5 Reasons for Weight Gain Despite Exercising and Eating a Healthy Diet

Did you start out losing weight but the scale is now headed in the wrong direction?

You went into your fitness journey wanting to lose weight. At the start, you were highly motivated. The pounds started melting away easily but all of a sudden the scale began creeping upwards.

There are many reasons for weight gain but if you continue to exercise diligently and eat well, your body will continue to change.

A lot of people claim that losing weight is incredibly complicated. They say you need special diets, tasteless shakes or expensive pills.

Let’s make one thing clear—when you want to lose weight, all that matters is maintaining a negative energy balance.

Yes, it’s really that simple. Either burn more calories than you eat or eat fewer calories than you burn. 

The two factors that help you lose weight are exercise and diet. The more you exercise, the more muscle you’ll build.

Think of your muscles as the ovens where calories are burned. Too little exercise means too little combustion → excess fuel → the excess fuel (calories) gets stored.

So, what happens when the scale shows a higher number despite intensive exercise and a healthy diet? Here are five reasons why this may occur.

1. Your Body Is Not a Machine

It has its own rhythm and your weight will fluctuate within a certain range. This is normal and might mean you see a few extra pounds on the scale the next time you weigh yourself. What’s important is that the weight’s going down over the long term. So keep an eye on the big picture—there’s no reason to panic.

2. Carbohydrates Bind to Water

Did you eat something high in carbs last night? Carbs bind to water in the body (as many as 3 g of water for every gram of carbs). This means you’ll see more weight on the scale. But don’t worry—this is water weight. This is the main reason you may suddenly gain 10 pounds after a zero-carb diet.

3. Hormones

Women may simply have more water in their bodies depending on their monthly cycle. Blame your hormones. Many women gain weight just before menstruation.

4. Calculation errors

It’s great if you are eating healthy but “healthy” doesn’t necessarily mean low in calories. You may have a positive overall caloric balance despite your healthy diet because you’re consuming more calories than you’re burning. If you exercise hard and regularly, just keep your cool. The scale is probably telling you that you’re building muscle mass. Muscle weighs more than fat. In other words, you haven’t put on fat—you’ve added muscle.

5. Slow Body Processes

There is one more reason why your weight might not drop despite all your efforts. If you’ve been through countless fad diets, then you may have lost muscle and tanked your basal metabolic rate. Why? Your body hasn’t learned to cope with less energy.

The effects of fad diets are a huge setback on your journey to reach your health and fitness goals. Instead, eat healthily and exercise diligently. When you’re eating nutritiously and exercising regularly, your metabolism will increase. In turn, you’ll burn more calories.

Find a workout program that you really enjoy, eat healthy food that you like to eat and that’s good for you. Then, stick with it! Make fitness and health a long-term lifestyle change as opposed to a quick fix.

Healthy Weight Loss With Gymondo

With regular exercise and a healthy diet, you’ll teach your body to become leaner and fitter over time. Gymondo will help you get there with regular workouts and a healthy (and delicious) nutrition plan.