A possible (and likely) reason why you seemed to have gained 1.5 lb in a day is because exercise can swell your muscles (especially when initially going back to working out) which can certainly affect weigh-in results.
As for the gained weight over those days, Katie is probably right. The body is able to regrow muscle that it has grown in the past at a much higher rate than it can lose fat. It's called "muscle memory". If your personal trainer is working you harder than you ever have in your life, I'd say that the above two explanations are the most likely.
Plus, it's very important to weigh yourself at the exact same time as you did the last time in order to have accurate references.
Honestly, though, I think people are too preoccupied with the weight number in the beginning. The best way to see if you're doing well is to get your body fat percentage taken again. If it's going down, even if you're gaining small amounts of weight (your actual muscle gains are likely not 4.5 lb, as the swelling goes down eventually), then you're doing good. I'd also recommend keeping weigh-ins or other measurements at least a week apart to minimize the chances of being deterred by what may only be fluctuations.
Don't let yourself feel discouraged. Sometimes it takes a week or two to really see steady results, and when you do, it's so much more empowering and keeps you motivated.
Thanks for all the great info :) I did check again today before reading this, and I went back down by 3. I need to stop letting little things discourage me, but I guess I had a rough first week, haha.
I was thinking about the swelling thing as a theory, but wasn't sure if that was correct. The muscle memory makes sense, though. Just another reason not to weigh myself all the time.
I'm going to try to instead check my body fat once a week. Since, you're right, that's a much better indicator of results.
A possible (and likely) reason why you seemed to have gained 1.5 lb in a day is because exercise can swell your muscles (especially when initially going back to working out) which can certainly affect weigh-in results.
As for the gained weight over those days, Katie is probably right. The body is able to regrow muscle that it has grown in the past at a much higher rate than it can lose fat. It's called "muscle memory". If your personal trainer is working you harder than you ever have in your life, I'd say that the above two explanations are the most likely.
Plus, it's very important to weigh yourself at the exact same time as you did the last time in order to have accurate references.
Honestly, though, I think people are too preoccupied with the weight number in the beginning. The best way to see if you're doing well is to get your body fat percentage taken again. If it's going down, even if you're gaining small amounts of weight (your actual muscle gains are likely not 4.5 lb, as the swelling goes down eventually), then you're doing good. I'd also recommend keeping weigh-ins or other measurements at least a week apart to minimize the chances of being deterred by what may only be fluctuations.
Don't let yourself feel discouraged. Sometimes it takes a week or two to really see steady results, and when you do, it's so much more empowering and keeps you motivated.
Reply
I was thinking about the swelling thing as a theory, but wasn't sure if that was correct. The muscle memory makes sense, though. Just another reason not to weigh myself all the time.
I'm going to try to instead check my body fat once a week. Since, you're right, that's a much better indicator of results.
Reply
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