When a person is trying to lose weight while dieting, they may experience some sort of weight gain. This can frustrate a dieter to the point of giving up, but sometimes there are reasonable explanations that may make you breath a sigh of relief. Below you will find a few reasons as to why a person is gaining weight while they are dieting, as well as a few solutions to consider:

1) Gaining More Muscles

When you step onto the scale to track the progress of your diet and notice a difference in your weight that you are not happy with, don’t get discouraged. If you have been exercising or lifting weights, you should know that muscle weighs more than fat does. Sometimes you should focus on how you look and feel; sometimes it can tell you more about your progress than a scale. Just remember that that the more muscle you have within your body, the more calories you will burn. Give it some time and the scale will catch up to your expectations.

2) Retaining Water

Another reason you may be gaining weight while you are dieting, is that you may be eating too many salty foods. This also happens when you add too much salt as a seasoning to your food. Salt makes your body retain water, which causes you to hold more weight. Some foods that provide a lot of salt, include items such as bacon and sausage. Some people like to replace processed pork with hamburger or chicken breast. Another way to remedy this, is to double your water intake and it will help to flush out the excess water in your body. If you cant live without sprinkling salt on your meals, you may want to start using a salt substitute, such as “No Salt.” This product contains no sodium and is high in Potassium, as well as offers a decent salt flavor.

3) Not Eating Enough Calories & Starving Yourself

Typically, you should be burning more than 1500 calories per day. Try increasing your caloric intake by 50 to 100 calories per week because your body needs calories to burn the excess fat within your body. Your body needs a certain amount of calories to survive and perform all of the daily functions and processes. If you are starving yourself, thinking that you will automatically burn the extra fat that you possess- you are wrong. Not only are you practicing an unhealthy dieting practice, which could lead to serious eating disorders, but your body negatively reacts to this tactic. Your body will think that you are starving and goes into “survival” mode. It will start to save the calories that you have and will store it as fat instead of burn it away. Your body will think that you need the fat to survive.

4) Artificial Sweeteners

Some research has stated that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose may promote obesity and weight gain. The International Journal of Obesity published articles commenting on how the artificial sweeteners found in diet soda and low-carb foods because they seem to trick the body into thinking that sweet-tasting foods and drinks don’t contain as many calories that they really do. It also stated that when a sweet treat like cake, candy or ice cream comes along, a dieter will most likely overeat. The study says that artificial sweeteners trains the body to overconsume the real deal, such as refined carbohydrates.

If you would like to read a bit more on dieting, check out these books that can be found at your local bookstore or library:

Trick Yourself into Losing Weight : A Psychiatrist’s Guide to Dieting by M.D., Robert Elias

How to Win at Losing Weight: Conceptual Dieting : The 4 Basic Steps by Pete Gentile

Suzanne Somers' Eat Great, Lose Weight by Suzanne Somers

Weight Loss Kit for Dummies by Carol Ann Rinzler

Eat More, Weigh Less : Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Losing Weight Safely While Eating Abundantly by Dean Ornish