Been doing Couch to 5K - Muscle gain questions?

I'm in my sixth week of a "Couch to 5K" program, which I am actually enjoying, believe it or not.  I am running a 5K with a friend in a month and I am right on track with my training.

I haven't be CC for a while, so I am going to start again, but I am surprised that I haven't lost a single pound since I started the running, as I had been maintaining and hadn't been active at all.  I have actually gained a couple of pounds.  I am up to running 18-20 minutes and walking for the balance of the 30 min. workout.  I'll be moving on to 25, then 28, then 30 continuous minutes of running over the next 4 weeks.

I can feel a significant difference in my legs and butt and can tell I've gained some muscle.  My questions:  Is it normal to gain weight when you start running if you were formerly sedentary?  At what point might I expect to start losing some fat?  Any newer runners out that with experience breaking through to weight loss?  Is this unusual?

I'm doing the C25K as well. I'm on week 5. I did the C25K last summer too. Last summer I lost weight while on it. This time I haven't lost as much...not so sure why.

If you are building muscle, you are probably losing fat. Muscle does weigh more than fat, so maybe that explains the lack of weight loss.

Happy running!

If you are not counting your cals for the day, you could be eating over maintenance and adding those cals to your muscle. If you're eating less than you're burning, then you wouldn't be adding muscle at all (unfortunately). really figure out if you're eating less than burning. but remember if you're training, your body needs the nutrients to keep the energy up.

When I was training for my first 5k, I didn't lose any weight for the first month or so. I realised that at that time in my life, weight loss was more important to me than a great race time, so I took it easy with training and focused on deficits. 

In my opinion, it really is one or another: Losing weight or training.

Remember, if you're working new muscles you haven't used in awhile, you could be retaining water too.

one last thing: Running has significally imporved the strength in my legs, flattened my belly and my cellulite has dissappeared some. It is still a great workout, whether for lifestyle or weigh loss.