What's Causing Your Weight Gain?
I once had a client who, after working with me for about a month, nearly stabbed me with my body fat calipers. The reason? She had actually gained weight rather than losing it, which, as you can imagine, wasn't our primary goal. While I'm sure many of my clients fantasize about stabbing me (a good reason never to give out my home address), gaining weight after starting an exercise program is something many people experience.
The reason for this weight gain is usually related to the calories in/calories out equation - namely, more calories are going in without them realizing it. That's what happened with my client who, after keeping a food journal, realized she was eating more at her meals than before she started exercising. It was a good thing we found that out before she became physically violent.
There are other reasons we may gain weight including:
- Overstimating calories burned - This is easy to do, especially if you're relying on cardio machines, which aren't always accurate. This is particularly problematic when you're relying on those numbers for weight loss. If a machine tells you you just burned 500 calories, but you really only burned 200, it's easy to miscalculate your calorie needs and overeat.
- Eating too much - Like my client, it's easy for new exercisers to overcompensate for their workouts by eating more. Keeping a food journal can help keep you on track.
- Relying on the scale - When you start exercising, you may lose body fat, which isn't always reflected on the scale. You may be making progress without even realizing it.
- Medical conditions or medications - If you're on certain medications or have a condition, such as thyroid problems, it may be more difficult to lose weight.
There are a number of other areas to look into if you're gaining weight and you can find out more in what's causing your weight gain.
In my experience, weight gain is almost always caused by eating too much, but what about you? Did you gain weight after you started exercising? What was the problem and how did you deal with it? Leave a comment and tell us about your experiences.
What's Causing Your Weight Gain? originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 07:00:11.