How much weight did you put on when you started at the gym?

[PercyPigPie]

I started at the gym 3 weeks ago, having not been for 8+ years. I used to exercise a lot and was surprised at how quickly my muscles came back. However, I am also finding my jeans are feeling really tight because I am becoming more muscly, and of course I am putting on weight as I am adding muscle but haven't lost fat yet.

How much did you put on?

i put on a stone, went up a dress size and ate 3x more than normal

Don't panic, it is very unlikely it is muscle, sadly it takes a lot longer than 3 weeks to build even a single pound of muscle. However, when you do start exercising, especially weights and doing exercises you haven't done before then your muscles will retain extra water to help the rebuild and repair process. This can lead to weight increase due to water retention, and your muscles can have a 'swollen' appearance. Both side effects are temporary, just make sure you are drinking plenty of water everyday and then your body will learn that it doesn't need to retain extra water to repair the muscles. Try not to pay too much attention to the scales, if you want to measure how your body is changing then use a tape measure and take pictures.

Often people eat more when they go to the gym, and put on weight as a result...

I started my diet and upped gym going at same time, weight and body fat % came down each week.

Now 5 months later I can see muscle definition but agree with Lostgirl that unlikely to be muscle after 3 weeks.

Once I reach my target weight I'll try and keep my weight stable whilst I decrease my body fat % a bit more, this will mean loosing fat and increasing muscle mass. If you are worried get a body fat scales, they aren't expensive and that way you can see your body fat going down....

Thanks all. That would probably explain why I am so thirsty suddenly LostGirl.

Can you recommend some scales that measure body fat Foreverondiet? I bought some once but every time I stood on them they gave a very different result, so I sent them back.