Jwolf wrote:La wrote:Jwolf wrote:The study doesn't really explain WHY some people gain weight when exercising-- it only confirms that some people do. The "breakthrough" that they talk about is how the people that you can tell already after 4 weeks whether someone is in that weight gain or no weight gain pattern-- that's why the quote above about stepping on the bathroom scale after a month into an exercise program.
They don't get to the root cause, but at the highest level they do explain that some people respond to exercise with weight loss and some don't. So when someone asks their trainer why they gained weight when they started exercising, the answer [should[/i] be "Because some people don't respond to exercise by losing weight," rather than the usual, "Because you're gaining muscle."
This is true for sure-- I wish people would just STOP using the "you're gaining muscle" response if someone is only doing cardio exercise-- it's simply not true.
OTOH, I have seen some remarkable-looking body changes when people incorporate weight training into their routine-- their clothes fit differently, they drop inches and sizes, but overall gain weight. In that case they are gaining muscle while losing fat. I need to learn how to do that.
When I get the formula right, that is cardio and weights, I have gained weight, gone down a pants size and had people tell me I look like I am 160 but in actuality I was 190. But before that happens, I have to go through the Bulgarian Olympic weight lifter phase where I gain weight, my pants to do not fit and people mention that I look bigger. During that stage, I know I am adding muscle and weight but not at the lose fat portion of the program. And if I do not balance that out with the right amount of cardio and intervals, then I just get and look bigger.
This year, come hell or high water, I am following a weight program for 16 weeks - 14 weeks less a day to go. I was around 200 pounds for the October marathon and when I last looked, I am now 209. So the response should be that some people respond quicker, some do not respond and others do gain weight through muscle or it may be too early to say where that person fits in. As Ian noted, the body is a very complex machine that does not easily fall into nice neat sayings.