Why do I gain weight when I exercise?

[goatgirl]

It seems like everytime I add exercise to my healthy eating I tend to gain weight instead of lose.  After several weeks of trying to be patient and give the exercise program (mostly aerobic walking) a chance, I tend to get frustrated and give up exercising because my goal is to lose weight not gain it.  Does this happen to anyone else?  Am I not giving exercise enough time to see the benefits?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[rylanmede]

Exercising in contrary to a common knowledge is not supposed to make you lose weight all it does is that it burns fats and make you gain muscle weight which is heavier than fats. But do you see yourself more fit? Because you are combining the workouts with healthy diet then am sure even if you gain weight it is going to be healthy weight that does not affect your health. Exercising also is recommended to those who are stumped on how to gain weight so usually people will recommend them doing exercises so that they gain muscle weight.

[Francish7]

Technically, though, our bodies don't body is convert fat into muscle. We burn up fat to use as energy - our bodies create new muscle from protein contained in our food when we do exercise. The fat doesn't turn into muscle, but it may seem that way. As we lose one it is possible to gain the other. If we just diet and don't exercise, we would lose fat but not gain muscle. If we exercise hard and eat less, we will burn fat and build muscle. If we eat more and do no exercise, we would store more fat around our body and waste muscle through lack of use.

[koki321]

*TRICKING the body by shocking it when you eat different foods and exercises at different times of the day makes your body wonder what you're going to do next. Eating small meals with protein in every meal every 3 hours increases your metabolism from morning to night, even while you sleep. Eating 6 smaller meals one day, 3 square meals the next, then 5 smaller meals the day after, then 4 meals a day after that, making sure you watch your calorie intake but never keeping it at 1200 (the same) but never exceeding calories for maintenance weight, even changing exercises and for how long and at different times, you will see faster results. ;)

[koki321]

To the ones who believe muscle doesn't weigh more than fat, you don't know what you're talking about! In volume muscle weighs more than fat. We know muscles retain water, it is still important to exercise and watch calorie intake for your body type to continue your goal to weight/fat loss. Your body is too smart because it knows exactly when to store fat and when to use it up. If you keep on eating the same amount of calories, same types of foods and exercising the same time everyday and you'll hit a plateau before you know it. You have to shock your body EVERYDAY, meaning, eating different foods at different times of the day, making sure you include protein in EVERY meal and eat breakfast within the first hour you wake up (which is a must everyday), to maximise your fat loss as you burn it with the right foods and exercise. But when you eat the right food at breakfast, it kick-starts your metabolism, providing you with a steady stream of energy to keep you going through the day.  Don't forget, if you're getting 6 hours of sleep or less a night, you are slowing your metabolism dramatically because it seems to have an effect on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity which determines how well our body is able to metabolise energy from foods containing carbohydrates. If you do not eat the right breakfast, your metabolism stays at a slower rate and doesn't get the kick-start it needs to give you energy. Soy in particular has been found to speed up the body’s ability to burn calories as well, balancing blood sugar as well as providing a healthy snack which makes you feel fuller for longer. The idea is to eat foods than burn faster prior to exercise (up the carbs before exercise) and replace it with more protein after, using the 3 hr rule and watching your portions everyday, that way your body won't store carbs into fat. Eat a snack/meal every 3 hours and make your snacks protein only, so the body will force itself to burn fat faster. Eating differnt meals and doing different exercises at different times of the day, including calorie intake (1200 one day, 1400 the next, then 1300, then 1150, walking one day, interval/resistance training the next, spin class the next, swimming the next and so on..) is the key to permanent fast weight loss. Hope this helps.

[slimmy896]

I am 23 yrs of old and underweight(40kg). I got frustrated with my skinny appearance. I eat well. Will exercise like brisk walking,jogging help in gaining weight??

[gbr7519]

Unfortunately, it's all about what you eat. Try eating strictly vegetarian while training, and drink A LOT of water.