Why Do You Gain Weight Before Losing It?

If you’re trying to lose weight by embarking on a new fitness and diet routine or stepping up your current one — by doing things like eating healthy foods, watching your calorie intake, and exercising more — only to see the scale readings tipping up instead of down, you may be wondering: Is it normal to gain weight before losing it?

Long story short: Yes, it’s normal. And you’re not alone.

“When someone begins exercising for the first time or significantly increases their exercise intensity, the body will undergo multiple initial adaptive responses that may lead to initial weight gain, rather than weight loss,” says Christopher McGowan, MD, a gastroenterologist and weight loss expert in Cary, North Carolina.

Making smart diet choices matters, too, especially when it comes to lasting weight loss.

Here are possible reasons you may gain weight before losing it, and what you can do about it.

During regular exercise, the body preserves more glycogen, the stored form of glucose (sugar) that fuels muscles. “Glycogen can rapidly provide energy — in the form of glucose — when needed,” Dr. McGowan says.

But because glycogen binds with water, that water can increase your weight slightly in the initial weeks of a new workout routine. “Glycogen binds to water in a 1:3 ratio, meaning that for each gram of glycogen you add, you will add 3 grams of water,” McGowan says. Since glycogen stores increase when you start exercising more, your water weight may, too, McGowan explains. “This can be discouraging as your initial efforts will seemingly lead to weight gain, rather than weight loss.”

What You Can Do

Give it time. Your muscles will gradually acclimate to your workout regimen and need less glycogen to meet the same energy demands, resulting in less water retention and less weight gain from glycogen storage. With regular exercise, your body may eventually even shed some glycogen as your exercise efficiency improves, McGowan says. “Over time, this initial weight gain will be irrelevant as real, meaningful changes in body composition occur.”

If you’re an exercise newbie or kicking off a new routine, a risk is overworking yourself, which can cause injury and inflammation, says Colleen Tewksbury, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor of nutrition science at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia and a national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In response, the body retains fluids in an attempt to heal the damaged muscle fibers, which can lead to temporary weight gain.

“Just as rising glycogen stores will lead to water retention, damage to muscle fibers may precipitate inflammation and swelling of the muscle tissues, contributing to fluid retention,” McGowan says. However, these fluid shifts are only temporary and don’t represent actual weight gain.

What You Can Do

Don’t overdo it! Start slow, with short, light-intensity workouts. Physical activity can support your weight loss goals, but it’s important to remember that pushing yourself too hard can lead to injury. Work with an experienced physical therapist or trainer who can help you find ways to get fit safely, give yourself time to heal after workouts, and never push yourself through pain.

When you put on 10 pounds of fat, it’ll take up more space, and you’ll look softer, but when you put on 10 pounds of muscle, you’ll look leaner. “Per unit volume, muscle weighs more than fat, so shedding fat and gaining muscle may not immediately change the scale but will result in changes in shape, tone, and measurements,” McGowan says.

What You Can Do

Observe how your body is changing, rather than obsessing over the numbers on the scale, and check in with your doctor to make sure you’re hitting the right goals for you. Remember that losing fat and gaining muscle both play an important role in improving your health.

Losing weight isn’t as simple as eating less and exercising more. If you’re routinely skipping breakfast and working out on an empty stomach, for example, you may be more likely to overeat, says Melissa Majumdar, RD, the metabolic and bariatric coordinator at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. “With timing your meal or snack and exercise, you have to be aware of overall calorie intake because your hunger may increase with additional exercise,” she says.

What You Can Do

Besides helping to prevent overeating, consuming a combination of protein and carbs will also give your body the fuel it needs to build and repair muscles.

Good options for preworkout snacks include an apple with peanut or almond butter, or oatmeal with low-fat milk and fruit. Good post-workout options include low-fat yogurt with fruit.

Eating too much before or after exercise can be problematic, too, McGowan says. Protein, which can help you feel full and satisfied after eating, is also the building block for muscle. But consuming excess calories of any kind — including protein — can lead to fat gain.

“Protein bars, protein shakes, and other high-protein supplements can be a great addition to a person’s nutrition plan, particularly when training hard or when trying to preserve muscle mass while losing weight,” he says. “But overemphasizing protein may lead to excess calories without additional benefits.”

What You Can Do

If you want to build muscle with exercises such as resistance training, “it is generally considered best practice to use a food-first approach to add protein to your diet,” says Lance Walker, a physical therapist at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and an expert in sports medicine who often advises on weight loss.

When it comes to protein supplements, McGowan advises reading nutrition labels carefully and avoiding products that contain high amounts of sugar and fat.

And while carbohydrates are a vital energy source, it’s important not to add too many to your plate, McGowan says. “Protein, carbohydrates, and fats should be consumed in a balanced ratio to provide energy, amino acids, and the healthy fats necessary for the body’s function,” he explains. As with protein, overdoing carbs could lead to excess calorie intake and, in turn, interfere with your goals.

As for eating extra carbohydrates, says Walker, it’s not necessary even for competitive athletes, unless they’re engaging in endurance sports such as marathons or triathlons.

Now that you know what may be behind this surprising phenomenon, here are some more tips that may help you move past it as you work to achieve your weight loss goals.

Remember: It’s temporary. It’s understandable to feel disheartened when you don’t get the scale readings you were expecting, but keep following the healthy eating and fitness plan you’ve crafted with your healthcare provider. Many of the factors that may contribute to weight gain before weight loss are temporary and will diminish over time.

Track your average weight over time. “When we talk about weight management and trying to lose weight, we want to look at an average,” Dr. Tewksbury says. She notes that someone may gain 3 pounds in the first week and then lose 2, and that it’s normal for weight loss to be very gradual and fluctuate.

Instead of weighing yourself daily, consider doing it once per week. Better yet, Majumdar suggests avoiding the scale during the early stages of an exercise program. Instead, rely on other barometers of progress, such as how clothes fit, especially if you’re building muscle.

Keep a food journal. Recording what you eat is an important part of a weight loss program. While old-fashioned paper and pen will suffice, you can also use apps to make tracking easier.

People will often consume extra calories without realizing it. “We actually underestimate how many calories we’re eating, and we overestimate how many calories we’re actually burning with exercise,” Tewksbury says. “We typically don’t recommend that people add additional food to compensate for calories burned while exercising.”

Work with a healthcare provider. If you’re looking to try to lose weight and change your diet and exercise routines, Tewksbury suggests seeking advice from a registered dietitian-nutritionist. She notes that a dietitian can help you figure out what to do, how to do it, and how to maintain it over the long term.

Plus, they can help you identify which factors may be interfering with your weight loss, or even tipping the scales higher. “If you start making behavioral changes and you’re not seeing what you were working toward after a certain amount of time, there might be something else going on,” Tewksbury says.

• If your goal is to lose weight and you’re not yet seeing results, rest assured: It’s likely temporary.
• To increase your chances of reaching your target weight in a healthy and sustainable way, talk to your doctor to make sure you don’t have any conditions that may affect weight loss — such as hypothyroidism or diabetes — and consider working with a healthcare professional, such as a registered dietitian.
• Stay the course and keep working on your health and fitness plan to move toward your weight management goals.

Additional reporting by Don Rauf.