Creeping weight gain :( wah ! ...suggestions/support?!

C

chammer

Cathlete
First off, I am LOVING STS !! Seeing great muscle and strength gains and am sore after every workout so I know how hard I'm working! I'm no stranger to Cathe or intense free weights either (which I've done off and on on my own for 13 years)...this post is slightly more than 'STS' but I figured for those doing this level of intensity, you might have some good insight?

I'm averaging 5 - 6 days/week - usually 3 STS + another weighted workout and 2 - 3 days of cardio.

So, my frustration is that I've been steadily gaining about .3lb per week since I started STS 10 weeks ago, for a total of 3.5 lbs (from 117.5 to 121 at 5'4" ) !! :( I know it may seem I'm obsessing alittle over 3.5lbs, but I've already gained a few lbs that would never go away just before I turned 30 (now at almost 34) and I'm slightly freaking out that creeping weight gain is a trend for my future !! eek ! I workout WAY too hard and eat too well for that :( (I know, I'm whining a little ;-) sorry... !)

I know it's mostly muscle and I generally have a pretty darn clean diet ...(i.e. yesterday: fiber one cereal/milk, snack: 1/2 big protein bar, lunch: mixed greens with lots of veggies, lowfat dressing + 1/4 avocado + 2T hummus, nonfat greek yogurt, snack: celery with about 2T peanut butter, dinner: garden salad with carrot, beet, garbanzos, cottage cheese, 2/3 chicken breast, broccoli - portions all pretty reasonable especially given how low cal much of it is - and some days I eat more, some less) ...much cleaner and I'd have to totally obsess about it, which I don't want to do and don't feel is healthy...but I also am not keen on gaining any more lbs...

My bad habits are not drinking enough H20 as a general rule and having a few glasses of wine on weekends (which I'm not giving up ! ;-) ...yet anyway!)

Would love any thoughts/input...meanwhile I'm upping my cardio and protein and going to attempt to cut portions a wee bit...I guess...

Thanks to those who made it thru my long rant :) !!
 
Sounds like muscle mass, to me! I'd only become concerned if your clothes fit more snug, and your parts become more jiggly.

If you are eating like you say that you are, and you continue to gain weight, and it is fat rather than muscle, you may want to have your thyroid checked.
 
How old are you?

Because I found that creeping post-40 weight gain a few years ago... it seems impossible to avoid (even with diet and exercise).

Still, yours sounds like increased muscle mass -- especially because it's crept on since you started STS.

How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Those are probably better indicators than the scale!
 
Pearlstrand said:
Still, yours sounds like increased muscle mass -- especially because it's crept on since you started STS.

How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Those are probably better indicators than the scale!
Click to expand...

This is pretty much what I was going to say... so.. What she said!

3.5 pounds of muscle mass is quite a bit, but it's very possible it's a combination of muscle mass and fluid that is being retained in your muscles. Did your weight go down a little bit during your recovery week(s)?
 
You guys are awesome, thanks for the replies !

Yes, it did drop probably 1.5-2lbs during recovery, but was VERY prompt to come back on startup again...so, muscle + fluid probably? And, I'm hoping lots more water will help maybe ? :p More water sounds better than less food anyway :eek: !! Thanks again !
 
Focus on drinking lots of water, maybe look into taking a probiotic if you don't already, and take some measurements!
 
chammer said:
You guys are awesome, thanks for the replies !

Yes, it did drop probably 1.5-2lbs during recovery, but was VERY prompt to come back on startup again...so, muscle + fluid probably? And, I'm hoping lots more water will help maybe ? :p More water sounds better than less food anyway :eek: !! Thanks again !
Click to expand...

I actually gained weight too during this STS which is not what I wanted. I have gained strength and love the workouts.

I just feel that my body needs cardio to lose the weight so while we are working on the MUSCLES we need to be working on the HEART. So, I've been doing cardio between the STS days (even ran intervals on my treadmill which I find treadmills to be BORING!!)

I only weigh in and measure on the 1st of each month (April I was up to 132 at 5'2!) I'm scared to get on the scale this month because I want to see some weight loss. I would love to see 128-129!!!

Wish me luck - I'm off to do plyo legs and then next week Meso 3 week 3!
 
I've gained about 3.5 lbs since starting STS too and some of it is fat but definitely some of it is muscle. I got on my body fat scale (Tanita) yesterday for the first time in a long time and my body fat % had dropped 1%. I wouldn't freak out too bad... Plus if you are sore you'll be retaining water. I figure once STS is over, I'll bump up the endurance and cardio and I'll shed a few of those pounds and be in BETTER shape than ever. ;)
 
Muscles do retain water when you work them hard, so if you weigh the day after a heavy weight workout, that could account for some of the gain. However, it usually takes women quite a long time to gain pounds of muscle, and 3.5 pounds of pure muscle would be quite a feat. I'm not saying that some of it isn't muscle, but I doubt all of it is. I think you probably will lose some during your recovery week, especially if you hit the cardio hard and often. One thing I noticed with your food choices is that a few of them are fairly high-calorie, i.e. the Fiber One cereal with milk, the protein bar, and hummus can be, depending on its ingredients. Not saying that's a bad thing, especially early in the day after a workout. Perhaps you could try focusing on lean protein (chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites) and fibrous veggies for a day or so and see what happens. Allow a couple of starchy carbs (whole grain bread, sweet potato, or oats) very early in the day. Eat small portions every 3 hours, allowing yourself 5 or 6 small meals per day. That might stop the gain and even allow a pound or two loss.
 
i couldn't agree more jansherman.. i seriously doubt any of us could put on 3.5 lbs of muscle so quickly. i was going to suggest the poster track her calories for a while and make sure she is creating a deficit most days...
 
