Exercise making me gain weight - help

ice89

i started exercising more about 4 weeks ago, walking/going to the gym about 5-6 times a week. since this is more exercise than i usually get, i guess this is making me burn more calories so that i need to eat more? the thing is i feel constantly hungry and whenever i eat anything i never feel full. i end up feeling stuffed. as far as my diet goes i eat healthily and am at a healthy weight. i'm not trying to lose weight as such but drop a few pounds.

its as if i am better off not exercising at all, if i'm going to end up the same weight or bigger by exercising more.

does this seem normal if you start exercising more? any advice?

Oryx

You will feel hungry after training. But if you are careful about what you eat, it shouldnt cause you a huge problem. What are you eating?

It may sound daft, but dont confuse thirst for hunger, I rememeber being told this, and strange as it sounds, you can sometimes feel you want to eat when actually you need fluids. Or at least that works for me. Take a drink after exercise, and make sure you are hydrated. Also when you eat after training, eat a portion size and stop eating for 20-30 mins to allow your body to register being 'full'. Then you wont overeat and get that stuffed feeling.

Last thing... Muscle is heavier than fat. So go by your measurements, and not your weight when assessing how you are doing.

AARRRGH

A lot of people gain weight during the first few weeks of their training. Don't worry, the weight will start dropping very shortly.

If your previous diet was filled with fatty food, it's fairly normal for your body to need time to adjust to healthier, less filling food.

Just be patient and continue what you're doing and you'll be fine.

Are you tracking how many calories you're eating? Might be a good idea to do so just in case you're eating too much.

EileenG

You do need to be organised about what you eat. After the gym, eat a protein and carb meal, with as little fat as you can manage. At other times, try to reduce the amount of white carbs you eat. Aim to double the amount of green veg you eat.

Especially if you are female, it's hard to lose weight by exercise alone (I saw a study where a group of unfit people were trained to run a marathon. At the end, they were all super-fit, but only the men lost weight). You need to combine it with a good diet. That doesn't mean going hungry, it means tailoring your meals to your exercise and eating better quality food.

von Neumann

+1 on the food,
Veg, veg and more veg...........

I used to run marathons and there where pounds that would hang around no mater what......started to eat veg by the bucket and they disappeared.

It was alway one of my regrets that I didn't take my food more seriously sooner.
Don't under estimate just what a difference it can make.

Good luck with the training and hang in there .

cowzerp

Exercise is not making you gain weight, how does burning calories make you gain weight?

your choosing to eat extra calories and the food is making you gain weight, cut the calories or you will continue to gain weight.

these sort of posts are the type that give lazy people an excuse not to train, even though it makes no sense, the heading alone would do that.

Purple Funk

It's "Beginner's Progress".

All newcomers to fitness build muscle at an astonishing rate as their body acclimatises to the unusual requirements demanded of regular exercise. Much of the weight you are putting on is muscle, which weighs far more than fat.
No need to be concerned, you'd be foolish to think exercise is causing you to gain unhealthy mass.

One should be far more concerned about the composition of one's body rather than its weight.

cowzerp

Purple Funk wrote: »

It's "Beginner's Progress".

All newcomers to fitness build muscle at an astonishing rate as their body acclimatises to the unusual requirements demanded of regular exercise. Much of the weight you are putting on is muscle, which weighs far more than fat..

Bad advise, this just keeps the op doing things wrong for a longer period, he/she needs to make changes-end of.

No they dont gain muscle at astonishing rates!!, and even if they do-muscle will only be gained with a positive calorie diet, which is not usefull for losing weight..if only muscle was that easy to gain.

oh and the saying in bold makes no sense and is the worst saying in the fitness industry..

unknownlegend

Oryx wrote: »

Last thing... Muscle is heavier than fat. .

Muscle isn't heavier than fat, it's more dense.