Have you ever gone on a diet and ended losing fat but gaining weight to some point? Well, you’re not alone, especially if you are a beginner.

What’s up party people, you every go on a diet and start losing fat but gaining weight? Yes?! Well let’s talk about it! Also, I’ve been eating a lot of protein pancakes smothered with nutella lately, just wanted to shart that…I mean share that.

Anyways, losing weight can be a timely and tedious process, but what if the scale keeps going up? What if you’re losing fat, but gaining weight?? Or your weight could be staying the same as well. This can be discouraging.

As someone who has lost fifty pounds twice and gone on many other mini weight cuts in my life, I have a lot of insight into this. I will go over some reasons as to why you might be losing fat, but gaining or maintaining weight.

This post is all about why you are losing fat but gaining weight.

Insane Reason You Are Losing Fat But Gaining Weight

 

1. Gaining Muscle Not Losing Weight

If you are picking up heavy things and putting them back down while trying to lose weight (weightlifting), you might just be gaining muscle. This is could be very probable for beginners, especially if you are starting off with low muscle mass.

If you have inches coming off your waist and are looking slimmer, but the weight scale just won’t budge, or is even going up, you might have just packed on some muscle. This is known as “body recomposition”. That is actually a very good thing, the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be; so the more calories you burn. That means you can shove more slices of pizza down your throat. So is not losing weight, but gaining muscle really a bad thing?

It is possible to lose weight but gain muscle as a beginner as well. You might be losing weight and gaining muscle, you don’t necessarily need to see the weight scale stagnant or going up

Now, also be realistic. If you’re 300 pounds while being 60 inches tall and still gaining weight or not losing weight even though you’re doing cardiovascular exercises (cardio) along with weightlifting, you might be doing something wrong. If you are that morbidly obese, you need to reassess your calories and cardio. Here are two articles I wrote on those.

Counting Calories: https://fitnessfinancetravel.com/calculatingcalories/

Cardio: https://fitnessfinancetravel.com/cardio/

Also, building muscle mass takes months and even years, so don’t think weight gain from a few days of weightlifting is due to building of muscle.

2. Timing of When You Sit On Your Throne

Your throne? What’s that? Where you go to drop the kids off at the pool aka when you sit on the toilet and have a bowel movement; or, wherever you like to have your bowel movements, I guess.. How much fecal matter and urine you’re holding inside of you can alter your weight as well. If you usually weigh yourself after you have a bowel movement, make sure to consistently do that.

You’re weight can fluctuate throughout the day, so it’s best to weigh yourself at the same time every day. I like to weigh myself in the morning before I eat or drink anything.

3. Menstrual Cycle3,5

For those of that go through menstrual cycles, your body will be secreting a hormone known as progesterone during the second phase of your menstrual cycle, known as the luteal phase, in larger amounts. This will in turn activate the hormone known as aldosterone. Aldosterone will cause your kidneys to store more salt and fluid.

Increased progesterone will also decrease gastric emptying, so you’ll be more backed up.

Storing of more salt and fluid and being backed up will cause you to be potentially more bloated and swollen. Obviously, this is not actual fat gain, so don’t let this deceive you as long as you are mostly consistent with your diet and exercise. Women can gain up to 5 pounds during their luteal phase.

4. Sodium Intake/Fluid Intake

If you just ate very salty food, such as an entire pizza which I definitely don’t do at least once a month, your body will potentially store more fluid. It could also lead you to drinking more fluids as you will be thirstier. It might seem for a few days that you put on actual fat, but as its most likely just water. So don’t go dropping your calories like crazy right away.

Now, this is taking into account that you are otherwise consistent with your diet and exercise. If you are eating way over your maintenance calories and not exercising for days/weeks/months at a time, don’t blame sodium and fluid intake as the sole factor for you weight gain!

5. Inflammation of Muscles4

When you workout, your body experiences tiny muscle tears. This ends up leading to inflammation and your body will store fluid here to rebuild that muscle.

