GAINING weight

[sue320]

At the beginning of the March I slowly started back with kettlebells. During that time (while working on form) I was doing Cathe's 4DS and then some of the cardio workouts from Shock Cardio. My diet hasn't changed (and yes, a food journal is how I know). I am struggling with getting my daily water but am not completely deficient.

I have GAINED 10 lbs. My measurements are up by about a half inch (waist, thighs). I know from past experience that a 10 lb weight gain would result in a two size jump (for me) and that hasn't happened. However, my clothes are fitting tighter and my favorite Horny Toad skorts barely fit (my shirts are also tighter in the arms and across the back).

I think I am changing my workouts up enough. I don't do the same workout more than once a week. My schedule has been in so much flux that there is no week that is the same (a good thing from a workout standpoint but bad for a type A personality who wants everything planned out).

Should I continue with what I'm doing and see what happens (but this is doing some serious psychological damage)? Or should I assume that I am one that obviously builds muscle easily and tone it down a bit? Maybe I'm one that should actually exercise a bit less, as in, circuit workouts 3x week, with the other two days maybe running? I have to be careful about the amount of HiiT because it kills my hip joints (not sure why that specific area).

Typical week is kettlebells 3x week (AOS Providence, Lauren Brooks dvds) and some Cathe cardio on the other two days.

I would greatly appreciate input. I am at a serious self-loathing point as I watch my numbers climb (but body fat isn't climbing, as far as the scale says).

 

[AYLE09]

It's very hard to determine the issue without knowing your exact routine, diet etc, but if the body fat % isn't climbing then water may be the culprit. Has there been any new weight additions to your routine? How long have your clothes been fitting tighter? Whenever I start a new weight routine (for example- i recently started Meso 2 of STS) I retain about 5 pounds of water weight. My clothes get snug and I feel bloated and uncomfortable, but it ususally subsides within a week or so after my body starts to adjust. Try drinking more water. Water actually helps to flush out extra bloating. See if that helps at all.

Read through Cathe's recent article on myths and see if you feel like any of it applies to your current situation. All of her articles are great! Lots of usful info in her fitness tips section

http://cathe.com/weightlifting-myths-debunked

 

[rcsaros]

I was doing KBs for a while and they actually made me bigger and I was gaining weight. I stopped them and went back to traditional training with Cathe and noticed that the weight was going back down.

I figured that KBs are not a way for me to train as it seemed to make me bigger and gain weight. guess they are not for everyone.

Maybe try to back off the KBs and just see if you start loosing again. This is just a thought and something that I have noticed for myself.

Rhonda

 

[Stebby]

You may need to do more cardio. I know that no matter what else I'm doing, if I don't do 5 cardio sessions per week, the weight starts to creep on. At least it sounds like some of the gain is muscle (as evidenced by the fact that you haven't gone up 2 sizes). I'm not sure I would trust the body fat monitor though -- given that you changed your routine some time ago I wouldn't think the clothing tightness is due to water weight.

Stebby

 

[RapidBreath]

Are you getting enough potassium? Without it you will retain fluid. Also, you aren't the only one who gains muscle mass easily. You might see your gyn to check if you have PCOS, that would be a simple blood test for your FSH levels and your fasting glucose to determine if you are insulin resistant. This condition can cause muscle gain and is very frustrating (but not impossible!) to deal with.

Try going without KBs for a month. Up your cardio. For strength just do circuits. Do not use 4DS in this time period. Cardio can be anything that gets you into your THR such as elliptical, jogging, walking (very fast! or with a vest.) any of the step workouts.

So:
Day 1: 45-60 min. long slow burn cardio (your choice) + Yoga (could be a stretch max)
Day 2: Circuit
Day 3: 30-45 min. interval workout (jog/walk is really effective)
Day 4: 45-60 min. long slow burn cardio + Yoga (could be a stretch max)
Day 5: Circuit (like CW)
Day 6: Yoga Today (try any of the workouts with Sarah Kline, she is great!)
Day 7: Rest

 

[whitedove76]

I posted in the STS forum about having the same problem. I just finished Mesocycle 2. Yes my quads, hammies, lats, and biceps are bigger, which does indicate some muscle growth, but my oblique definition is almost gone and my waistbands are a little snug. The advice I got was to clean up my diet and add more cardio. Read my post and see if any of the advice will work for you.

