I exercise and weigh more than before, yet I still feel better.
Why Do We Gain Weight When We Start Exercising?
You might be familiar with this scenario. You've finally committed to regular exercise, you’re sticking to your training plan, sweating several times a week, eating healthier than before... and when you step on the scale, you’re shocked. "I’m exercising and I weigh more than before!" This can’t be true! Is it some kind of mistake?
Before you throw the scale out the window or angrily cancel your gym membership, take a pause. This isn’t a failure, but a natural process with a logical explanation. In reality, gaining weight from exercise can be a sign that your body is changing for the better.
Not All Weight Is the Same
The first step to understanding the situation is realizing what exactly a personal scale measures. It doesn’t account for the difference between fat, muscles, water, or bones. It shows just one single number. However, the body is composed of many components, each weighing differently.
For instance, muscles are denser than fat – they take up less space but weigh more. This means that a person can show more kilograms on the scale yet be slimmer than before. If you’re exercising regularly, especially strength training or intense workouts, it’s quite possible you’re gaining weight due to an increase in muscle mass.
Even after a few weeks of regular exercise, the body starts to respond – it firms up, gains strength, and creates new muscle cells. This process is beneficial, healthy, and desirable. And, of course, the scale reflects this. But that doesn’t mean something went wrong. Quite the opposite.
The Invisible Water
Another factor that can affect the number on the scale is water retention in the body. As you begin exercising, your muscles experience tiny micro-tears – a normal part of adapting to stress. The body responds by sending more water to the tissues to aid recovery. This effect can lead to a temporary weight increase, unrelated to fat gain.
Additionally, water retention can be caused by dietary changes. For example, if you start consuming more protein or healthy carbohydrates, the body reacts by adjusting water management. Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen, which binds water – up to three times the volume of the glycogen itself. So, if you’ve increased your intake of complex carbohydrates (e.g., whole grains, sweet potatoes, or legumes), the scale might temporarily spike, even though it’s part of a healthy process.
A Familiar Story
Marie, a 34-year-old accountant from Olomouc, decided to lose weight and improve her fitness. She started attending circuit training twice a week and running on weekends. Besides that, she ate more vegetables, cut down on sweets, and focused on quality proteins. After a month, she felt more energetic, less tired, and noticed her clothes fit better. But the scale? It showed two more kilos than at the start.
“I was completely confused," she says. “On one hand, I saw changes in the mirror, but the number on the scale really threw me off." Only after talking to her trainer did she understand that weight gain is a normal part of body transformation and that muscles are heavier than fat. Today, she doesn’t focus so much on the scale and monitors mainly how she feels.
Why It’s Better to Track Other Indicators Than Just Kilograms
Weight is far from being the only – or the best – indicator of progress. Much more important is body composition, the ratio of muscle to fat. This can be measured more accurately with bioimpedance scales or caliper tests, or even better, with professionals.
But even without devices, there are ways to know you’re headed in the right direction:
- Clothing becomes looser or fits better
- Your physical performance improves – you can do more squats, run longer, lift heavier weights
- You have more energy and a better mood
- You sleep better and recover more efficiently
- Waist or hip circumference decreases, even if the weight stagnates
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All these are clear signs of improved fitness and health that the scale often fails to capture.
The Body Isn’t a Machine, Results Aren’t Immediate
Today, we’re accustomed to quick results. But physiology can’t be bypassed. If you start exercising and transition from a sedentary lifestyle, the body needs time to adapt to changes. Initially, weight gain can be part of the adaptation, and only later does fat loss begin to manifest.
Moreover, everyone is different. Some react to exercise faster, others slower. Some gain muscles easily, others not so much. It’s important not to compare yourself to others but to track your own progress.
“Success in weight loss isn’t about what the scale shows, but how you feel – physically and mentally," says nutritional specialist Karolína Foukalová, who focuses on a healthy lifestyle. “Much more crucial than losing kilograms is gaining health, strength, and balance."
What to Do When the Scale Doesn’t Move in the Right Direction?
You’ve been exercising for several months, but the results aren’t showing? The problem might not lie in the exercise itself but in other factors that influence it. Sleep is crucial – a poor night disrupts hormones, and the body stores more fat. Stress? That’s a chapter on its own – long-term stress raises cortisol levels, which promotes fat storage, especially in the abdominal area. And what about food? Even a “healthy” diet can be more caloric than you think. Or, conversely, you eat so little that the body slows down metabolism. And then there’s the exercise itself – if you keep doing the same thing, the body adapts. Try something new or push yourself harder.
Sometimes it’s helpful to consult a professional – a trainer, nutritionist, or physiotherapist – who can help identify what’s hindering your progress.
Measure Success with Different Eyes
In a world obsessed with numbers and the image of the “perfect" body, it can be challenging to perceive success differently than through the scale. But that’s the key to long-term health and mental well-being. Instead of focusing on kilograms, try observing how your strength, flexibility, posture, or lung capacity changes. How your confidence, motivation, and satisfaction with your body grow.
So, if you’ve recently sighed: “I’m exercising and I weigh more than before," don’t despair. It might just be a sign that your body is finally functioning as it should. An indicator that you’re changing – not just on the surface, but deep down. And that’s far more important than any number.
