I just cant believe it

So I have been exercising and watching my portions forever!! Lately I have been watching the scale slowly go up and I was like...what the heck is going on????
So I uped the exercise, changed my routine...I get on the scale today and I am at a high number!!! I havent been this high in a while.

I am so upset!! I am not over eating!!! I exercise 5 days a week for an hour!! I am so mad.

So this is it! I going hardcore now. Im going back to when I had to lose a lot of weight. IT *****! I shouldnt have to but I dont know what is going on with my body.

To go back to my lowest weight, I have to lose 10 pounds but I would be happy with 6 pounds. I know it doesnt seem like a lot but I have been killing myself and that scale just keeps going up and up.

Thanks fo reading . I just had to write it to make it offical.

Don't worry. This is a common phenomenon. I get asked this all the time. The motivation to start a new exercise program is almost always to lose weight. However, what most personal trainers know and most at-home exercisers do not, is that a new exercise program often can cause an immediate (and temporary) increase on the scale. This common increase in the scale is also the reason why so many people start and then quickly quit their resolution to get fit.

The temporary weight gain explained:When someone starts a new exercise program, they often experience muscle soreness. The more intense and 'unfamiliar' the program, the more intense the muscle soreness. This soreness is most prevalent 24 to 48 hours after each workout. In the first few weeks of a new program, soreness is the body trying to'protect and defend' the effected or targeted tissue. Exercise physiologists refer to this as delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. This type of soreness is thought to be caused by tissue breakdown or microscopic tears in muscle tissue. When this happens the body protects the tissue. The muscle becomes inflamed and slightly swollen with fluid retention. This temporary retention of fluid can result in a 3- to 4-pound weight gain within a few weeks of a new program. Keep in mind that muscle soreness is not necessarily a reflection of how hard you worked. In fact, some people feel no signs of muscle soreness, yet will experience the muscle protection mechanisms of water retention and slight swelling.Most people are motivated enough to put up with this temporary muscle soreness. Yet, many, especially those who really need immediate weight loss to keep them motivated in those first couple of weeks become discouraged and quit!

You upped the ante and changed your routine- this explanation makes perfect sense in your case.

For those of you who are following a new program or a new 'phase' in an exercise program, don't be surprised or discouraged if you experience a temporary gain on the scale the first week of each phase. Another example of this is running 10K's. Even though I run on a regular basis, when you run a race you push much harder. It's natural for me to be 'insanely' sore the next day. Its also very common for me to see the scale jump 4 pounds the next day from forcing fluids post race and the resulting DOMS. Even though I know the cause of it, it's still a bummer. We're all human and hard work should mean 'results'. Hard work equals results, but our bodies are amazing machines and they know how to protect us from hurting ourselves. Soreness forces you to give those muscles a break. See- our bodies are smarter than we think!

Ultimately you will lose the weight and you will change your metabolism in the process. The key is understanding that this is a normal and temporary and stick with the program! When to be concerned: If you experience a significant weight gain (exceeding 5 pounds) which does not begin to decrease rapidly after the second week, guess what it is? You know it! Your food (or calorie laden beverages). Newsflash friends.. exercise doesn't make you gain weight. Consuming more food than you burn makes you gain weight! So if after two weeks you are not losing weight, have gained weight that's not coming off, it's time to take a close and honest look at your food intake. It's time to find out what you're burning in calories each day.

Knowledge is king. 'I'm gaining weight, but I'm sure it's muscle'. Possibly, but if you're following a serious exercise program correctly, you should be losing fat and gaining muscle and the fat loss should be much more substantial than the rate at which you can physically put on muscle.

Moral of the story: Don't stress and be patient! You will be lean and mean in no time :)

You are so wonderful for posting that for me! I really hope its true and I am going to weight myself next week and see.

Thanks for that. You made me smile