When people workout, they sometimes don’t expect to gain a significant amount of weight. This is especially in regards to beginners. However, there’s several reasons why you may be gaining weight while working out, regardless if you’re a beginner or seasoned vet. Let’s go over what five reasons may be.
Muscle Gains
You could very well be gaining muscle, and this isn’t a bad thing. Even people who have been training for years can start gaining more muscle than they currently have. This can be due to lifting heavier weight, tweaking their workout routine and things of that nature. Beginners and novices can easily and quickly gain a lot of muscle within a few months, therefore weight gain is going to happen.
Here’s a tip, if you want to ease up on gaining too much muscle, then switch to lifting light weights. You’ll still gain some muscle mass, but it won’t be as much as you would if you were lifting heavy. All it takes is a few tweaks to your workout routine to gain muscle fast or to slowly gain muscle.
Water Retention
Perhaps you’re gaining weight due to retaining water, which is very common for people who workout. Many people drink a lot of water during their workouts, as they should. Then they’ll keep drinking water after their workouts, as well as before they train. There’s nothing wrong with this, but holding water will contribute to your weight.
However, this shouldn’t be too much of a concern, but there are a few things you can do to retain less water. You can lower stress levels, get plenty of sleep and eat healthy foods. Eventually you should be able to get rid of excess water.
Your Diet
Take a look at your diet because this is a leading reason people gain weight while working out. A lot of people carbo-load, which means they consume a lot of carbs before they workout. Carbs can contribute to weight gain, but so can the overall number of calories you’re taking in.
Also, eating unhealthy foods can definitely cause you to gain weight. If you eat a lot of junk food and sugary beverages, you’re bound to gain unhealthy weight. If this starts happening, then take a look at your diet and only stick with eating normal foods. This includes fruits, nuts, oats, veggies and so forth. Stay faraway from foods you know are bad for you.
Sugar Conversion
Your body needs energy for working out, and this is why sugar is turned into glucose. It fuels your body so you can workout, and in turn you can gain a little bit of weight. Don’t worry though because as your body gets used to training regularly, the weight gain (related to sugar conversion) should ease up.
Supplements
Are you taking supplements such as protein, testosterone booster or anything else for that matter? If so, then this could very well be the reason for gaining weight. In fact, many protein shakes have a lot of calories in them, so if you don’t want to gain more weight, then opt for a protein supplement that’s high in protein and low in calories and fat. When it comes to using supplements, make sure you compare as many products as you can and then choose the ones that you believe will provide you with the best results.
Those are five reasons why you may be gaining weight while working out. There are many other potential reasons, but those are the top ones. Just keep exercise regularly, eating healthy and continue to stay focused and you’ll be alright.