Fat After Workouts

Ive gained 18 lbs in 2 months eating the right foods and working out again! I went from not working out to 5xs a week doing 4 hours of strength training and 5 hours of cardio a week. From running to spin to training with a trainer 2xs a week doing Turkish getups, squats and lunges with a 50 lb bar behind my head to mountain climbers to burpees w weights; u name it, I do it! My strength training is intense, my cardio mOderate but varied! I eat 1500 a day because before I started, I was in starvation mode at 1000 cal a day. I've yo yo dieted my whole life and can weigh 240 lbs and be solid muscle and wear a size 8 which is my problem now! I've gained 15 lbs from rigorous exercise and the right foods! I track everything and am Obsessed! Also gained 1% fat on body fat thing at gym but my quads r ripped and my arms r turning into pure muscle and my love handles r vanishing yet I'm heavier n 1% more body fat! I want to weigh 175 lbs and fit into my size 4 jeans sounds bizarre that someone could weigh so much and be so compact but I want both weight loss and muscle mass! What is going on with my body???

Maybe this story will answer some of your questions

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/me et-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

Maybe you should mention this to your trainer and then your doctor.

Personally I think you are still starving yourself if you are working out that intense yet only eating 1500 cals a day.

I am 5'6" and 155lbs and I eat well over 2000 cal a day and am losing weight and inches. 

You may be eating healthy foods, just eat more of them

EDIT: yeah, think I'll just back out of this one.

it is so hard for me to eat more than 1500 calories since im working constantly. i feel like im eating so much more and am afraid to increase my calories to 2500. what if i start looking like a sumo wrestler? i just fit back into my 31" jeans! and i weigh 240 lbs that is messed up! i seriously just want to go back to my 28" ones and be a size 4 but at the rate im going the scale is going up and my muscles are buldgeing and that fat percentage thing went up 1 percent that u put your thumbs on at the trainers! i do burpees and turkish get ups and lunges w 50 lbs over my head like it's NBD. getting so frustrated!!!!

Something about all this just isn't adding up to me......

Same with me! I'm beginning to think im a freak of nature!!!

Original Post by kelrantymus:

Something about all this just isn't adding up to me......

Agreed.

OP, either the scale is wrong or you're eating more than you think you are.

What is your height? How old are you?

5'9" and age 31. Lost pant and shirt size yet gained weight! Frustrated. Maybe I'm built like a muscle man? :(

Original Post by stacieafoster:

5'9" and age 31. Lost pant and shirt size yet gained weight! Frustrated. Maybe I'm built like a muscle man? :(

Unless you are Ed Coan, you ain't 5'9 and 240lbs of muscle.

Not claiming to be all muscle. Just questioning how I could gain 20 lbs thru vigorous exercise and lose a pant size. I'm down to a size 10 and weigh a ton!!! And don't have much fat to pinch off! I can post pics if ud like

Original Post by stacieafoster:

Not claiming to be all muscle. Just questioning how I could gain 20 lbs thru vigorous exercise and lose a pant size. I'm down to a size 10 and weigh a ton!!! And don't have much fat to pinch off! I can post pics if ud like

I'm curious but not sure how the mods feel. 

Ed Coan was 5'6 239lbs, looked like this and was not natty.  He wouldn't have fit into a size 10 anything.

edited - i now think this is a real post.

Okay, so you are working out several hours per week, including both weight training and cardio, meanwhile eating a very low calorie intake (1500 cals) for your stats (female, 31, 5'9" and 240 lbs) and activity level. 

Your calculations have to be off. You absolutely must be eating more than you think. Your portion sizes are off or you are just not counting calories as accurately as you think.

You cannot be gaining any kind of weight on a deficit as huge as the one you claim, it's not physically possible.

In addition, the weight you did gain, most of it won't be muscle, it's just not.. Females physically cannot gain muscle at that rate (maybe about 1/2 lb per month IF you were eating over maintenance calories) unless you were taking male hormones or steroids.

The change in your measurements (ie clothing size) indicates that you have lost fat, not gained it.

If the fat "gain" reported by your trainer is measured with scales or calipers.. you should know that the scales are notoriously unreliable and the caliper method is only somewhat accurate but only if done by someone trained properly who does it precisely the same way and places every time. I would not rely on either method to track results.

According to CC (using the stats you stated) "You should consume about 2,145 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 170 lbs" 2145 calories is the amount to eat to LOSE weight in appropriate way, not 1500.

That ^ calculation took account of your exercise as stated but not of any other activity you may do (for instance of your job is active) if there is other activity in your life, you should probably target your calories even higher than 2145. 

I work on my feet half of the day in my bakery and drive for 4 hours my commute is killing me, constantly under stress. Cortisol is being released. Also do workouts that most people cringe doing. I am definitely not eating 2100 calories a day. If I burn 400 or 500 calories per workout do I have to eat even more?? I feel like this is a lot of work eating so much but I'm desperate to lose weight! And literally my lbs have increased but my inches have decreased. Not exaggerating the drastic change either!

You are a freak of nature - learn to live with it.  What is the problem?  You are getting "smaller" but gaining weight!  WTH- it just isn't possible but go ahead and believe it if you must

Original Post by michaelduff:

Original Post by stacieafoster:

Not claiming to be all muscle. Just questioning how I could gain 20 lbs thru vigorous exercise and lose a pant size. I'm down to a size 10 and weigh a ton!!! And don't have much fat to pinch off! I can post pics if ud like

I'm curious but not sure how the mods feel. 

The OP can upload photos to her gallery or link to an online photo sharing site, as long as it's not a personal blog/website.