Personal Training

Do You Weigh More After A Workout?

Workout has always been an interesting part of everyone’s life, for them to maintain a perfect figure. That perfection can be different according to each and every individual. But a workout routine helps somehow develop that perfect figure for you. This can also be impacted by your diet and your exercise pattern. But the certain question that arises at the decisive point is, do you weigh more after a workout?

Before working out, everyone is very clear that they want to slim down or put on more weight. According to the requirement, they do the bulking kind of workout or do a workout that helps in spreading them.

1. Workout Routine and Weight Gain

With different people different workout routine is applied to be followed. But it is also quite strict that, no matter whatever rule you follow, following a workout routine is mandatory to get something productive.

A workout routine can also be in your morning workout, and can also be in your evening workout. Mostly it helps in controlling your body fat. However, with different people, you can find some talks about weight gain.

It is believed by a lot of people who do workout regularly that, you can get a temporary weight gain at the initial stage of the workout program. If you are too slim and you start working out, then it can be very easy for you to gain weight.

do you weigh more after a workout
Gaining Weight. By Fuu J / Unsplash. Copyright 2023.

It is because your muscles will start fleshing out, which will ask for more protein and healthy fat to grow further. Any food that you would be consuming throughout the day, can help you in getting that minimal source of protein and you can start bulking slowly.

Gaining weight is never the essential part pff a workout, but it becomes subsidiary with workouts. Mostly if you start muscle gain workouts, then you have better chances of putting on weight.

1.1 Post-Workout Weight Gain

The body composition of an individual mainly decides what kind of body fat you are going to put on. The muscle mass can also start growing and this can affect your body weight in a very positive manner.

But it is the post-workout mostly that is talked about by every individual. It is because, after workouts, one consumes certain protein-based meals or diets, which can help you tax your weight gain, gradually shaping your muscle growth.

After workouts, the more amount of calorie intake you have, the more muscle growth you are going to witness. Most of the time, people confuse gaining weight with gaining the muscle mass.

This is not true in reality, as muscle growth can also happen, without hampering your body fat. If you are not having great body fat, then there are very low chances of your body weight having a true weight gain.

2. Why You Might Be Gaining Weight After Workouts?

Not everyone does gain weight after working out, but there can be a certain weight gain if you have different problems or health issues. Sometimes issues such as muscle fibers being inflamed, or having muscle glycogen, or overwater weight gain, can be the reason.

Most people these days follow the workout routine for weight loss, and seeing the weight gain can be very frustrating. To lose weight you must keep your diet on the spot, and if you are having certain issues, then you should try to maintain a healthy body.

Top Reasons For Weight Gain When Working Out

Sometimes strength training can be very problematic, as it can be responsible for your weight gain. Mostly people gain weight when they would be doing strengthย training andย would not be keeping their diet intact.

A person’s weight can be very stimulative as someone who would be losing fat can start gaining weight working throughout. However, this is not really just the physical activity, but also the diet concern which can be effective.

2.1 Science Behind It

The more intense the workout you perform, the higher the amount of protein and more calories you will need for a better muscle mass. With the new workout routine, you can also get that your weight loss can be affected by this diet process.

However, if weight loss is your goal, then burning calories is necessary for it. But the good thing is, that the muscles can fluctuate with the workout process and diet, and you can feel an initial development.

It is because when we come out of our workouts, we suddenly have a good amount of supplements for building muscle. This supplement and the water intake can be the reason behind this weight gain.

3. Gaining Weight Through Muscle

The most common question that a certified personal trainer can get is, why do you weigh after a workout? But the reason behind it is quite normal and proper scientific in real.

It is mostly because of the type of workout you do and also due to the type of diet you follow. If you are increasing your physical activity, then you can see an improvement in your muscle mass.

Muscle Gains
Gaining Weight through Muscles. By Arthur Edelmans / Unsplash. Copyright 2023.

It is mostly due to weight training and more calorie intake that can impact the body fat scale. However, the exercise program can be very effective in shaping your body features.

Apart from all this, genetics can also play quite an important role in increased muscle mass. If your parents have a good and healthy body composition, then your body composition will hardly get slimmed down.

3.1 Growing Muscle Tissue

Out of all these complexities, if someone is getting an increase in muscle easily, then he should be considered lucky. It is because for some people it takes a lot of time for them to shape their strong and healthy body.

And if this body composition is shaping for you with an easy process, then it is surely a boon. Also losing fat easily can also be a great structure as it is sometimes not possible for a lot of people.

People have this misconception that fat burns more easily than muscle. But in reality, muscle is denser than fat, and it takes more time to make it perfect. On a positive basis, muscle comparatively takes less space than fat in our body.

