fat % would mean she could get to ... about 75kg, of which 34kg would be muscle, almost double kg of muscle than where she started.

This concept is interesting, too, fat-free mass index (FFMI) is said to max out near 22 for women.

Just an FYI but if you find you are eating in a calorie deficit and still not losing/putting on weight then its worth considering going to your Dr and asking to be checked for vitamin deficiencies.
I eat a plant based diet and thought it was healthy but couldnt lose weight. Turned out I had a huge vit D deficiency that had essentially slowed my metabolism right down til it was virtually impossible to lose weight (same can happen with a B12 deficiency).
I got super high dose vit D from my GP and Im back on track now though!