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Weight gain from exercise?

post #1 of 12
2/16/10 at 11:04am
Thread Starter 
So, I'm a 44 year old guy, 5'8", hovered for years around 165 lbs. Yes, I know, a little overweight, but I'm trying.

I run 5 km (3 and a bit miles) on a treadmill 3 X per week, in 30 - 33 minutes, depending on how I'm feeling. I bike a bit in the summer and play a fair amount of golf --- walking, no cart.

About 3-4 months ago, I started some very minor upper body exercises at the gym, using machines, not weights. I do 5-10 repetitions at increasing weight levels. I spend around twenty minutes at this (steadily). As you might guess, I'm not doing this to prepare for bodybuilding competitions, but just to tone up a little.

However, my steady 165 has gone to 175 over the same period. My 40 R suits still fit, as do my 34 pants. My diet hasn't changed, and unlike most people, I don't really like a lot of Christmasy food (turkey, stuffing, etc.) so I doubt it's holiday weight gain.

To make matters a little worse, I'm about to have a physical for a fairly large life insurance policy renewal (at a lower rate). I certainly don't need an extra 10 lbs right now.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.
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post #2 of 12
2/16/10 at 11:19am
what are you eating EXACTLY? What do you look like naked? You should be able to tell if you need to lose fat or not. I doubt you gained 10lbs of muscle without really trying. You probably have been eating more because of the increased activity
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post #3 of 12
2/16/10 at 11:29am
You have a 10 lbs tumor. Don't worry though, it probably won't show up on the physical.
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post #4 of 12
2/16/10 at 11:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hartmann View Post
You have a 10 lbs tumor.

Don't worry though, it probably won't show up on the physical.

Harsh.
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post #5 of 12
2/16/10 at 12:08pm
Not to burst your bubble, but you'll notice 10 lbs of muscle pretty quickly. Think about taking 10 16-ounce lean steaks and slapping them on your upper body. That's 10 lbs of muscle.

If I were to speculate, I'd guess you've added a couple of pounds of upper body muscle, and the rest is additional fat that is more evenly distributed on your body. Two words: "cut phase".

Sorry.

Quote:
Originally Posted by WildeMan View Post
So, I'm a 44 year old guy, 5'8", hovered for years around 165 lbs. Yes, I know, a little overweight, but I'm trying.

I run 5 km (3 and a bit miles) on a treadmill 3 X per week, in 30 - 33 minutes, depending on how I'm feeling. I bike a bit in the summer and play a fair amount of golf --- walking, no cart.

About 3-4 months ago, I started some very minor upper body exercises at the gym, using machines, not weights. I do 5-10 repetitions at increasing weight levels. I spend around twenty minutes at this (steadily). As you might guess, I'm not doing this to prepare for bodybuilding competitions, but just to tone up a little.

However, my steady 165 has gone to 175 over the same period. My 40 R suits still fit, as do my 34 pants. My diet hasn't changed, and unlike most people, I don't really like a lot of Christmasy food (turkey, stuffing, etc.) so I doubt it's holiday weight gain.

To make matters a little worse, I'm about to have a physical for a fairly large life insurance policy renewal (at a lower rate). I certainly don't need an extra 10 lbs right now.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.
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post #6 of 12
2/16/10 at 12:21pm
Thread Starter 
Underwearer & plhoang, thanks. Consider my bubble burst.

I suppose I need more Evian, and fewer of those 16-ounce steaks.

And Hartmann, if it is a 10lb tumor, I guess my wife (widow) wins and the insurance company loses. Coverage guaranteed to age 75!
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post #7 of 12
2/16/10 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WildeMan View Post
Underwearer & plhoang, thanks. Consider my bubble burst.

I suppose I need more Evian, and fewer of those 16-ounce steaks.

And Hartmann, if it is a 10lb tumor, I guess my wife (widow) wins and the insurance company loses. Coverage guaranteed to age 75!

No problem - my lifting partner burst my bubble the same way and in retrospect he was right on the muscle/fat composition of my gains. Think about getting a blood test beforehand from your doc to make sure your stats are within the acceptable parameters. Having a single one outside can cost you thousands a year in premiums, so delaying for 4 weeks while you crash diet may not be the worst thing in the world.

With my policy, I'm worth more dead than alive at this point... Recessions are wonderful.
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post #8 of 12
2/16/10 at 3:15pm
If the mirror hasn't changed, it could be hidden muscle.
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post #9 of 12
2/16/10 at 4:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by db_ggmm View Post
If the mirror hasn't changed, it could be hidden muscle.

intrinsic muscle mass. the kind ballet dancers, wrestlers, and rock climbers have... but don't kid your self if you have been eating more - it could just be fat thats in between the muscles.

more lean muscle mass is good though. it makes burning off that extra easy. its a hard balance though because if you work out more you're going to get very hungry...
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post #10 of 12
2/16/10 at 5:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WildeMan View Post
My diet hasn't changed...

dunno
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post #11 of 12
2/16/10 at 5:06pm
the only time i ever tried to lose weight by exercising, i lost about 4 lbs, while going from about a 33/34 to a 31 waist. my exercise was squash, pushups, dumbells. this was a mediocre effort of about 2 months. i probably gained 5-10 lbs of muscle.

the only other time i tried to lose weight i did so mainly by eating less, and not drinking Coke (no change in exercize/lifting). i lost 12 pounds in 3 weeks, easily.

Moral of the story: putting on muscle can easily offset weight lost in fat. but thats fine. BMI is a BS measurement.
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post #12 of 12
2/16/10 at 6:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WildeMan View Post
So, I'm a 44 year old guy, 5'8", hovered for years around 165 lbs. Yes, I know, a little overweight, but I'm trying.

I run 5 km (3 and a bit miles) on a treadmill 3 X per week, in 30 - 33 minutes, depending on how I'm feeling. I bike a bit in the summer and play a fair amount of golf --- walking, no cart.

About 3-4 months ago, I started some very minor upper body exercises at the gym, using machines, not weights. I do 5-10 repetitions at increasing weight levels. I spend around twenty minutes at this (steadily). As you might guess, I'm not doing this to prepare for bodybuilding competitions, but just to tone up a little.

However, my steady 165 has gone to 175 over the same period. My 40 R suits still fit, as do my 34 pants. My diet hasn't changed, and unlike most people, I don't really like a lot of Christmasy food (turkey, stuffing, etc.) so I doubt it's holiday weight gain.

To make matters a little worse, I'm about to have a physical for a fairly large life insurance policy renewal (at a lower rate). I certainly don't need an extra 10 lbs right now.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.

Simple math. A pound of weight is ~ 3,500 calories. If you added 10 lbs, you have added an additional 35,000 calories. Assume you added those in 4 months or 12 weeks, you added an additional ~ 3,000 calories per week or about ~450 per day. Assume, arguendo, that about a pound and half of the gain is fluids (e.g., retained water) and you added ~ 2,500 per week or about 225 calories per day. Your challenge is to look at your diet and figure out where those calories are coming from.

Are you doing beer as a reward for new, hard work? Non-diet sodas, change is places you eat out? Different lunch routine? protein shakes and supplements?

In any event, the calories are coming from somewhere. Much of weight loss is done not in the gym or on the track, but at the table. Same is true with significant gains.

Finally, one last thought, make sure you have not changed scales.
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