Also, when you start working out, your body needs more energy. It’ll start storing more glycogen (sugar) so it can convert it to glucose for energy. The glycogen has to bind to water to fuel the muscle, so your body will once again be storing more fluid.

Eventually, overtime your body becomes accustomed to the exercise and your body will need less glycogen to store to provide the same energy as your body will be more efficient at utilizing glycogen. It could take a few months to get accustomed, potentially and the slight bit of water weight will come off.

6. Carbohydrate Intake2

The dreaded carbohydrates (carbs). They can cause you to gain weight because carbs will be broken down into glucose which can then be converted to glycogen. Glycogen can be stored in the liver and muscles as needed for energy. The glycogen will store fluid along with it too.

So for many people who do they ketogenic diet, some of the weight they are losing might just be water weight. I’m not saying in any way, shape or form to eliminate carbs from your diet. In my opinion and experience, they are a great source of fuel.

7. Supplements

Creatine is a supplement that many weightlifters take, it can cause more fluid to be stored in the muscles.

I was also going to mention medications that could cause weight gain here as I am a practicing clinical pharmacist, but that’s a whole other topic. If there is any interest in that topic, I can dive into it.

8. Hormones1 (Bonus Section)

This is an entire topic on its own, just like medications. I will just mention some hormones that could lead to weight gain. My intention with this post was more so to target topics that lead to nonfat weight gain, with hormones, it could lead to actual fat gain. I will just mention some hormones to keep in mind, but please discuss these with one of your trusted health care professional(s) for more detail. If enough people are interested I can write a post diving into these on their own as well.

• Cortisol
• Insulin
• Ghrelin
• Leptin
• Estrogen
• Neuropeptide Y
• Glucagon-like Peptide-1
• Cholecystokinin
• Peptide YY

Taking all of this into account, it’s important to not just look at the weight scale. You have to take progress pictures as well and perhaps measure your body fat percentage. Just be patient and stay consistent! Consistency is key!

This post was all about why you might be losing fat but gaining weight. Stay consistent and don’t let little fluctuations scare you!

 

Disclaimer: I’m not your doctor. Please consult your doctor, nutritionist or any health care professional before making any changes in your own lifestyle. These blogs are just me sharing my knowledge for you reading entertainment purpose only. None of this is medical advice.

Other Posts You May Like 

1. EVERYTHING You NEED To Know About Weightlifting If You Are a Beginner
2. BEST Post On Low Intensity Steady State Cardio
3. EVERYTHING About High Intensity Interval Training Vs. Low Intensity Steady State Cardio 

Sources

1. Bell, and Bell. “Hormones and Weight Gain: How to Fix the Hormones That Control Your Weight.” OB/GYN Associates of Alabama, May 2023, obgynal.com/hormones-and-weight-gain.
2. Chandler, Brynne. “Can a High-Carb Diet Cause You to Retain Water?” LIVESTRONG.COM, Nov. 2018, livestrong.com/article/309135-can-a-high-carb-diet-cause-you-to-retain-water.
3. Nunez, Kirsten. “Is It Normal to Gain Weight During Your Period?” Healthline, 7 Dec. 2018, healthline.com/health/womens-health/weight-gain-during-period.
4. Team, Bone, Muscle and Joint. “I Just Started Exercising — Why Am I Gaining Weight?” Cleveland Clinic, 17 Mar. 2023, clevelandclinic.org/just-started-exercising-gaining-weight. Team, Bone, Muscle and Joint. “I Just Started Exercising — Why Am I Gaining Weight?” Cleveland Clinic, 17 Mar. 2023, health.clevelandclinic.org/just-started-exercising-gaining-weight.
5. The Editors of Women’s Health For WomensHealthMag.com. “5 Causes of Weight Gain During Your Period, According to Experts.” Women’s Health, 21 July 2023, womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a19995542/weight-gain-during-period.
6. “What Is Water Weight?” Verywell Health, Nov. 2022, verywellhealth.com/water-weight-5084170#citation-4.

 

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