When you start exercising, there’s a chance that you don’t lose weight, lose very little, or even gain weight. This might discourage some people, even though they are making progress. That’s because you’re building muscle mass—and muscle weighs more. Even if you don’t lose weight immediately, physical activity is still great for your health.
If you’ve started exercising without increasing your food intake, then any weight gain is likely due to added muscle mass. Measuring your waist circumference can also show whether you’ve lost belly fat, which reduces your risk of disease.
It’s common—both with strength training and endurance sports—not to see a change on the scale, or even to see weight gain. That’s likely due to an increase in muscle tissue. Don’t let it discourage you. When you exercise intensively, you can be sure you’re losing fat mass.
With more muscle mass, you burn more calories—not only during your workouts but also during rest periods. That’s because your muscles continue to burn energy as they recover. So strength training can definitely support your weight loss journey.