Day 23: Is It Working?

Gaining weight feels strange. I trust I’m gaining muscle mass, but the rate at which I’m putting on weight is faster than I expected. My muscle gain goal was 3-8 lbs (8 being extremely ambitious) over the 8-week period. These gains were based on the muscle mass I had before I stopped working out, changes during previous transformation challenges, and research on the new gains of unconditioned athletes returning to training.

As of this week, I have gained 8 lbs in four weeks, and I am concerned that I am consuming more calories than usual and also starting to store fat in response to chronic undereating. I know that body composition is complicated and will change over time, but I am still working on getting out of my head that short-term fat gain, while also gaining muscle, is not a long-term problem. I am focusing on eating a well-balanced diet, I am tracking and using my resources, but the concern still lingers in the back of my mind.

I won’t know until I can do another in-body scan. So for now, I can celebrate the perceived gain through strength and physical muscle definition.