Hey y'all - thanks again for all the encouragement :)

One update that might encourage others as well - I re-measured to compare with pre-STS and ALL measurements were the same - my hips actually shrunk 1/2" - I think my muscles have gotten denser or something - they're certainly firmer/more defined, etc..!!

It's a tough adjustment, learning to give the scale less emphasis and yet not ignore it altogether !!! :rolleyes:

Am taking suggestions and adding MORE cardio, more h20, eating pretty consciously (i.e. limiting starchies), etc... and I already feel better regardless of the SCALE !! :eek:

thanks again !!
 
Thank God! I thought it was just me! I'm in Meso 3, Week 2 and this morning I put on my pants and they were tight!!! I have not gained or lost any weight, but my legs must be getting bigger. I don't know if I'm building more muscle, which I really didn't want, I wanted to be leaner; or if because STS has only one leg workout per week and I'm losing the tightness I had before. I do cardio on the days between STS, but I'm starting to think I'm going to do Debbie Siebers Firm it Up twice a week between STS workouts because that worked before. I really like the upper body work on STS, but feel the legs/lower body workouts are lacking...especially since my legs/lower body are my trouble spot.
 
i am in week 1 of meso 3 and have gained weight and inches and have increased in weight. i eat clean but doing sts does not give me any motivation to do cardio so i have not been doing it as much as i used to. sorry,i know many dont feel that way

laura
 
I find it really interesting that several of you have gained around 3 pounds--that's exacty what I've gained too! I'm on the 6 month rotation and just started Meso 2. However, my clothes fit about the same, if not better, and I can see a lot more slimming and definition, so I'm just staying off the scales for now
 
I just finished Meso 2 yesterday and I have gained 5 pounds! And I went into STS needing to lose around 10. My body fat has dropped 4% but all of my clothes are tight now and I can't help but find it depressing. I've been running 7 miles a day/ 3 days a week on the cardio days. I'm hoping to see the weight dropping in Meso 3, but am a little worried about it since that's the Meso where you really add strength. I really don't need to get any more muscular. Sigh. :confused:

It helps to hear that some of you are dealing with this too. And especially reassuring to hear from you all that finally saw it kicking in during Meso 3.

Now I'm just going to enjoy my week of rest.

Becky
 
well this thread is scary! i started meso 2 this week. i have lost 11 lbs since starting STS and i really don't want it back!

are you guys gaining because you are eating more? what do you think it is? becky, i also run for cardio and i run 4-5 days/week, so i can't imagine what i would do if i started gaining!
 
Weight Gain

A little common sense talk about weight gain. First, it is nearly impossible for even a young adult male to add 5 lbs of muscles doing STS for 3 months. The most muscle a male could hope to add to their body doing STS for 3 months is only about one pound, less for a female.

Remember, more than half your body's weight is made up of water. Short term fluctuations in your weight have more to do with increases or decreases in water retention - not muscle and/or fat.

Second, weight gain and weight loss come from three areas of your body:

1. Water - this makes up about 2/3 of your body weight
2. Fat
3. Muscle

Many times you might notice that you gain 3 to 5 pounds in just one day! Relax it's not fat and it certainly is not muscle. That only leaves one other choice - water! That's right; the only way anyone can gain 5 lbs of weight in a short period of time is from water retention.

Water retention may come from eating a high sodium meal (Chinese food for example) or your monthly cycle. Water retention also comes from glycogen that is stored in your body. At your peak during the day you have about 1 pound of Glycogen in your body. Glycogen holds onto about 3 times its weight in water. As you deplete your glycogen stores your weight will drop as less water will be stored in your muscles. As you replenish your glycogen in your body by eating your water weight will increase. This is a major reason why you are lighter in the morning than in the evening.

Let me give you an example to expand on this. Let's say on Tuesday you weigh yourself in the morning and your weight is 145 pounds. On Wednesday you weigh yourself in the evening and this time you freak out because you weigh 150 pounds. How could this happen?

Well, first let's look at muscle. Even though you did do STS mesocycle three on Tuesday afternoon and lifted some very heavy weights it is impossible to add 5 lbs of muscle to your body in just one day. In fact, it is very hard for a male to add much more than 4 lbs of muscle in a year. So your weight gain wasn't muscle. Well, then it must be fat because the scale says so - right? Well, of course I'm just being funny to make a point. A scale can only tell you how much you weigh, not where the weight came from. To gain 5 pounds of fat in just one day you would have to consume 17500 extra calories more than you normally eat (assuming activity level is the same). This too is impossible as you would have to eat around 32 Big Macs in addition to your normal meals to be able to even come close to adding 5 lbs of fat to your body. Even if a person wanted to they could not eat 32 Big Macs in just one day - It's just not possible and it is IMPOSSIBLE to gain 5 lb's of fat in just one day.

So we have eliminated muscle and fat as being the cause of your one day weight gain in the above example. This only leaves “water” as the culprit to your short term weight gain.

Now I will admit STS can cause temporary water weight gain as can any new and intense weight workout. When you begin any new weightlifting program your body will retain water in the beginning. This is because your body's muscles will store more glycogen when you start a new program and this attracts more water to your muscles. This is one reason why your muscles swell. After your body adapts to the new program your body will stop storing excess glycogen and the water retention will decrease.
 
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