Why am I gaining weight even though I work out?
Is there anything more frustrating than lacing up your sneakers, hitting the gym, sweating buckets, dodging snacks, only to step on the scale and see the numbers going up?
You’re doing burpees like a maniac, intense planks, muscle-burning squats, eating salads that taste like regret, and yet your jeans feel tighter. What kind of cruel joke is this?!
Before you chuck your gym bag out the window or drown your sorrows in a tub of ice cream, take a deep breath. Gaining weight while working out is way more common than you think, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing something wrong.
Here’s why working out might still lead to weight gain.
1. Muscle gain
If you’ve been lifting weights like a beast, you might be getting stronger while the scale lies to your face. Muscle weighs more than fat. Well, kind of. Technically, a pound is a pound, but muscle is denser and takes up less space than fat.
So when you start lifting weights or doing body-resistance training, you might gain muscle while losing fat, and the scale won’t be as quick to celebrate your success. Your body is transforming, but the number isn’t dropping.
Fun Fact:
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson weighs around 260 lbs (118 kg). Is he “overweight”? Technically yes, on the BMI scale. But would you call him fat? Obviously not.
2. You’re eating more without realising it
Exercise makes you hungry, really hungry, and it’s easy to overestimate how many calories you’ve burned. That “healthy” smoothie can be sneakily hiding 700 calories, and the sugar content of a small cake.
Sometimes we eat back more calories than we burn, and more than we realise. A 30-minute run might torch 300 calories, but that’s like two cookies. Life is unfair.
Pro tip: Track your food for a few days, without cheating. You might be shocked at where those extra calories are hiding.
3. Water retention
When you work out, especially if you’re new to it, your muscles get tiny tears (a totally normal part of building strength). Your body responds with inflammation, and inflammation means water retention.
Sodium, carbs, hormones, and ven stress can make you retain water like a sponge. So that post-leg-day bloat? That’s not “weight gain,” it’s your body doing its thing. It’ll flush out soon enough.
4. You’re stressed
Intense workouts = physical stress. And when your body is stressed, it produces cortisol, a hormone that can lead to water retention, cravings, and even fat storage, especially around the belly.
Solution? More sleep, less binge, and maybe some yoga and meditation to relax. Science says, people who sleep less than 6 hours a night are 30% more likely to gain weight. So, Netflix can wait.
5. Your workouts are too predictable
If you’ve been doing the same workout for months, your body has adapted, meaning you burn fewer calories doing it. Time to switch it up! Try strength training, or even dancing like nobody’s watching.
Still worried about the numbers on the scale? Don’t panic, take a breath. Weight fluctuations are normal.
Instead of obsessing over the number, focus on how you feel. Stronger? More energetic? That’s real progress.