Can exercise possbily make you gain weight?

Hi Rebecca,

I already responded to your other question.

Like you said exercise can potentially make you gain weight, but definitely not the kind of weight you want to avoid. Exercise cannot directly make you gain fat, absolutely not! So don't stress, you are doing the right thing, not only for your weight but also for your health (and ultimately that is also why you want to lose weight, correct?).

But think about this. A lot of people do gain weight once they start exercising, but not because of the exercise directly but because they start to eat a little more. This is mostly psychological, they think now that I exercise I can eat more Calories, my body needs them. 

But unless you count all your Calories, there is no good way of knowing how much you should eat to make up for what you burnt (this is a faulty way of thinking too, you don't have to eat the Calories you burnt, or what would be the point?). :) So my question is: Do you know exactly how many Calories you eat? Certain foods are deceiving, they look so small and innocent, but ultimately they are the difference between loosing and gaining weight. 

 So, the best thing to do is starting a food diary and getting to know the foods you eat. Knowing how many Calories are in certain foods can help you make better decisions. Don't be obsessive about it though. 

 Let me know if you want to know more! You can contact me through my blog: http://www.health-foodie.com

- Christina

PS: Congratulations on quitting! That is very impressive!!!