If you even start gaining muscle and simultaneously lose fat, then your overall health weight can scale up a little. You can find your clothes fit more than before, and after exercise, this can make you feel bad.

4. Water Weight Gain

Normally when we are done with our exercise, we have a higher water intake. This water intake can also be a temporary cause of your weight gain.

This weight gain is considered good for health as it helps in the purification of the wastage out of body. Thus, temporary weight gain can go away after time, and this can also help you with muscle soreness.

8 Things That Can Make You Gain Water Weight | Health

Temporary weight gain can also happen when one is going through the pre-menopause stage. During this time, the body becomes quite prone to weight fluctuations, resulting in hormonal changes.

However, water retention doesn’t work here, rather it somehow enhances the body weight. It is also advised to not perform any intense workouts if you are going through any healing process.

5. Period and Weight Loss

When someone goes through their period problems, bloating becomes a very natural issue. Bloating can stay with you before the period or even during the period, causing weakness.

This bloating can make you feel quite fat and you can also feel that you are gaining weight. So, during this time exercise becomes too helpful to keep up with the body structure.

Even in this case, you can feel the weight gain, but this is a temporary weight gain. This increase in scale weight can be let through if you consume more water.

It is during the initial days of the menstrual flow that you may feel the fluid retention at its peak. The structural damage can also be put in scale, and during the mid-follicular period or the mid-phase, it gradually increases.

6. Sodium Intake and Weight Loss Goals

Although this is not quite seen on a daily basis, still another common reason for water weight gain can be due to sodium intake. Water retention becomes quite high making the scale reach high.

At the same time when you consume high-salt foods, you can also weigh more, even if you do not gain muscle. With different studies, it has been found that, when we start consuming foods that contain more salt, they require more water.

Weight Gain
Increase in Weight despite Workout. By Limor Zellermayer / Unsplash. Copyright 2023.

This increase in water intake cannot be very beneficial as it necessarily does not produce more urine. And if the extra water is not getting out of your body, then there are chances of weight gain.

It is because the extra fluid can add up to the extra pounds and the scale can go high. If in case, your body is sodium sensitive, then the water retention of your body can be way higher, hampering fitness.

6.1 Healthy Food and Sodium

Many people do think that, even though they do not add any more salt to their food, they also get affected. It is mostly because salt is always there in the other processed foods and beverages, which we consume.

Even if you are thinking of consuming some healthy food, also you can find nutrient-rich foods added with excess sodium. This kind of food includes soup, cottage cheese, or sometimes even canned beans.

These foods contain excess sodium as they need more salt for preservation. So, it is better to choose your food intake effectively.

7. Post-Workout Inflammation

When you are working out, it takes some time to figure out that, if the workout process can also increase weight. This increase in weight can indicate that you are exercising hard enough than your body requires.

It is always instructed that the relaxing or repairing process is way more important than exercising itself. When we work out, our muscle tissues get damaged by weight training.

How To Prevent/Treat Inflammation Post Workout

To repair these muscle tissues into their original form, the repair process needs to be better and stronger. And if we still work out in between this repairing process, the inflammation can occur, making things tougher.

7.1 Exercise Influencing Gaining Weight

If you are pushing your body for more than what it can offer, then there are chances that it can come out with damages. Physiologists name it as an exercise-induced muscle soreness, commonly known as EIMD.

This generally happens when your body goes through exceptionally new and challenging exercises, which you are not acquainted with. This mainly causes damage to the muscles and muscle tissues, causing inflammation.

The cells in muscle tissues, known as myofibers get inflamed with the buildup of white blood cells. Due to this, there are also certain chances that you can start gaining weight, but temporarily, mostly after the workout.

However, after this delayed onset of muscle soreness, it can stay up to two to three days. This inflammation and repair is necessary before you take up working out regularly.

Although you can start gaining weight, it is not really a concerning factor, as mostly it is a temporary weight gain. Even if you feel that you are getting a negative sign, sometimes it can also help you in your fitness level.

8. Conclusion

When someone starts working out, their basic goal is to lose weight and become fit, generally. But, when this starts getting into reversal, things can start getting very ironic, making you feel frustrated.

No matter how much supplement use you may cut down, or if you are on the right track or not, this can start questioning your intention. Hence it is better to know the actual reason behind this, through which you can tackle the actual scene.

Apart from regular reasons for water retention, or more iodine consumption, exercise pattern also acts as a reason behind weight gain. The eating structure can also affect your calories, and you can also increase pounds after that. So, you can start gaining weight on a better scale after workouts, and it is better to know the reason behind it.

Last Updated on December 23, 2023 by Sathi