Workouts and Weight Gain: What Gives?

Since I’m the one writing this I’m going to go ahead and assume that at some point in your fitness career (we all have a career in fitness as far as I’m concerned, it’s just that some of us never retire) you’ve felt as though working out has actually caused you to gain weight. I’ve heard many fitness professionals argue over the validity of this claim, but if you ask me it absolutely can, and does, happen. So that’s the bad news. The good news is the reasons why it happens are obvious and easy to fix! If you have ever felt or currently feel like you’re stuck in this rut, here’s how to troubleshoot the situation and start shedding pounds again. Carpe diem!

Cause #1: Not all exercise is created equal.
You need to move big muscle groups in order to lose weight, and if you’re only doing yoga I’m here to tell you, you’re going to max out on your calorie burn very quickly. Same goes for only doing ab work during commercials. While any extra physical activity is a good thing, you need cardio to lose weight. Don’t get me wrong, strength training is essential for so many reasons and will cause you to burn more calories when your body is at rest, so you should always include a good strength training program in your fitness repertoire. But if you’re looking to lose weight you’ve got to burn 3,500 calories just to shed a pound. Your best bet? Cardio, cardio, cardio!
I’m not talking about walking 20 minutes twice a week, either. While that may have worked for you in the beginning, it’s not enough. Think of it this way: Walking, running, kickboxing, dancing, etc. burn anywhere from five to ten calories a minute – that’s more than twice the amount ab work or pushups will burn. A 30-minute yoga routine and core workout to follow-up may burn around 60 calories, but a 30-minute walk will burn around 150 (depending on your weight and fitness level). So consider your fitness program and if needed, adjust your cardio plan to maximize total calorie burn.

Cause #2: You workout so you can eat what you want.
I hear this all the time in the locker room at the gym: “I workout so I can eat whatever I want.” Is this you? You hit the gym hard, you go to step class three days a week, you stay active throughout your life...so you eat what you want when you want it. That’s all fine and good if weight loss isn’t your goal. If it is, you need to re-evaluate your priorities. Can you handle weighing more if it means you can eat what you want? Or do you want to be at a healthy weight and sacrifice your weakness for McFlurry’s? You can treat yourself when maintaining a weight-loss program, but it absolutely needs to be a treat. Many people underestimate the calories they consume, especially people who workout hard and think they burn more than they take in at their next meal. When you workout most days a week, you can bet you’re gonna be hungry. But it doesn’t mean you get to eat whatever you want. Excess carbs, whether they’re whole-wheat or not, turn into sugar and get stored as fat in your body. That’s why it’s so important to choose lean protein and a mix of fruits, vegetables, and good-for-you grains.
If you burn 500 calories during your workout and eat healthfully throughout the day, I’ll bet you see results much faster than if you burn those same calories and go splurge at Starbucks afterward. Your “treat” for working out hard doesn’t have to be in the form of food. If weight-loss is your goal you’ll need to come up with a different reward system.

Cause #3: Your body’s playing catch-up.
If you’ve only been working out a short while (4-8 weeks) and you’re frustrated because the scale is going up instead of down despite your efforts to eat right, be the cardio queen and strength train, you may need to just chill out and be patient. So many of my clients get frustrated around week six because the scale ceases to budge or even goes up although their body fat percentage has gone down. I’ve been there; it wasn’t all that long ago I went through the agony of yo-yoing on the scale. What’s happening is your body needs some time to adjust to everything you’re throwing at it. It took years for you to gain the weight; it’s going to take time to lose it. If you keep up your good intentions and great efforts it WILL pay off. Keep up with the cardio, strength train two to three days a week, and stay hydrated. It’s just like going to the doctor and having them tell you that the new medication they’re giving you is going to take a month to kick in: Think of exercise and eating right as your new drug of choice. Your body will respond and you’ll love the results!

Meet the Trainer

Crystal is a certified personal trainer through the National Sports and Conditioning
Association (NSCA).
She has a passion for helping others live a
healthy lifestyle and coaching them to push
their limits beyond what they think
they are capable of.