 

[Fit_mommy]

I posted in WhiteDove's STS post that I had similar issues w/STS but, unlike her, I got totally frustrated and quit the program after 3 weeks.
I have been doing training that I know does not cause these problems for me and will be tackling STS again soon but not as produced. I will be adding more cardio to it but in order to do that I have to split the work outs up, doing only half at a time.

I used only kettlebells and no traditional weight lifting for many months at one point. I never experienced what the OP is experiencing which goes to show that everyone is different. I would definitely back off the bells a bit and add in more cardio. Maybe you can create a program that combines the bells with a style of lifting that you know does NOT cause you to gain weight and see if that helps to balance you out a bit?

Anyway, just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents since I know where both of you are coming from!

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Weight Gain - Kettlebells

At the beginning of the March I slowly started back with kettlebells. During that time (while working on form) I was doing Cathe's 4DS and then some of the cardio workouts from Shock Cardio. My diet hasn't changed (and yes, a food journal is how I know). I am struggling with getting my daily water but am not completely deficient.

I have GAINED 10 lbs. My measurements are up by about a half inch (waist, thighs). I know from past experience that a 10 lb weight gain would result in a two size jump (for me) and that hasn't happened. However, my clothes are fitting tighter and my favorite Horny Toad skorts barely fit (my shirts are also tighter in the arms and across the back).

I think I am changing my workouts up enough. I don't do the same workout more than once a week. My schedule has been in so much flux that there is no week that is the same (a good thing from a workout standpoint but bad for a type A personality who wants everything planned out).

Should I continue with what I'm doing and see what happens (but this is doing some serious psychological damage)? Or should I assume that I am one that obviously builds muscle easily and tone it down a bit? Maybe I'm one that should actually exercise a bit less, as in, circuit workouts 3x week, with the other two days maybe running? I have to be careful about the amount of HiiT because it kills my hip joints (not sure why that specific area).

Typical week is kettlebells 3x week (AOS Providence, Lauren Brooks dvds) and some Cathe cardio on the other two days.

I would greatly appreciate input. I am at a serious self-loathing point as I watch my numbers climb (but body fat isn't climbing, as far as the scale says).

Hi Sue 320! I think all of us can completely empathize with your frustration, as we all know how frustrating it is to see/feel weight gain when we are pretty sure we are doing everything right.

I know you are specifically referring to kettlebells here, but I have written a few articles that tap into many reasons as to why you could be experiencing weight gain. Rather than point out the highlights of each article (to name just a couple: thyroid issues & eating too little food to support your BMR), I am going to post links to them below so that you can read them when you have time and take in all of this helpful and scientifically proven information.

But I do have one article that I’d like to bring up now as I feel this information will be helpful for you to have a better understanding of your current situation. That article is “Weight Lifting Myths Debunked” and in it I address the myth that “exercising with weights makes you gain weight”.


Whether it be kettlebells, traditional weightlifting, or even power lifting for that matter…. lifting weights in any capacity cannot make you gain weight. It is truly a proven scientific fact that weight gain is only caused by eating more calories than you burn, not weightlifting. You truly can't gain weight any other way. As I mentioned above, even a male power lifter (and they lift seriously heavy weight) will not gain weight unless he/she consumes more calories than he/she burns. This means that power lifters could do squats with 500 lbs all day long and not gain weight unless they ate more calories than they burned off.

As frustrating as the situation is, the answer is very simple (as long as you are not experiencing conditions or situations explained in my other articles), unwanted weight gain needs to be adjusted by either calories burned and/or calories consumed. It is excellent that you are keeping a food journal, but believe it or not many people who keep journals underestimate the calories they consume. I certainly am not accusing you of anything, rather just highlighting valuable information for you to be aware of because for every 100 calories you are off it could mean an extra 10 lbs of weight gain each year. I suggest reexamining your diet and the calories you’re burning and make sure (or make minor adjustments so) that you are in a calorie deficit energy balance. It’s definitely worth giving a try. Again, also, please check the info in my article links below to see if there might not be another reason you are having trouble with weight gain:

WEIGHTLIFTING MYTHS DEBUNKED

WHY YOUR BMR IS IMPORTANT FOR WEIGHT LOSS

WHY YOUR TDEE IS IMPORTANT FOR WEIGHT LOSS

ARE YOU COUNTING CALORIES CORRECTLY?

HOW MANY EXTRA CALORIES ARE YOU REALLY BURNING?

Good Luck!

 

[sue320]

Goodness! I go out of town and find tons of information when I get back! Thanks all for the input but especially thanks Cathe for the links. I'll wade through them as the week goes on.