One of the frustrating realities of weighing yourself is that weight can fluctuate; You may gain or lose a few pounds, even if you haven't necessarily gained or lost fat. Sometimes you'll even see a temporary weight gain after exercising or eating properly for several days. But why is it?
If you wonder why you exercise and weight more later, it may be because your body is retaining water to repair your muscles. In some cases, those extra pounds can be the weight of water and could mean that you're on the right track and that your exercise routine is working. This is why.
Temporary weight gain after exercise
You weigh yourself first thing in the morning to keep up with your fitness or wellness efforts. But then after your training, you weigh yourself again. Of course, you don't expect to lose a significant amount of weight with just one workout. But you are shocked to see that you have actually gained almost 1 kilo.
You shouldn't give up or feel frustrated. This is simply a temporary weight gain after your workout, and there is a reason for it. It is also important to note that it takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose a pound of body fat or an excess of 3,500 calories to gain a pound of body fat. You are not likely to see a substantial gain or loss in fat over the course of a day or even a few days.
You probably already understand the importance of physical activity as part of an effort to lose weight and how it affects your overall health. Experts explain that physical activity burns calories, but more importantly, it can reduce the risk of chronic diseases . You should aim for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, plus two days of strength training to target all major muscle groups.
If you're new to exercise, you'll likely gain a few pounds in fluids at first. This is because when you exercise, you are causing what is called microtrauma to your muscles; In other words, working those muscles results in small tears in the muscle fiber.
When your body heals these small tears, your muscles eventually get stronger; however, to heal those micro tears, your body needs to retain some water . This healing process will result in what is known as late-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which you will experience within 24 to 36 hours of exercising.
How many temporary kilos can you gain after exercise?
The University of Hawaii at Manoa states that water retention after muscle trauma could cause a person to gain up to 2 kilos in a few days after training.
That can be daunting, especially for someone who is putting everything into an intense workout routine. The University of Hawaii at Manoa recommends avoiding this by gradually engaging in a physical conditioning program , which will give your body a chance to adjust physically.
Water retention due to nutrition
Some of the temporary weight gain after exercise may also be due to the way you are eating, especially if you are eating for an active lifestyle. An athlete's diet tends to focus on carbohydrates. This macronutrient, which is the body's preferred source of energy, is broken down into glucose. When that glucose is not needed immediately, it is stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver.
But glycogen binds to water when it is stored in the body. This usually happens when you are starting out with your fitness goals and your muscles are not used to working that hard so they need more energy. Experts estimate that each gram of glycogen contains about 2.7 grams of water. Therefore, a person's weight can fluctuate approximately 1.5 to 2.5 kilos from the weight of glycogen and water alone.
There is no need to worry too much about this temporary weight gain, it means that you will have the energy you need to improve your performance. And as your muscles become stronger and more efficient, they will need less glycogen to feed . You can expect to lose your starting water weight at any time, from a week to a month after starting your routine.
It's important to remember that just because you can rule out these small fluctuations in weight as fluid weight, it doesn't mean that exercisers are immune to actual fat gain. Some athletes eat too much because they think the training gives them a pass to eat whatever they want, or they overestimate the caloric expenditure of their training. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will continue to gain weight, even when you exercise.
